Cost per year to have a mini cow?

[paper_crane2]

How much would it cost per year to have a miniature cow like a Dexter, if they were pasture fed? In the winter it would be eating stored feed like hay.

Can you pretty much eliminate feed costs if you have the land for it to graze on and make hay for the winter?

Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!

[goodhors]

My Dexter heifer was very economical to feed, on pasture and hay. She got a handful of corn and oats (true measurement!) for coming in the barn and being stalled at night. She gained easily, but I have very good pasture and she preferred the rougher, first cut hay, over a NICE mix of grass and alfalfa I bought for her. Oh well, the horses LOVED the mix hay! She got a couple smaller flakes morning and night, less hay if she didn't clean it up fairly well. Cattle ALWAYS leave some hay mess, but it was less if quantity was reduced a little. If she cleaned it up very well, I would give her another small flake, because she evidently needed it. How cold the temps got did make a difference, since stomach fermentation of hay, winter grazing, is what keeps them warm. We had some VERY cold days and nights, so she did need that extra hay those times, and horses got more too, so they also could stay warm.

I will say the heifer ate a LOT LESS hay in winter, than what I thought she would when I purchased it. Feeding her from Feb. to May when new grass got in, she didn't eat 25 bales. Purchased her as a yearling, about 300#, and she gained weight steadily on very little feed. She had at least doubled her weight when we sold her in Oct. Was not carrying a calf in that time. Looked very well filled out, sleek, shiny coat after being wormed after purchase.

She liked grazing over any hay, did a good job cleaning the fence corners for me, trimmed grass under the wires to save me weed whacking! We had a 4-H project calf in with her during that time. We handled them both a lot, so they were pretty friendly, easy to manage for leading, tying up, daily stalling. We are on the edge of suburbia, so night stalling is done to prevent loose pet dogs damaging our cattle who are small and hornless, so are unable to defend themselves. Was nice they both came running for their grain, to get halters on! I definitely recommend training your cattle to come when called, lead with a halter, should they get loose at some point. SO MUCH easier to catch them again. We also belled our two, so we KNEW where they were, and any wild bell ringing that didn't stop, was a trouble sign. Get nice, deeper sounding bells, ring carries further, easier to listen to as they move around. Those tinky sounding, sheet metal ones from the farm store have a bad sound.

I keep my pastures short, mowed when grass gets 8-10 inches high, shortened to about 5 inches at mowing. I have few weeds, a mix of grass, clover, other grazing plants, so there is always something coming on in cool or hot weather. Keeping pastures producing is part of your animals gaining well. They ignore that tall, stemmy stuff, want to eat the newer growth, tender leaves. Cows and horses here, did seem to like the different plants, so they didn't actually compete for the same grazing places, which made the pastures more evenly grazed. My pastures are soil tested, then fertilized with minerals needed to grow pasture. They produce very well, but it will cost you in time and money for the fertilizers, to have good grazing. Pasture is a crop for me, better for the animals and saves me needing to feed purchased hay. Small acreage here, so we have to buy our hay.

I NEVER put the little cattle in with equines. My horses would probably have hurt the cattle, who had no defenses against them. I won't have horned cattle, so animals were always kept apart in different fields.

Dexters are known for being economical to feed, sure turn grass into meat easily. Bred for good mothering, shouldn't need much grain to keep in good condition with a calf, if you have good hay or pasture to eat. I do know that the Dexter steers will finish sooner than larger breeds, with good grazing. Personally, I would finish those steers on some grain mix, to add fat to the body that grass doesn't put on. Makes the meat more tender in my experience, though others will disagree. You could promote them as "Grass Fed" in selling. So that younger maturiity is faster turnover on your animals, in getting the profits back. I would probably be selling mine at 600# or so on the hoof, they just don't get much bigger in the small breeds, and that could be as young as 12-14 months old. I would sell those steers from home, everyone says they fetch nothing going to the sale barn. Take out a newspaper or sale flyer ad, Craig's List ad, that you have beef to sell. Doing steer in halves or quarters, for smaller modern family, should make animal easier to get sold. You deliver steer to processor, they pick up their meat themselves. Then you should be able to have return buyers, word of mouth sales, to keep things moving.

I would say yes, you can easily keep Dexters on pasture and hay in winter, pretty easily. I would expect them to stay in good condition, produce calves, fatten as steers, when pastured and hayed. I did limit my hay to heifer, because of cattle wastage of hay using big bales or feeding more than they need. Just grinds me to see them peeing on or making beds out of expensive hay!! So feeding x amount of hay, versus free access, could cost you more in hay using big bales. Sometimes waste is up to 50%!! Some folks put the big bale in a paddock, then limit daily time cattle can chew on bale, before closing off the paddock so cattle are back on winter field the rest of the time.

[wvdexters]

Hi there. Your costs for keeping a dexter are going to vary depending on where you are and what conditions you have. It's been my experience that they require about half the feed/pasture as the larger breeds. If you have good pasture and good quality hay they require very little extra feed. I give mine a handful of grain every day for a treat to keep them friendly and some loose mineral. They do great.

[Tilly]

We had to feed hay six months of the year, budgeted 2tons/year/head adult cattle, and always had plenty, even with growing calves on the side. The other six months they were on decent range of mostly scrub and dry grass. The only costs you should have with the dexters would be breeding, yearly vacs, and grain for milkers, same as with most cattle. I never grained anyone not destined for the milk stand. Put your location down so people near your area with similar growing seasons, general pasture conditions ( which can vary a lot!) can chime in.

You can eliminate your feed cost with pasture and hay for winter with any breed of cattle, but you have to feed according to their condition and your goals. When we started with Dexters, we had some very rigid thoughts on how much they should eat. They are very economical to feed, yes, and the will survive on poorer/less amounts of feed. Just make sure you are prepared to up their feed if needed. Really a bummer to find you are only halfway through your winter and already 3/4 of your hay is gone. That's why we budget 2 tons each for 6 months...........never hurts to have a bit extra.

[opportunity]

I used to have a few mini cows (herfords, lowline highland and jersey) They ate about 20 pounds of hay a day in the winter and I kept 6 animals on 20 acres of mostly high desert (think lots of rocks and sagebrush) They required minerals and vaccines but the vet was only providing half dose on some due to size. I sold them all off when I moved to Montana and bough fullsize Angus and Highlands to fit in better with others in the community as they were so against the little cows. I would guess around $50 a year for stuff other then feed per animal.

[Raymond James]

I do not have Dexters. I have full size Angus I spent $700.00 to purchase 25 round bales of hay to feed my bull, 5 cows, 2 calves and 4 yearlings a horse and 6 breading meat goats last winter. This winter I have/ or will have the bull , 5 cows, 6 calves ( twins yeh!!!) and 3 yearlings as well as the horse and goats and spent $900 to purchase 30 round bales. I have 25 acres of pasture in mid Missouri. I try and move them to uncut pasture just as the first snow is going to hit, leave them until the grass has been growing well for a couple weeks in the spring.

I buy and put out 3 white salt and 3 mineral blocks a year. I usually do my own worming/ shots . I spend about $100.00 on this much of it the pour on wormer for the cattle. I should cost out injectable wormers. I buy a small vial of vaccine or a pre- filled syringe from the vet usually $2.50 to $5.00 a piece.

I have been lucky and only have had to have a vet out once in 12 years. I did take my cows the first year to be vaccinated and paid less than $5.00 a shot plus an office visit fee of $10 or $15.00. I think the farm fee was $50.00. At the time Missouri had a requirement to have a Brucellosis tag on adult cattle so I took them in rather than use my broken down chute. I now have it rebuilt.

Everything that I have read makes it sound like given the same pasture / rain fall Dexters should only eat 1/2 of what mine eat.

If you feed ( round or square) by placing it in a feeder a little twice a day rather than letting them self feed you will use less. Some larger farmers roll out a round bale every day and have enough cows so that it is all cleaned up every day.


With a small number of cattle try and feed part of a bale at a time rather than allowing them access to a whole bunch at once. Buy your hay based on price per ton and on what equipment you have or do not have. If you do not have a means to move a round bale then do not get round bales.

I have neighbors who use a mover with a hand winch to raise the bale off the ground and a team of horses to move it. You can use a truck with a hydraulic spear in the bed or a tractor. But you usually have to have something.

I have had round bales delivered, put cattle panels and an electric wire around it. I then went out and fed from the hay by using a pitchfork to throw it over to the cattle every day. I have also set bales on top of a small rise that I could open a gate then push/roll them thru the gate down the hill/ rise to the cattle.

For a small number of cattle unless you need the tractor for other things buy small square bales is often what is done.

Now days I like being able to put out three or four round bales and being off the farm for two week in the winter.