Dexters or Cheap Holsteins for Freezer Beef

[hillbilly123]

I have been reading up on the Dexter threads here and like the thought of starting a small herd (maybe a bull and two or three cows). The point would be to raise the calves for beef for the family, and maybe sell enough meat or calves to try and break even yearly. From what I have read, they have smaller cuts of very good beef and are easy to keep on a small homestead.

When I look for Dexters locally, the going rate seems to be about 1200 per head (2-3 y/o cows). But, I have quite a few dairy's close by and there seems to be an endless supply of cheap Holstein bulls (~100/hd). I also have access to Angus / Charlois cross calves from a local farmer for half the price of a full grown Dexter.

Seeing as how my goal is for freezer beef on a small farm (~10 acres of pasture), does it make sense to invest in the Dexters for breeding stock? I'm having a hard time justifying the expense in my head when I can get a couple of steers locally pretty cheap and stagger them to butcher every fall. I'd consider buying Dexter calves to do the same, but have not seen any for sale locally and don't know what they would cost.

I'm sure some of you folks have had the same thoughts at some point. Whats worked out better for you?

[SpaceCadet12364]

Depends on the number of people in your family, and the type of beef you like. Some people like jersey some like angus and others highland. And the quality and quantity of grass you have to feed which affects flavor. Along with other supplements such as minerals and grains. If you like the texture and taste it is worth growing your own(no water or color added). And with a smaller breed it means more head per acre. But you would need at least 8 to 10 cows to justify a bull. I would check local area for a bull and see if the owner lends or rents his bull for a small fee. I lend mine for (he comes back in at least the same condition you got him in). If you are intimidated by horns you can look at low line angus. Also are you looking at buying hay for the winter or grow your own. Are you looking at registered cattle or unregistered there is a big difference most dexters are registered so there is a price increase. this is just a few things to look at I am sure somebody will think of few I missed. WE sell reg. Scottish Highlands what we put in the freezer justifies the expense and what we sell pays for all the feed, hay, minerals and expenses. So yes It is worth it.

[Monica33]

Dexter cow calf pairs go for about $600 around here.
Doesn't seem to add up for all the trouble to try to raise breeding stock on 10 acres, but not saying it can't be done. If we decide to get into a few cows we will go with the Dexters.
But for simplicity sake I would go for the cheap steers, raise them until your ready to butcher if all you want is freezer beef. Buy a couple if you want to sell some to cover the cost of yours.

[RedRidge]

Wow! I've never seen a proven dexter cow for under $2k
or a calf/heifer for under $1200 around here.
Where can a pair be found for only $600?

[arnie]

the small dual purpose cows have a smaller nitch market to make an adcepetable amount of milk and a pretty good quality meat on less pasture or feed .for the prime beef; roast and steaks well that's what the angus was bred for .the dairy breeds like jerseys and gernseys though edible beef are not going to make the prime beef .if you like hamburger and crockpot roast and don't mind choice steaks, these and the cheaper housteens work fine .Personaly I have a brownswiss cow that I milk she is bigger than jerseys but smaller and a little beefer than a housteen so crossing with a beef bull I get a great calf to fill the freezor every year .if I wanted a good beef and a good sale for extras id go for the angus cross and cross back onto the angus bull .tried and proven .

[sammyd]

A lot of the beef sold in the US is in fact holstein and 15% of that is prime and 25% is choice. Holstein bull calves are usually cheap and plentiful in areas that have a large dairy presence and are a good choice for home raising to fill the freezer.

[Dusky Beauty]

Is just about always cheaper with any species to buy young and raise till slaughter date for meat than it is to maintain breeders.

However... if being self sufficient for calves is your goal rather than just beef, dexters are exceptional cattle for small acreage and low feed costs.
Setting aside the meat and dairy aspects, dexter cows themselves have reputations as easy keepers, easy calvers and good mothers-- as do highlands I believe. A lot of more fragile cow breeds take a LOT of management and holsteins are some of the most finicky and difficult to care for prone to a lot of birthing problems I hear tell.

Minis and lowlines are a niche market. When you sell calves you'll basically be selling to other hobby farmers just about exclusively that want either a small easy to manage steer, or a family milk cow (they do milk pretty well on lean feed)-- people who already know the breed and are seeking it out. Running them through auction is just silly. Folks that don't know what they're looking at think they're seeing a runty angus.

A bull? they eat a lot and are hell on fences-- even laid back, kind hearted dexter bulls. Bulls are better to be borrowed, not owned imo. And the possibilities opened up through AI are a big advantage. The long and short of it is I'd never consider owning a full time bull unless I have 10+ head of cows. Maybe more like 20 head of cows and heifers. His services are only required one month per year per cow at best.
The lady who owns the bull I use puts him out on free feed leases to owners of healthy cows. He's being such a brat bending up my steel corral panels I think I'm going to start dropping my girls off at her place with a load of hay for their breeding fee :P

I will say though... that while I may have eaten my share of feed lot holstein, and grass fed angus, the dexter hamburger I've had is the finest burger I have ever tasted. I'd expand to a grass fed dexbeef ranch in a heartbeat if I had the acreage. We have a little less than 3 acres though, so keeping two for dairy and their yearly offspring is about all I want to handle.

[oxhill]

In my opinion a lot more is involved in breeding cattle than just raising a few steers. That goes triple if you plan on keeping a bull.

Unless you are passionate about the breed I don't think it is worth it.

[oregon woodsmok]

Holstein beef is excellent. It is fine grained and has a good flavor. However, they are not efficient at turning feed into meat. They are also slow to fill out, and are best slaughtered at close to 3 years of age.

If you have cheap feed and plenty of time to allow them to grow, Holsteins are a great choice.

If you want beef in 2 years, I suggest that you buy those Angus Charolais crosses. I'm not crazy about the European breeds, but maybe crossing with Angus will improve the meat.

The only way I'd pay large prices for cattle would if I had decided to raise top of the line registered cattle. Then I would dust off the checkbook and expect to spend wildly for my original breeding stock. Those would not be cattle to eat and most likely their calves would not be to eat.

Not intended as an insult, but if you don't even know what breed you want, you have some learnin' to do before you buy any expensive cattle, and you should never buy expensive cattle to eat.

[oregon woodsmok]

Check and see if those dairies have any Angus Holstein cross calves. Dairies often breed first calf heifers to Angus bulls. Those are good cattle and if you want to breed cattle, try to pick up a couple of those Angus Holstein heifer calves. Raise them up and breed them back to Angus and you will have some excellent meat cattle without thousands invested in your first brood cow.

If you are offered a selection of Angus Holstein crosses, try to get the ones that are almost all black. Those take more after the Angus father and will be beefier than the calves that are spotted.

[hillbilly123]

Hmm...I had not considered the AI option or bull rental to be honest, that's good food for thought. The Holsteins I have now are my first cows and we really like having them around and want to figure how to make our place work for some kind of small cow operation.

[JLMissouri]

If you have not already looked for cattle on Craigslist I would give it a try. If your area was as dry as Missouri was last year it is a great time to buy if you have the hay. I bought one dexter heifer for $300 which is a great deal, but most go for $800 in the midwest, if you look hard enough you can get them even lower in price. If you spend some time looking you can get your price down I bet. I have both registered and unregistered and am very happy with my core group of heifers.

[wvdexters]

Hi Hillbilly!

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I have a few registered dexters. I plan to sell future heifers and beef the bulls. Yes, they do cost a good bit upfront. But I look at it as an investment. She will pay for herself with the sale of her first heifer. All others are profit, beef or sales.

I like the life. I like having them around. My place is small and WV ridgeland is a tough place to keep cattle. These girls do great on poor pasture and much less feed. I have had angus and jerseys in the past but my dexters do much better here.

I much prefer letting mama raise the calf herself over having a bottle baby to care for. They are alot of work and can be fragile.

My opinion on starter stock is to get the best you can get. Good quality registered calves will sell for more money than unregistered or those of poor quality. You want good mamas; good feet, good udders just like any other breed. Stick to the dual purpose lines. The milky lines are more for dairy and won't get as beefy for you. I also recommend making sure your girls are tested and PHA free. There are breeding rules if you choose shorties (chondroplasia carriers). I have 2 and I really like them. Just don't breed two carriers together. About 1/4 of these matings produce a bulldog calf; dead. I just borrowed a friend's bull (chondro free) and he was able to breed all my ladies. Very easy. There are also many fine AI bulls available on the ADCA website.

Check out some good breeders in your area. They will be able to help you and you can see their stock. Good luck!!

[wvdexters]

Oh yeah, I remember now you are used to holsteins. This would be quite a change. My girls are full grown and stand right at my hip. Very easy to manage and care for.

[RedRidge]

Originally Posted by Dusky Beauty

A bull? they eat a lot and are hell on fences-- even laid back, kind hearted dexter bulls. Bulls are better to be borrowed, not owned imo. And the possibilities opened up through AI are a big advantage. The long and short of it is I'd never consider owning a full time bull unless I have 10+ head of cows. Maybe more like 20 head of cows and heifers. His services are only required one month per year per cow at best.
The lady who owns the bull I use puts him out on free feed leases to owners of healthy cows. He's being such a brat bending up my steel corral panels I think I'm going to start dropping my girls off at her place with a load of hay for their breeding fee :P
.

I can't say that I agree with this as a blanket statement. And the possibilities through AI as far as dexter semen go are way limited.
Our background is in holsteins and the dexter bulls are soooo easy. We have never had a fence issue (unlike holsteins), and rotate them with poultry electronetting - no problem. I find it much less trouble and less expensive to buy a new bull calf every 2 years... I use my bull for 2 years and then put him in a freezer and replace him. Now... should I ever find an exceptional bull rather than just one I like, I will consider not beefing him... but that search hasn't turned up the perfect bull for me yet. Another thing that may help (for me anyway) is that I show some. I do not really enjoy showing, but it forces me to put in quality training time and experience on the young bulls and heifers. This really pays off in the long run as they are far easier to handle as adults if they have been halter broken.
JMO

[G. Seddon]

The problem I see with eating your bull every 2 years is that you do not have enough calves on the ground for a long enough time to see what the bull actually produces. I wonder how many wonderful Dexter bulls have been processed that could have been great herd sires had they been given time.

Borrowing bulls can be problematic as well if you consider the risks of spreading disease from herd to herd. The number of Dexter bulls available through AI now has grown over the last few years; there seems to be something for everyone. The challenge is having access to a vet or AI tech who knows that s/he is doing and can get it right.

[DownHome]

If the goal is to be as self sufficient as possible, you need to consider what happens if cheap dairy calves are suddenly not available or no longer cheap. If you have heifers and a bull (or know how to AI), then you are set for a while. Just some food for thought.

[Dusky Beauty]

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

Borrowing bulls can be problematic as well if you consider the risks of spreading disease from herd to herd. The number of Dexter bulls available through AI now has grown over the last few years; there seems to be something for everyone. The challenge is having access to a vet or AI tech who knows that s/he is doing and can get it right.

Agree completely. There are 4 other parties with cows in my "bull share" and we have to maintain clean health records.

Honestly I would 100% prefer to go the AI route, but I couldn't find a single AI tech that would serve my area for just a couple family cows--- they want a whole dairy or they will stay home.
I can't imagine what someone would want in an AI straw that isn't readily available online in the dexter world... any color, build or dairy/meat genes are out there at very reasonable prices per straw. Sexed or unsexed. You could also order a batch of lowline angus, or sexed jersey semen if you wanted to produce some belmont heifers to sell.
AI affords a very broad breeding plan, keeps your herd closed for health reasons, and is a lot cheaper than feeding a bull in the long run if you only have a couple cows.

As far as bulls messing with fences.... Maybe it's the one I have in my yard right now, but I'm slowly growing to hate him. I have him in "secure" steel corral panels with the cows I want him to inseminate and he keeps shoving the panels around, rearranging them, and even bending some of them. Ugh.

I desperately need my last mama to cycle so I can send him back. She calved not quite 3 mos ago.

[Carol K]

What you save on buying the Holsteins instead of the Dexter you will spend feeding the Holstein! Why not just buy Dexter steers and try raising those, see if you like them and the meat before you buy any Dexter cows.

Carol K

[Alaska]

read up on the angus lowlines. A great small acreage breed. Im just getting started but all of the lowlines I have been around are very docile. Our little bull is the coolest dude, never test a fence or cattle guard