Creating my herd for breeding

[OStateBeav]

My wife and I have 20 irrigated acres, 18 of which are currently leased as farmland. So there is potential to expand down the road if need be. We are looking at Dexters to target the expanding "hobby farms" in our area. And beef for our family.

I have been in contact with a local breeder and have some questions that I am hoping you all can help me out with.

Financially speaking, we want to start small and can expand our herd as we are able to. Ideally, we would like 2 breeding cows and a bull. He can put together multiple packages based on our needs. For example....
A bred cow with her bull calf by her side. Here we would be immediately and hesitantly jumping into line breeding.
A bred (or non bred) cow with a heifer at her side.
He can also package in a bull that is not blood related to the cow and her offspring.

What kind of package would you all recommend us working towards? We are new to the game, so take it easy on us. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[boondocks]

My wife and I have 20 irrigated acres, 18 of which are currently leased as farmland. So there is potential to expand down the road if need be. We are looking at Dexters to target the expanding "hobby farms" in our area. And beef for our family.

I have been in contact with a local breeder and have some questions that I am hoping you all can help me out with.

Financially speaking, we want to start small and can expand our herd as we are able to. Ideally, we would like 2 breeding cows and a bull. He can put together multiple packages based on our needs. For example....
A bred cow with her bull calf by her side. Here we would be immediately and hesitantly jumping into line breeding.
A bred (or non bred) cow with a heifer at her side.
He can also package in a bull that is not blood related to the cow and her offspring.

What kind of package would you all recommend us working towards? We are new to the game, so take it easy on us. Thanks for the feedback.

Hi O-State! and :welcome: There will hopefully be oldtimers with way more experience than me to weigh in here--I'm a fellow newbie (3 yrs in now, but still green as all get-out). We have a small herd of registered Angus. As a newbie, and with a small herd, we quickly realized a bull is not for us. In fact, we now have about 13 cows (and 2 steers) and still would not consider a bull. We use artificial insemination (AI) instead. I would assume that is an option with Dexters too, no? We did not want the worry of a potentially aggressive bull as we are just learning cattle handling/working/moving; and we didn't want the fence issues; or to be locked into one sire for all animals (for example, we will use a different bull on our heifers, who are still themselves growing, than on our mature cows). If you think you must have them "personally" bred by a bull, maybe the person from whom you buy the Dexters would lend you a bull for a few months or let your two cows come visit for a stud fee. As I said, I'm quite new at this myself but can't imagine putting up with a bull to service only 2 cows. I think he would get bored fast and maybe cause mischief, but I will await with interest the responses of those with waaaay more experience.

Good luck!

 

[branguscowgirl]

:welcome: I think Boondocks gave perfectly good advice! I agree.

 

[Nesikep]

Ditto! I will add that you should go and spend time with these animals, and see if they are docile... Every Dexter I've known hasn't been friendly... More the opposite, Aggressive or flighty... This doesn't mean ALL of them are like that, but it's what I've seen. Marketing aside, don't think that cows get easier to handle *because* they are small... a huge lazy cow is much easier to handle than a midget witch! So remember that you have to handle these animals, and whatever package can be put together you'll have the final say based on if the COWS LIKE YOU! I have a cow I can do anything with, milk, ride, or lead, and she comes running up to me... she loathes other people, even my parents, and will stay 50 feet away from them.

Good luck in your venture (cough... ADVENTURE), and welcome aboard...

 

[gonzo]

10-4 BOONDOCKS HIT lTHE NAIL ON THE ON THE HEAD. I have only 2 mommas and 2 heifers and a steer . No self respecting bull is gonna stick around for that. Check into AI and shop around it's not all that bad. You don't have to feed the breeder all winter either. :welcome:

 

[HDRider]

You might check out this forum too.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/cattle/

Good luck to you.

 

[pdfangus]

dittoes on the previous bull advice....you don't need one....
agree that cow disposition is more important than breed...
don't know about your area......
but in my area carry capacity is 2 to 3 acres per animal unit...(animal unit is 1000 lbs of animal)
find out carrying capacity in your area and don't overstock....

 

[OStateBeav]

Wow, thanks Boondocks and everyone else for the great replies. I look forward to the day when I have the experience to share my input as well.

We will be visiting the ranch this weekend to take a look at his stock. No better way to see the disposition of all the option than first hand. I am starting to think the AI might be the best rout for us. Probably just need to find an experienced AI tech to learn from. I'm sure there is a good feed on here regarding that topic as well. I will definitely be back on here with an update.

 

[Taurus]

I would check out their dispositions before buy them. Lot of dexters are quite wild and highheaded.....apparently some breeders doesn't cull these problematic dexters and their bad genes get spreading around.

 

[gonzo]

Your on the right track now OSB , never had a breeder bust threw my fence and attack my buddy's prize milkers, uh I'M just sayin ,well it could happen. :help: :dunce:

 

[torogmc81]

:welcome:

How serious are you on getting Dexter? Sounds like you are starting out the same way we did, and I tried some of the 'different' hobby breeds, and I quickly turned away from it. The small breed people will sell them hard because it feeds their niche market. I would find a docile, versatile breed (being able to sell private, sell freezer beef that is easily marketed, ability to take an extra steer to sale barn and not get docked drastically with an unpopular breed, etc.) as we did ourselves. Good luck to ya!

 

[djinwa]

Agree with Torogmc81. Some Dexters are said to be dual purpose, milk/meat. The one Dexter cow I had was ugly, not very gentle, gave little milk, and her purebred calf was scrawny. Otherwise, she was a nice cow.

Perhaps not fair to judge by one cow, but the pictures I've seen aren't great. For small breeds, lowline angus are beefier. They also don't have horns, which is a hassle most don't want, especially small timers. Though there may be some polled lines of Dexters.

I too have shifted bigger, looking for smaller framed, standard cattle. Body is more proportionate, and have more breeding options. And generally better quality. Many niche breeders think every heifer should be sold for breeding, regardless of quality. Poor udders, feet, disposition, etc.

And if you want non-ugly cattle for your hobby farmers, you might look at British Whites. The whites get docked at sale barns, but if selling privately, okay. Can breed to angus and still get whites. A few links:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=90958
http://www.jwest.biz/
http://www.britishwhite.org/members/act ... htm#Oregon
http://www.pharocattle.com/semensource.htm

 

[branguscowgirl]

I just spent some time with the Low line Angus project at the University. I really liked them and what the had to offer! Great feed efficiency too! I might get a few for myself even.

 

[Nesikep]

Djinwa.. " The one Dexter cow I had was ugly, not very gentle, gave little milk, and her purebred calf was scrawny. Otherwise, she was a nice cow.".. other than being ugly?

Dogs and cows.. My neighbor had a yearling Dexter bull, it completely had "little man syndrome".. an absolute freak show... I had my arm hanging over the edge of the dutch door in the barn, and he came up and sniffed, then tried to bash it into the door.. I moved, and he jumped back scared... this happened several times. I guess he does have a little less clout than a 2500 lb bull of another breed though. I just haven't seen any dexters I found pleasing to look at or be around, but maybe it's because of the hillbillies breeding them around here.

 

[OStateBeav]

Great stories! I will have to look at the lowlines as well. My hands are tied from a breed size standpoint. For everything I love about my place, I can't get over the drain field being in the irrigated pasture. That is a whole new conversation in itself! In the near future, I would like to work with the irrigation company to adjust my irrigation zoning out of the drainfield and onto my dry land. But for the time being, a large breed would be risky.

 

[Taurus]

I just haven't seen any dexters I found pleasing to look at or be around, but maybe it's because of the hillbillies breeding them around here.

We have lot of hillbilly breeders around here. That is where the problematic dexters came from. Their disposition were horrible, they were flighty but they will fight back when they're penned up. Some of tamed dexters were spoiled so bad that they don't respect you that much. The breeders refuse to cull them out so they're rather sell their problematic ones to another person instead of drop them at the sale barn and sell them as a slaughter cow.

That said, lowlines are gaining popularity these days and they are getting accepted in the commercial operations. The lowline should be your second choice if you cannot find a good dexter.

 

[~Tomboy~]

There is a lot of good advice here. I have been breeding Dexters going on 14 years and run a herd of about 30 head, all of which are polled.
You will definitely want to go and visit several breeders if possible. I do know of a breeder in Oregon that produces very nice dual purpose Dexters the way they're supposed to be. Leave me a PM with your info, and I'll contact you with his name and info.

Added: If you've been in contact with Kirk, you're in good hands. He know what he's talking about.