Average herd size?

[Rob R]

Does anyone know exactly how many pedigree Dexter herds there are in the UK, and what the average herd size is? It's not for anything important, just general musing...

[Mark Bowles]

I think it is around 4 to 6 animals.

[Rob R]

I've had a quick flick through the 2010 herdbook and I was just going to do the A's but I got carried away and well into the B's before I realised, so at least the sample is a little larger, a total of 134 herds;

36.6% No returns
1.5% German herds (not covered by the returns)
61.9% of herds had 801 pedigree animals, making the average 9.65 per herd

I guess that makes your 4 - 6 about right for breeding animals Mark, as of course the returns include youngstock that'll be sold on. I wish I had time to go through them all, as 'C' would have increased the average with a herd of 176 (which made me realise I'd gone too far).

[brufisk]

Sorry I'm new to this. What are the A B and C 's

[Rob R]

It's just the herd owners surnames, in the herdbook, listed in alphabetical order.