Best/Worst Dexter Cross

[Sunlifefarm]

I do not have any experience with Salers, but as the comments expressed every thing I read show that they are jumpy. That being said I have a Salers breeder close by that I could lease or buy a bull from, I have walked through his herd and they were calm and non flighty. He has some very good black polled stock. I could see some very good money being made at the auction with the Dexter/Salers cross if there is not much calving issues.
If I could choose my ideal cross it would be with a shorthorn for both meat and temperment combination. However red cattle do not get as much at the auction yard so I like black cattle.

[ann]

My brother is a commercial beef farmer and he always runs a Saler bull and I certainly have not come across flighty Salers, they are, if handled very placid, I think one of the problems with some farmers is that they don't walk among their cattle enough, I check some of his suckling cattle in the summer with 4 dogs in tow and its the Limies you have to keep an eye on until they get use to you.Not sue why you get less for red cattle in your area as 50% of my brothers steers are red and he gets good prices but maybe its different when they go straight to kill. They all taste the same red, black or cream

If you go this way do keep us posted as to your results. My brother is always trying to convince me that the way forward in dexters is to cross them, so far I have mainly resisted.

[M Blake]

Interesting to read all the ideas re bulls for crossing. Has anyone else used the North Devon as we do. They are a breed that do well on grass and typically have smaller calves.
As per my earlier post the returns as suckled calves are not to be sniffed at.

Perhaps the Devon is not so well travelled?

[Sunlifefarm]

Well I can't tell you yet but the bull I'm using now is a North Devon. I used him on my heifers as well I hope that was not a mistake. The reasons I chose him were for those same reasons smaller calves and the ability to finished on grass.
But I am excited about this suckler herd idea with Dexters. I am from Ontario and just looked up the prices, a finished rail hanging beef is $312.00 a hundred weight and a suckler calf at 500lbs-700lbs is $265.00 to $312.00 per hundred weight. At those prices the suckler calf would be a lot more profitable. Here in Ontario a black hided calf gets about $50.00 premium because of the black Angus incentive.
Those who have done a cross (shorthorn, angus, devon, saler, etc...) how much does a spring born calf weigh in the fall? I think the most important factors for a suckler herd would be calving ease and growth rate.

[Mkay]

We crossed with an easy calving Angus bull the AI tech had in hand, both were 7+ years. Both calved alone, one in the field at 300 days.
Beautiful big vibrant calfs. The smaller is 20kg heavier that a pure born that week. The larger is catching up her mum at 6mnths.

Ai'ed a further handful to Black Galloway.