Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

Midland Dexter Group holds a bi-annual herd competition. Last year the judge was from another breed society and he commented that he was surprised to find that none of the herds he visited had signed up to a herd health scheme. In his breed society, the majority operate under one or other of these s...

We are probably not competing with this although I think that we should be. As I see it, we have two main challenges. One is supply. A group of Dexter owners in the Midlands are organised, prodded and cajoled by Mike Bancroft to supply 3 or 4 Dexters each month to a traditional meats butcher in Cove...

I also use bathroom scales on a plywood square. I use very smart electronic scales that I picked up at a supermarket for £3.99 (as far as I remember) as the cardboard box was damaged. I believe in only buying the very best for my Dexters!!. They have lasted at least 5 years so far and I haven't even...

After years of making excuses, I had my cattle assessed today. I found it a very interesting and enjoyable experience. Having pretty decent weather certainly helped the process. I put forward 7 cows, of which one was not assessed as she was over-height. This was not unexpected as I sold one of her c...

Pickstocks at Ashby closed a few years ago. They now operate from a brand new site at Telford. I believe that they wanted to expand the Ashby plant but couldn't get planning permission so moved the whole operation to an industrial estate just North of Telford. I've taken several of my animals there ...

Unfortunately, this type of incident is all too common, but the typical attacks are against sheep. Its not a new problem but it does seem to be getting more common and devastating. Another website I follow has reports of dogs attacking livestock at least once every week. Far from the owner having an...

Is anyone else having difficulty with the Grassroots website. I've tried to enter some cattle sales but it is telling me that I have no stock. I've checked by searching for stock from other owners, and it says they have none either. I've called the DCS office and was advised to keep trying. Its now ...

Things can go wrong though. One of my bulls got a little over enthusiastic with a lady 3 times his size and strained himself. He did recover despite the vet not holding out much hope for him. He didn't lose his enthusiasm either.

I have two young cows, almost identical sisters although one is one year older than the other. Their calves seem to suckle from either one of them and sometimes the older cow will suckle both calves at the same time. One of the cheeky calves has even started to steal milk from a heifer that has isn'...

I know that they are an extravagance but Spillers Meadow Herb horse treats are a real favourite with my cattle. If I have a few in my pocket, they can smell them from quite a distance and come over to get them. I find they are useful when halter training to encourage the animal to walk by holding on...

I visit quite a number of "Farm Assured" farms in my work of investigating accidents and incidents. I can say that the vast majority of them do not meet the required standard. I visited one memorable farm earlier this year that was not only Farm Assured, it was a Home Office Licensed resea...

I switched to a company called Greenlands Insurance Services in Aberystwyth and saved more than 50% when compared with the NFU. They do a special policy for small-holders and I've found them to be very responsive and keen to help.

Concerning magnesium levels, the level in the forage depends on the mineral availability from the soil. My soil is light and shallow sandy loam and leaches minerals very quickly. An analysis of my grass showed it was deficient in a whole list of minerals and trace elements including magnesium. Can I...

I wouldn't describe the Society as being arrogant in setting up the Dexter Beef Certification Scheme. It provides a standard label that we hope consumers will get to recognise and ask for. There is a major problem in the food industry that, despite the requirement for traceability, vast quantities o...

I also took the theory test allowing me to transport stock. As it expired they automatically sent me a new one.