Dexter Cattle Milk Yields Officially Recorded

Milk Yields Record taken from a Dexter Cattle Society Booklet

No date was given in this pamphlet but if we consider the Dexters that are pictured we can get a close idea of the date. The top Dexter is Atlantic Alision, she was born Jun 12, 1956. A very beautiful Dexter, but her milk yield was not recorded in the data. The second Dexter looks to be either Atlantic Sprat or his son Atlantic Alistair, I lean towards the latter due to the angle of the legs. You can see some pedigree information on Atlantic Alistair here Legacy | World Dexter Information and it will show you a picture that looks very similar. He was born Jun 9, 1957. The Atlantic Herd was owned by Mrs. W. R. N. Tanner of Hock End Checkendon. Spratt was first in his class and went on to win the Silver Challenge Sheild. Atlantic Alision likewise was a prize winner. Mrs. Tanner had many prize winning Dexters and had a memorable herd of Dexter cattle. Both examples are great pictures to represent Dexter cattle.

Butterfat Content in Dexter cattle

     It is interesting to note that many of these cows had higher butterfat contents. Much higher than a Holstien and some producing as much as some Jersey cattle. The Dexter milk separates cream out slower than a Jersey and some of the butterfat remains in the milk retaining richness to the milk even after skimming the thick cream off the top. These records are a testament to those high butterfat amounts. In order to have a proper milk tests all cows should stay in milk for the same duration of time and ideally be fed a very similar diet. It is very rare today that people will keep their cows in milk for ten months. I however can attest to milking Dexters for 10 months during many lactations and can say there are still Dexters today that will hold a lactation well.

The Dwarf Dexter in History

      The final consideration I must only discuss for those who may be new to Dexters, so this article does not confuse someone into thinking that Dexters must have a genetic problem that causes them to lose offspring. Some Dexter cattle carry a genetic trait that when two carriers are bred together can be lethal. At one time it was common to breed towards what was considered a Dwarf type. Dwarf being exactly as it sounds, having short and broad features. This trait was widely favored by Dexter breeders and at one time selected for, even eliminating Dexters that were not of the Dwarf type (Chondrodysplasia negative) or so called “long legged”. Of course, during this time there was no test for Chondrodysplasia, so not every Dexter that was selected for that had short legs was Chondrodysplasia positive, but many would have been. Very early on observant breeders recognized that there were sometimes bulldog calves that were being produced from the mating of one dwarf type to another dwarf type, while at times other short and broad looking Dexters when mated together were not producing bulldog calves. With “selective breeding” some people have sought to retain and select shorter and still broad looking Dexters without having bulldog calves. These mid-legged Dexters as some people called them were shorter than the long-legged Dexters but were Chondrodysplasia negative.  The long-legged type (Chondrodysplasia negative) some people called the Kerry type. The mid-legged Dexters though they were shorter and fit the breed standard better than the long-legged Dexters still look a little different than Chondrodysplasia positive Dexters. Chondrodysplasia positive Dexters have a look to them that is unique, and there are still people to this day that like them and choose to breed them to retain their unique traits. The two Dexters photographed in my opinion were most likely Chondrodysplasia positive but of course without testing we will never know as there are many short Dexters that have short and broad features that do not have Chondrodysplasia.

Breeding Chondrodysplasia positive Dexters is now simpler than ever because a genetic test was created that identified the gene and now breeders can test to know if their Dexter is Chondrodysplasia positive or negative. With this knowledge comes the ability to breed without the negative outcome of a risk of a bulldog calf. If you only breed a carrier to a non-carrier, you will never end up with a bulldog calf, but instead you have a chance of getting either a Chondrodysplasia positive or negative Dexter from the mating. So, breeders who still like the Chondrodysplasia type can have the chance of obtaining it through wise breeding choices with never having a risk of a bulldog.  For anyone who may be reading this who does not know the Chondrodysplasia status of their Dexters you can find the test here. Simple to test and fairly inexpensive but will save you a lot of loss because knowledge is power.  Bulldog Dwarfism (Chondrodysplasia) in Dexters | Veterinary Genetics Laboratory

The other benefit of testing is that if you do not want to breed Chondrodysplasia carriers, you can likewise use testing to select for Dexters that do not carry Chondrodysplasia while still maintaining the breed standard. Today with testing being so affordable it makes sense to test all Dexters to make informed breeding choices and help buyers evaluate the genetics of each Dexter a breeder has to offer. From great milk yields, butterfat content, excellent beef and the choice of breeding the dwarf type (chondro) or not, Dexter cattle have a variety of genetic traits that can please people with a various goal.

This article was written By Danielle of Bryn Mawr. This article cannot be copied or reprinted without prior consent.