Best/Worst Dexter Cross

[cairnhill]

Just thinking about bulls for next year... Is anyone producing any interesting crosses. Any successes or failures and why they work or don't work?

[M Blake]

Hi Cairnhill,

This is in my experience a tricky subject with the hard core dexter breeders visiting the site. Maybe one regular user does cross with angus.
In my opinion those of us who do cross dexter require dexter to continue to cross breed. I am successfully crossing pedigree dexter with Red Ruby Devon producing a marketable suckled calf.
The overwintering of the Dexter has its obvious benefits compared to larger breeds.
I will always need dexter for this process and by keeping pedigree dexter I can always choose to bring in a dexter bull.
Those who do cross should not be frowned upon as we are a source of outlet for excess dexter heifers and cows.

Although I am running Ruby Devon ,I would probably say Angus if you are selling suckled calves as there is a premium paid at market for the Angus stock.

Either way good luck.

[M Blake]

Just an update on this topic which hasn't seemed to have attracted much comment.

Just before Christmas I sold a Dex x North Devon steer 6 months old minimal barley creep for last 2 months £485-00. 2no Dex x North Devon heifers again 6 months £380 each.

All out of pedigree dexter cows.

I was more than happy with this as the cows are now wintering happily till April calving.

Any similar cross breed results like this?

[cairnhill]

Just before Christmas I sold a Dex x North Devon steer 6 months old minimal barley creep for last 2 months £485-00. 2no Dex x North Devon heifers again 6 months £380 each.

These are excellent prices and shows what a Dexter is capable of, perhaps farming without subsidy is possible! Add to this that the Dexter will consume a fraction of the feed of a Continental and the initial cost of the Dexter will be much less.
We've done some crosses but not had anything like these prices yet. We have some Saler x Dexter that have been sold at weaning (6months) for £280 and some Highland x Dexter that made £370, these were 12 months old but were on health land for all 12 months.
The Highland x Dexter were much better growth rates than some pure Highlands and much easier to finish. They are very hardy, however the temperament is not ideal. We've had some Red Poll x Dexters, however we only had a few and nearly all heifers, they were excellent, found them slightly more nervous than the pure Dexters, however good size and very good mothers, also fairly hardy. We have tried using a Whitebred Shorthorn bull this year on a group of Dexters, it is a little early to evaluate them, however they are the easiest calving bull I've used yet, very pleased so far, not had to assist and I have around 15. The calves are so quite, some hardly even bothered about being tagged.
I am looking at another bull this year so thinking of a few options perhaps Angus or Sussex.

[ann]

We have tried using a Whitebred Shorthorn bull this year on a group of Dexters, it is a little early to evaluate them, however they are the easiest calving bull I've used yet, very pleased so far, not had to assist and I have around 15. The calves are so quite, some hardly even bothered about being tagged.

Just interested to know why you aren't staying with the Shorthorn bull if he has given you good calves.

I used varies bulls by AI years ago and the best cross for temperament was the welsh black, I still have one old cross female and over the years she has produced to my dexter bulls some top quality calves and non have killed out at less than 280 kg dead weight most over that, and so quiet, worth thinking about.

[cairnhill]

Hi Ann,

I have thought the Welsh black would be a nice cross but not too many up here. I will be keeping the Whitebred Shorthorn for one group of 30-40 cows/heifers, however I think I will need one more as my preference would be to have around 30 cows per bull to get a tighter spring calving. I've got a Highland x Beef shorthorn bull that has produced some nice calves, although he was not easy calving with some heifers so I've only used the mature Dexters this year. I've also got a 3 year old Dexter bull, however in his first year he was a little slow off the mark, but it was his first year!
I could go for another Whitebred, however I am slightly nervous that the genetics may be a bit close between them as there are not too many of them left.

[Boofarm]

Interested to hear the comments on the Whitebred Shorthorn since we are looking at one for next year - what are his heifers like for size and growth rate?

We have used an Angus on our Dexters this year hopefully an easy calving one - time will tell, still three months to calving

Cheers
mac

[cairnhill]

I've not got any figures for the growth rate of the Whitebreds, however I feel it is reasonable considering I'm on poorer ground, and much better back end than the dexters. I don't think it will compare to the "improved" breeds, however we seem to struggle with getting high energy required for some of the faster growing breeds.

[Mima]

We have crossed our few Dexters with our Belted Galloways without issues so far, and are looking forward to using the heifer cross breds as replacements which go to the beltie bull this year.

We were wanting to speed up the growth rates of the Beltie, maintain the good eating quality of the beef we produce and maintain a small to medium sized cow which thrives on outdoor living on low quality forage.

Will keep you posted with how we get on, although our numbers are not large.

[cairnhill]

The Belted Galloway sounds like an excellent choice, I was looking at it as an option, I would be interested to know how fast they are maturing to finishing, our Highlands are so slow but with the Dexter crossed I can knock off 8-10 months! Is there any difference between the Belted Galloway and Galloway? (other than the colouring). We've opted for a Gascon bull for next year, however not really for our Dexters more for the Highlands, however we might test it out on a few of the largest Dexters.

[Sunlifefarm]

I have been searching the web for quit some time about crossing a dexter cow with Salers. I was very excited to read that this thread got started and just had to join to ask some questions. Sorry if this is basic stuff to you guys and gals but I am very new to cattle and only have a small herd of 11 dexters. I was thinking of crossing my cows with a Salers bull. Can I expect alot of calving difficulties. I would think that crossing a black polled salers with dexter cow would make a great maketable calf. Its just everyone I have spoken to says I would be in big trouble if I cross my dexters with a full size angus or salers. Since you guys have experience with this what do you think?
Scott

[ann]

Its just everyone I have spoken to says I would be in big trouble if I cross my dexters with a full size angus or salers. Since you guys have experience with this what do you think?

Intresting question, Salers are renowned for producing quite small calves, if your dexters are non short and you are thinking of using AI and you use an easy calving Saler and make sure your cows don't get to fat it could work. However I certainly would not use a Saler bull.

[Sunlifefarm]

Interesting, all my Dexters are non short. Dumb question but you mentioned that you would AI is that because a Salers bull would be to heavy and cause injury?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

As a vet I do not see a lot of Salers cattle, but do see some. Almost all have a lot to be desired in the temperament department. They are famous as a breed for easy calving, but I think that the claim to easy calving relates to Salers cows being particularly easy to calf, not that the bulls produce easy calving calves. I would be wary.

[cairnhill]

I've dealt with a fair amount of Saler, however not pedigree so a bit hard to know. We have had very few calving difficulties from Saler bulls onto Dexter cows however it could be down to that bull rather than a rule. My current strategy is to try a small number of mature cows on a new breed of bull to slowly evaluate instead of jumping into trouble.
In terms of temperament I would agree with Duncan, they can be nervous and jumpy( 6 foot gate jumpy). Because of this I am staying clear from buying my own Saler bull, saying that overall they produce a nice animal. I've not tried Angus, however my experience of Angus is not too different to Saler, very keen on using their back legs!
I would love to see a website for cross bred cattle with how each combination performs when crossed, as the majority of cattle in the uk are either cross bred or producing calves from another breed it would be very beneficial and save a lot of time and mistakes.