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Dextercattle

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 the leg, ect.”, 10 for “Quality and Touch” and 10 for “Colour”. So 40 points goes to the quality of the udder while 25 points gets divided up between the “Body, top line, under-line, ribs, setting of the tail, shortness of the leg, ect.”. It seems to me that in Dexters the focus today tends to fall primarily on mostly two aspects alone: shortness of leg and body type with general conformation coming in at the end. Even with 3 aspects it only accounts for 25 points for a Dexter. So there is a hyper focus on 25 % of a Dexter while the 40 percent in often neglected. The length of a cow’s leg and it’s depth are not the only traits that define a Dexter. Of course, we can’t forget the other traits that almost no one talks about, the “Head and neck”. You don’t get much meat off a head but it adds a distinct breed defining trait to a cattle type to set them apart.

It’s interesting to note that Kerry cattle that became a distinct dairy breed separated from the dual-purpose Dexter also list 40 points for the udder. The only difference is that more details are mentioned about the bag, “Udder, size, situation of teats, milk veins and escutcheon”.
Now before major concern sets in, consider that this point system is based on an ideal cow. There will always be cows in a breed that are not ideal, but the goal is to breed for the ideal cow. If you look at the 3 pictures of Kerry cattle, I will share you will see that Walton Bashful is listed as ideal and her udder is the best of the three cows shown. I’d say if an udder is ideal enough for a Kerry it can likewise be good enough for a Dexter that uses the same 40 percent system. Of course, there is no problem with having an even better udder than this cow does! The next Kerry is Valencia Eileen III. You will immediately see that she could improve on her forward attachment, but she was a Kerry all the same. The final cow is Ard Caeina Una. You will see she has some attachment issues, and you will tell that her udder is hanging lower by her hocks. The placement of her teats are too close and awkward but they were still put to use, as you will see by reading her milk record. Her yield 14,562 lbs with her butterfat at 4.33 percent. Still a valuable Kerry cow. With Dexters we need to seek generational improvement in dairy traits as Dexter’s udder points are just important as Kerry cattle, but we also need to remember that improvement is generational and culling cows with good production and butterfat won’t instantly fix a problem. It could lead us to a breed full of cows with very tight nonproductive udders just because new people think a tight looking udder is an aesthetically pleasing udder.

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Historical

Managing Mud

The article below has some simple, cost-effective solutions to managing mud on your farm or ranch. there are also a few more in-depth, long term solutions if you have the time and resources to complete them.

We have used wood chips in high traffic areas of our farm with good results. And, we get free wood chip drops from local arborists, so it is very cheap. The added benefit is that the manure and wood chips make great future compost for the garden.

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/cattle-connection/2018-12-03-managing-mud-cattle-farms

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Farm Management

Herd Health Plan

We all should consider having a herd health plan in place. At some point in your journey, you will likely encounter some health issues.

Dexters are hardy cattle and often don’t require any additional help to stay healthy, besides good nutrition. However, if you’re bringing in new cattle or transporting your cattle to other places, you may want to consider some of the ideas below.

It’s always good to have a plan in place, before you need it.

Submitted by Pam Baker, MCD

https://www.bovinevetonline.com/news/education/establish-complete-herd-health-plan

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Herd Health

If You buy a trained Dexter milk cow….

By Sue Pollington

If you spend the money to buy a trained Dexter milk cow please define what you expect by this and tell the seller you choose.

Does this mean halter trained, lead trained, stanchion trained, milking trained, trailer trained? 

When I was buying my first cow, I wanted a trained milk cow that I could halter, lead, and who would stand to be milked and had been milked.  What I got was a cow pregnant with her second calf who has been milked, she could be haltered and would kind of be lead. She had never ridden in a trailer or been in a stanchion. 

This brings up an important point. Find out how a cow has been trained to milk. My first cow was trained to come into a milking parlor, go to a trough with hay and stand there to be milked while she ate. She was not tied or haltered for this. Luckily for me, my first cow had a great temperament, was patient, understanding and willing, so she would let me fail and we could both find a way to make it work together.

Just as you will be training your cow, they will also be training you.

Within our first lactation (milking season) together, my first cow and I got really good at leading, she learned to enjoy the stanchion, I learned to milk with lots of help from my cow. We have become very comfortable together and I am looking forward to her next calf in the Spring so I get to milk her again.

Sue Pollington

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