Author: Danielle of Bryn Mawr
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A Plumb Good Dexter Breeder
Charles Sumner Plumb was a very accomplished man, not just an influential breeder for Kerry and Dexter cattle, but a man of great learning, who had written books and conducted many studies on farming and livestock. Plumb was born in Massachusetts where he initially went to Massachusetts Agricultural College. His education and studies are extensive…
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Dexters No Bigger Than Dogs
I usually like to start these articles with a picture of a Dexter cow from the past, that will be the focus for the historical adventure, as we travel back in time. But sadly, this time I have no beautiful and memorable cow to set the tone, as one could not be found for a…
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“Dairy Breed” Champion Dexter Bull Atlantic Spratt
Dexter Cattle put a high emphasis on dairy traits and beef traits equally. Thoughtful breeders were honing these Irish cattle to excel in both capacities. One of the ways they were doing this, was by selecting bulls from dams with known milk records. Pedigree information is interesting to reflect on when you see repeated names…
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No Udder, No Cow!
The old saying “No feet, no cow” is a phrase that denotes the importance of a cow’s ability to walk. Without good feet there can be no cow to stand on them, thus causing peril to the health of the cow. No Udder, no cow could be a similar maximum, denoting the importance of the…
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Historically looking at the Dexter milk properties!
Many may not know that the Dexter at one time was known to have milking properties of equal merit as the Kerry, a known dairy breed, though they are a dual-purpose breed. Mr. R Tait Robertson was to of said ” The milking properties of both breeds may be said to be of about equal…
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Dexters ARE Irish and Proud of It
Dexters are well known as Irish Dexters even if many other points about them are debated. The above bull though registered with the Dexter Cattle Society is an Irish Dexter with a “fine type and constitution” as the article states. I checked, he certainly was owned and breed by Mr. W. Lindsay Everard of Ratcliffe.…
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Lying out all winter long, Getting nothing more than what they can pick up and a small portion of hay Night and Morning.
Dexters have long been hailed as hardy and thrifty even adaptable to locations from Africa to snow laden areas. This article I am sharing was written by R. Tait Robertson; he was a famous and most influential Dexter breeder for his day. He was not just any armature Dexter owner, since he was a foundational…
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The Dexter: The SmallHolder’s Cow
Great for Small Acreage Dexters have long been promoted the same way time and time again, “Docile and Hardy little cattle, dubbed the smallholder’s cow because of their ability to exist on about half the acreage of other cattle.” This is the niche market of a Dexter. They are well suited to beginners because they…
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The Dual Purpose Dexter And The Kerry History
How much dairy should we put in to a Dual purpose Dexter cow. If you were to consult the English herd books they would say 40 percent for the “Bag” with the remaining percents being 15 for the “Head and neck”, 25 for the “Body, top line, under-line, ribs, setting of the tail, shortness of…
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Dexters are a TOP-RANKING DUAL-PURPOSE BREED
Dexters may only rank 5 in this dual-purpose breed list, but when you consider their size, they come out as number one for the small farm. Practical and versatile in being great for beef and milk. Often times people consider Dexters mini cattle, but the whole breed is naturally small with some individuals being extra…
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For Many the Dexter breed may have a confusing Past.
When you consider that people in the past were a bit confused about the difference between a Dexter (Dexter Kerry) and a Kerry you understand why it confuses people now. The fact that Dexters were called Dexter Kerry for many years after the two breeds were split from each other, continued to confuse people, thinking…
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LET’S TALK DEXTER WEIGHTS!
Calling all Beef Breeders!!! For anyone who likes a bit of Beef in their dual-purpose Dexters here’s something for you! Have you ever wondered what the Live weight, the Average daily weight gain of live weight, Weight of dressed Carcass, Percentage of carcass to gross live weight, Weight of loose fat and Weight of hide…
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SMALL CATTLE CARRY AWAY BIG HONORS
This article written in Gloucestershire on 27th March 1986 represents a long memorable chapter of the pages in History of Dexter cattle. The Dexter in this article is being noted as truly dual purposed, possessing fine quality small joints of beef, all the while being able to suckle two calves at once and raise 8…
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The importance of the Dexter Head
Did you know the look of a Dexter’s head was important to breeders and that there was what was considered a “Dexter Head”? “Harley Penelope is good to carry in one’s eye as a type of a good Dexter cow. She has the quality and character, a sweet small Dexter head and carries her horns…
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Understanding where Your Dexters came from will Give you a vision for their future.
Enjoy this video from 1949 to see what a common herd of Dexters may have looked like at that time. It would be interesting to see what observations new people to the breed would take away from the video if they were to compare them to many Dexters now available for purchase.
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History helps track changes in a herd over a period of years.
When people ask me why I think the history of Dexter Cattle is important this is just one great reason that I may give. If you see changes over years happening during the foundational years you can see how breeders were interpreting improvement during a time when people were focusing on breed selection to adhere…
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Dexters – Poor Man’s Cow to Luxury Cow By Danielle Lowther
Poor Man’s Cow to Luxury Cow How did the Poor Man’s Cow become owned by the wealthy and famous. Dexters and Kerry Cattle became recognized for their unique hardy attributes, Kerry for milk and Dexter for milk and meat. Dexters were known to get by on less, produce rich milk and raise a healthy vigorous…
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Interesting, Dexters were used to replicate a farm in 300 B.C.
Two long legged Dexters were kept at an Iron Age site to replicate a farm in 300 B.C. The attempt was to recreate what some of our Celtic ancestors would have experienced in their environment as close to what archaeological evidence in 1974 could validate. A round wattle and daub building was constructed with a…
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Halter training your calf….when is the right time?
The Question is often asked “When is the best time to halter train your calves?”. We put a halter on a calf for our milk cows calves within the first week of life. This gives them time to establish a nursing routine, so the halter won’t risk being an interference in the first few days…
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Bantam is what a Champion prize Dexter looked like in 1897.
This picture is very interesting for quite a few reasons. First Dexters though many were black in the early days compared today this bull Bantam was red. Second and most interesting point to note, this bull was bred by the Prince of Wales at Sandringham in 1896. This location is situated in Sandringham, Norfolk, England.…
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Breed standard…Detailed English Dexter Breed standard that well defines Dexters unique traits.
Breed Standards define breeds so that people know what unique traits the breed possess. Dexters were known to have extremely fine quality beef, it turns out that the original genetics Dexters process may actually help them to have finer quality beef because they have “skin that should be soft and mellow, and handle well, not…