Any other option - Bulls

John C · Post by **John C** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:27 am

I only have one dexter cow, which had a calf yesterday.

I've tried to locate a bull locally to either purchase,hire or borrow with out any luck.
I realise that the best bull for a dexter is another dexter but its a case of needs must. The cow is now a second calver and is non short, are there any other breeds of bulls that are not too big and deemed a suitable substitute ?

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:16 pm

Where are you John? And have you looked at www.dextercattleforsale.co.uk?

John C · Post by **John C** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:23 pm

I live up on the Lleyn and I've checked the for sale section on here for months most days without any joy.
I did post about Dexter bulls a while ago but the closest that was on offer, although in Wales was still a good days travelling away.
Inspite of what they say, Wales is quite a big place and the roads to and from the North not very good.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:36 pm

Your options would appear to be either Artificial Insemination, another breed of bull, or take the cost of getting a Dexter bull from further afield.

Artificial insemination depends on you being able to send for the AI man on the right day, so you need to be able to spot the day your cow is in season. You might also need to be there if you do not have facilities where you can leave the cow and the inseminator call in your absence. Our local man would do that but it may not be an option everywhere. Another option if spotting her in season is difficult, which it can be if you have only one cow, would be to use prostaglandin injections to time the season and then you know in advance when the insemination time should be. That would increase costs, to be balanced against option 3.

Using a bull of a bigger breed is a thing which many Dexter owners do, and some with little calving difficulties but you need to be careful. It is probably only advisable on larger types, I would not do it on any of my current home bred females as I have been breeding to keep size to what I think a Dexter was meant to be. But Limousins can be used, I would think Galloways or Welsh Black or Highland would be quite suitable. I would tend to advise against Simmental, Charolais or even some modern Angus bulls unless you know they produce easy calves and you are sure your cow is big enough.

Option 3 is go further for the sort of bull you really want to use - depends of course on what finances permit, but if you are really keen to breed pure rather than make money out of keeping the cow, or at least have minimum cost, it is an option well worth thinking about. When I had only one cow and had had poorish results from AI I pushed the boat out and bought Ilsington Bramble who was the best bull in the Rare Breeds Sale at Stoneleigh in 1989. If I had not done so I would not have become half so involved with the breed as I have and would consequently have missed out on an awful lot over the last almost 20 years. It led me on to putting Bramble on AI, having more contact with the DCS through that, becoming Council member as a nominated Vice President (now discontinued), becoming a Field Advisor and Inspector - lots of interesting stuff, lots of friends and aquaintances I otherwise would not have had. This may not be for you, I just give it as an account of how a similar situation went for me.

Duncan

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:44 pm

I'd advise against Limousin (I'd advise against any non-native, but that's another issue), we had one (not intentionally), it was a very difficult calving, subsequently the calf did no good & neither did the cow, the vets bills alone would have bought half a decent Dexter bull.

John C · Post by **John C** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:46 pm

The only viable option for me would be to buy an entire young male at a price that would be reasonable enough for me to put him in the freezer after he had achieved his goal.
We are in a big Welsh Black area.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:52 pm

Are there any other Dexter breeders in that area with just a few cows? If so a bull share system may be good, or buy-to-hire?

And have you tried a wanted ad to the effect on here?

redhill · Post by **redhill** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:42 pm

John read the topic" How close can you go" you have a non short bull calf ,why not use Rodney,It means waiting a while,[not very long if our February born boys are anything to go by], until you find an alternative we have a policy of always putting son to mother just once ,to see if there is anything undesirable lurking in the background,and as both Rodney and Mum are non short I think you would be OK.what does every one else think . Best wishes Sue

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:35 am

If you were prepared to have a long gap between calving, putting her back to her son would certainly be one option. I have two young calves on the ground at the moment. One, a brother - sister mating, the other a dam - son mating, I am quite sure you wouldn’t pick them out of the bunch. I have used the Welsh Black cross in the past, but that was to A.I. and I consulted with the Society to try and ensure it was an easy calving bull. In common with other breeds they have got much bigger over the years, which could give problems.

ann · Post by **ann** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:23 am

Hi John

I have used a welsh black on a non short dexter cow with no problems, welsh black are easy calver's and the calves are small, but make a very good carcase and are very good eating

John C · Post by **John C** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:00 pm

Thanks Ann.

I've actually got Rodneys entire brother on the place who was born on the 7th of July 2006 , I would have liked to have had an outcross but If you think it would be alright ?

I wouldn't mind swapping him for something similar but at the end of the day everything we breed is destined for our freezer after all.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:23 pm

Just a thought, but if you find yourself travelling to find a bull, and you're never going to keep anything pedigree anyway, might it not be better to just buy in the odd bull, steer or heifer from a Dexter breeder as required (especially at current prices)? Could solve a lot of hassle & maybe help someone else out too. It'd also free up more land for freezer stock.

John C · Post by **John C** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:56 pm

If I could start again thats exactly what i would do Rob. I wish I'd known of this site before I'd started out

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:35 pm

Ann

Did the welsh black-dexter cross taste like dexter?