If I ever get into raising cattle I would like to raise the dexter cattle but I have often wondered if they could survive through some of this Oklahoma heat. Sometimes when our annual heat drought hits it can climb up to 112 degrees and stay there for several days and I believe I've read that dexter cattle grow longer hair on there coats. Anybody out there that grow Dexters in Oklahoma?
Hey there The American Dexter Cattle Assoc. held their annual meeting in Stillwater just last year. Dexters are a very hardy breed and are in all parts of this country and others. Just to give you an idea just how adaptable they are, Canadian breeders sent a large number of Dexters to Cuba a couple of years ago. The Cuba delegation came to Canada looking for milking cows as they had problems with production with their resident Jerseys and Holsteins. There are a number of breeders in OK and you can find them at the ADCA website at http://dextercattle.org/ Chris Ricard Celestial Farms
Ditto to what Chris said. From what I have heard from other breeders, they do very well. You would need to provide some sort of shade though. The site that Chris provided has breeders listed that you can talk with regarding your concerns for your area. There are also people on here from your area(could be Texas, can't remember) that have Dexters. Hope you enjoy your Dexters when you get them, Regards Carol
Thanks Chris, thanks Carol. That was some interesting reading there. First of all I didn't know they came in other colors besides red and I didn't know they could be used as Oxens. That would be neat to have a pair of oxens pulling a plow. I like the ideal of having a milk cow that doesn't give a whole lot of milk. When I was growing up I helped my Uncle milk his black angus. He milked in the morning and I milked in the evening. We kept what we milked so the cow produced more than plenty for two families. The cow gave about 2 - 2 1/2 gallons each milking. That would be way too much for my immediate family to use every day. Even the quantity of a Dexter would be too much! But it would be more reasonable to deal with. And to butcher one dexter steer a year would be just about right for us also. Thanks for the web site Chris, I found a person on there who lives about 25 miles from me who raises them. I think I'll get in contact with him and keep in touch for when I do get started.
You are so welcome..... Good luck !!! Just remember though that dexters Are like anything elseâ¦..look and compare. Look at different breeders. DONâT BUY THE FIRST ANIMAL AVALABLE!!! Like anything else â¦.you get what you pay for. Look at the animals Dam and the Sire if you can. When I started I pulled animals from 3 totally different herds. Although the bloodlines were similar, I must have looked at 8-10 different farms. When people call or come to our place the first thing that I ask them is what are you doing with them. Meat , Dairy, Oxen ??? I tell them that although I would love to sell them an animal. Go look and then come back and compare. If you want you can look at our web site to see our animals. We are located at http://users.adelphia.net/~ricards/index.htm Glad to help â¦â¦.. Chris Ricard Celestial Farms.
Hi You can also go to http://dakodan.net/dexters/ There are several pictures there, probably close to 100 by now. reg. in and go to the photo section. Lots of pics from all over. If not just what you are looking for. post what you want, the people there will be more than glad to help. Ken in Minn
