Our family had a dexter. She was my first cow. She delivered great but refused to let down for milking and I tried everything that I could think of. We ate her calf when he was old enough and you are correct. It was the BEST beef we have ever had. I would love to get another dexter when we get property again, but this time I want a milk cow that has had at least one calf and been milked before.
I loved our Angus cows..... but with just a few cows an Angus bull would have been too much to handle. We leased a dexter bull and loved him. He was a kind gentlemen to our ladies and won us over. Sold our Angus cows and picked up a dexter cow calf pair and soon after a bull bought in half the hay we used to for last winter, I'm looking at half the muck to clean up this spring, and looking forward to our grass lasting twice as long.
Ok, after much research and consideration, I have decided to sell off our black Angus herd and replace them with Dexter cattle. As a small 20 cow herd currently, I will be able to run double that if so desired. They are a much better quality animal that has a much longer calf production cycle (15-20 years) with easier calving. They aren't as hard on the land and they are also a much more docile animal as well. Some people refer to them as the "old mans cattle" since they are so gentle. I love that they are a dual purpose cow for milk or for meat as well. We are talking to different Dexter farms now about acquiring heifers to get our start. Wish us luck! 😊👍🐮
I have been raising Saanen goats for years. I think it I had known about Dexters first they would have been my choice. So...after many exhausting kidding nights, kid and even did losses with gets on sight...you've so!d me on the calving aspect alone. I'm making a 2021-22 goal to switch, can believe I 'm saying it, from my beloved Saanens to Dexters.
They also produce more beef yield. Meaning that even for their size their skeletal design allows for more beef that can be sold. Their prime rib for example has more meat than other breeds have. I would have holsteins because that is the breed I have experience with. I believe it is not fair to the animal if I have to learn about it and they suffer. A little story I worked P/T on a small farm, primarily chickens. Well, she rescued a 21 yr old quarter horse that was giving her issues because she lacked knowledge of them and didn't know how to handle him. Knowing that I grew up around Quarter horses, (among other horse breeds) she called me and I come in and take care of the situation. it was a matter of her lacking confidence with this horse, him feeling this, being new to the farm, and just needing some reassurance. After brushing him and giving him some treats he soon realized we were going to care for him and after a few days, they became comfortable with one another.
We have a 2 year old Dexter bull and are in the market for 1 or 2 heifers. We happened across a Corriente heifer late 2019 and couldn’t pass up the deal. In December 2020 she had a beautiful calf that I have learned is called a Cordex. I won’t be milking mama but we will most likely keep her even after we get Dexters for milk. Our bull is very gentle even though he had very little human contact before we got him. I absolutely love the breed!
Hi Sandra! That sounds very interesting. RU-vid should add a feature to share images cuz I would like to see what a Cordex looks like! It’s that time of year that people will be selling cattle so hopefully you find your heifers soon. Thanks for watching!
Very informative. Thank you. But, I highly doubt that they are a wild type of cow. They are called heritage cow. But at one time people bred them from wild cows.
They have been on my list but thinking I’m going to either go for lowline angus or highland or a cross between the 2. Feed efficient, smaller frame to maintain and temperament are the things that matter most to me as well as getting by on poor quality foraging and ease of birthing. Looking for meat production not dairy.
Dexter meets all of your requirements. Bonus with Dexter is they can provide milk if you ever decided you wanted it. Along with beef that will compete with any breed. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
Although I do love my Dexters - I didn't notice you say they "escape" better - because they get under the fences that other cows are too big to get under! And you have to wait awhile to get their horns and balls off as they can wriggle out the crush 😆
1. Make babies better. They almost never need assistance to give birth. They don't need constant supervision 2. Better foragers. They are natural grazers by nature. They thrive on grass and foraging and do not need to be grain finished. 3. Smallest natural breed in the world. Produce the perfect amount of beef. They're much easier on your infrastructure and require less land. They're friendly and more approachable. Because of their size they are less stressful to be around. 4. Large community of people raising Dexter cows and will help educate you. Many Dexter cow support groups ready and willing to offer any advice you may need. 5. Dual purpose cow. Best beef in the world, well marbled, and thrive on grass only. Produce high butterfat milk (A2A2). Can also become oxen.
@@dexterranchNo that s what we called the video- i was laid up with shattered kneecap and got to visit the beasties before going to Dr appt and that was her surprise. had just enough time to birth the heifer before i had to head to town lol. We call he "CalfPow"- or Abby I was still wearing my leg splint- as i hopped in to assist, she looked at me like WTF? then said forget it - im busy with this baby - welcome !
Jamie there are some Facebook groups. One is called “DexterCattle Breeders”. I see people on there from Texas all the time. Would be a good place to look. Hope this helps. Good luck!
In my experience I have not had any problems with coyotes, and I have a lot in the area. I don’t know if the mothers are just protecting the young ones that well or if the coyotes just aren’t trying. I do have a dog on the property, but she comes in the house during the night. For me it has been a non issue. Knock on wood.
Never had coyote kills around here to my knowledge, plenty of de3r so maybe coyotes are well fed, calving generally done at home farm pastures so less l8kel8hood of predation, coyotes are there but careful, dogs are another issue, seen dead calves on isolated range pastures that cow guarded for several days, chased riders off trying to milk them out, coyotes waited for her to leave for a less dangerous meal, plenty of gophers around.
How far did you travel to get your starter stock and how many different sources did you use to ensure large enough genetic pool? My concern with maintaining a herd is how to have enough bulls to avoid backbreeding. Does one just need to accept the eventual need for AI or renting bulls?
I actually only used 2 sources initially. I bought out nearly all of one guys herd. He was an ag Instructor at Oklahoma State University. He had put a good herd together, but was ready to go travel with his wife after retirement. In my area I can’t make AI make sense. The cost is significant if you want to keep samples on your farm. Shipping is expensive, and there is just not anyone close enough that could hold the samples for me, and then drop what they are doing and come inseminate in a timely manner needed to keep things going. For me it makes more sense to sell my bull and get another one. Even though it’s not best case to feed a bull all the time he does add more value to the herd than just doing his job. He is kind of the manager of the herd. If you get a good calm bull he will keep everyone else in line, and set an example of how everyone should act. It just makes things more complete.
Oh and everyone was out of state but furthest was 3 hours away. He was selling one of his bulls to a guy in Canada. They were having it shipped there. I can’t imagine what that cost! 😅
Just a few acres farm raises dexters and has a steady head of 30. 10 yearlings, 10 calves, and 10 cows. He maintains 2 bulls and has a meticulous sorting method. Maybe swing by his channel and check him out as well. I don't think he's run into any issues yet. What we're doing is trading bulls with someone else in the next state over. Then if we need to, there are several people willing to stud out their bull. And we may end up studding out our bull as well. The options are many, depending on your location.
Thank you. Great video. I’m just getting started. I would love to learn more. Do you know where I can buy a purebred mini Dexter near northern Utah? 😃. Thank you again.
Dexter's were derived from other breeds just like all breeds. They are not as God made them, lol. Heritage just means they are an older breed, they are not a commercial breed, and they will breed true. Being a true breed and being endangered usually gets the heritage tag as well. I do like Dexter's and have raised many. They are a great homestead breed. Highlanders graze better, calve better, and have better tasting meat. Dexter's produce more milk though. I actually prefer jerseys though for my small acreage. If I had more land and could properly grass finish to 2 years I'd raise Highlanders. Small acreage it's hard to beat Dexters or Jerseys.
These seem like a great breed to start with. We have a horse farm and would like to expand into cattle. Do you have any recommendations on where to find quality Dexter cattle to start out with?
Compared with indigenous African breeds I fail to see how Dexters are a tough/resilient economic beef viable breed. Read up about small/mediumship cattle breeds like the: Boran Nguni Drakensberger
Hi Sandra! I know that some operations use Dexters to breed their Angus first calf heifers so that they will have a smaller calf on the first go. So I would say yes. Hope this helps.
I am planning on buying a few acres in the country and Dexters seem to be a great dual purpose breed. Do you milk your dexters or use just as a beef cow? If you do milk yours do you do calf share. Are the calves that are heifers hard to train to milk if you do calf share versus bottle feeding?
Hi Kevin. I have not milked as of now. It is definitely something I plan on doing. I think it would be a huge waste to own Dexters and not take advantage of the milk. I can say that I will for sure be doing calf share. At least until my farm becomes my full time job as the bottle feeding would just be to much of a time commitment while having to go to a job everyday. I should have some videos related to milking coming out this summer. Thanks for watching.
@@dexterranch Thanks for your quick response. Jut subscribed and really enjoy your videos. Enjoy your down to earth approach. Take care and please stay healthy my friend! ThankS
You say they are easier on the fences. Mine have no respect for any of my fences and because the have short legs, they climb leaving the fence in a pile behind them. One of the thing you did not mention is that each of them have their own personality and just a pleasure to be with.
I have done a video on Dexter cow calf profitability. This is really best case scenario though. The animal selection, and marketing is going to have to be spot on for this to work. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GeF55zMe8DE.html
Hi Diane! That’s super exciting! This is one of the places Dexters really shine! You won’t be disappointed in their ability to calf unassisted! Good luck.
Dude...do some research. There are a LOT of dual purpose breeds left. Even triple purpose if you include draught. Red Devon, South Devon, White Park, Shorthorn, Highlanders, Red Poll, and Simmentals are just some off the top of my head. Stop with the false info please.
@Bee Bird can I name one thing he said that is false? Yeah, he claims that Dexter's are the only dual purpose breed left on this planet. It's the entire premise of his video. I listed several dual purpose breeds that are still in existence. Case closed. I do have experience with Dexter's as I have mentioned multiple times. I have Dexter's now in fact. They are a fantastic breed. BUT...they are not the LAST dual purpose breed left as he claims. Dude you need to relax. Maybe actually read my comments before spouting off in such a rude manner and slinging insults. No need to get so angry bud, lol. 😃
@Bee Bird oh, and he also claims they are a natural breed as God made them. Which is factually false, lol. So....yeah, twice he is spreading 100% false info. 👍
Ok you got me. I’ll bite. The comment about the way god made them was pointing to the fact that they were not miniaturized like many breeds have been, and you can go check the tape, but I think my exact wording in the video was that they are the last widely available dual purpose breed. Meaning no matter where you are in the country you can probably find some easily within a reasonable driving distance. But to expand a breed has to have made some traction. Maybe have several registries based on just it, and 8 to 10 thousand people in a Facebook group just to talk about them. Rather than 300 like the Devon Facebook group does. Dexter is different. It’s made an impact. That’s the facts. If I worded it wrong for you by saying last widely available to shorten every reason I just gave sorry. Hope this helps clear some things up! Enjoy the rest of your night.
@@dexterranch you did lead with that statement of last widely available. You then followed immediately with the claim they were actually the last dual purpose breed. The you made the video entirely about how and why they are the last dual purpose breed, lol. Dexter's are a great breed you are correct. But in my personal experience as a full time farmer running a business modeled after Joel Salatin and Greg Judy the Dexter beef doesn't sell. I've done blind taste tests at farmers markets and my Jersey and Highlander beef win every time over Dexter. You are correct, they are definitely more available than Devons (in the us). If I could find some locally I'd be raising them. Since I can't I'm sticking with my Jerseys and Jersey/Dexter crosses. I just can't get enough Jersey beef. Anyway, i didn't mean to cause a fuss. I think I came across differently than what I intended. Never meant to be disrespectful. I am just a huge fan of heritage and dual purpose breeds and didn't agree that they are the only one left. Take care and enjoy your Dexters.
I really appreciate this comment. Thank you! I know there are a lot of great cattle breeds out in the world, but this is DEXTER ranch lol, and I really do believe they are great! Thanks again for the encouragement, and keep in touch on your farm progress. I will do some reading on your current breed.