Is it possible?

[Mark Bowles]

I have had an unfortunate coloured calf from a cow. She had a full black hereford the size of a normal dexter calf, its very pretty. My question is....has anyone ever had a hereford coloured calf, white head, underline and tip of tail,and if so, can they say it was a throwback. My neighbour has hereford mongrels which constantly escape over to me so i assume it would be one of them ( claim on its way) but i wondered with all the wierd throwbacks there have been in the breed if anyone has had such an experience.
The sad thing is, i sold this cow in calf for £1000 a couple of months ago, hence i have had to buy it back for the same money!!

[Jac]

Not happened to me personally but do seem to recall an article in one of the Bulletins (with photo) of someone having a red and white calf from pure bred stock.

[Louisa Gidney]

To remove all doubt, and verify claim against neighbour, why not DNA test calf, dam and official sire. That will show if the calf is a purebred throwback or an unfortunate accident.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

My understanding is that the white face is a dominant feature. So it can only be there if one or other parent had it, and this will be obvious as it is dominant. So unless your bull has a white face and you are not telling us the it has to be the result of fence jumping or whatever. Have you checked the calving date, and worked back to when she would have been served, does that throw any light on the situation? Or do you have another dexter cow or heifer with calf at foot you could exchange for it, eliminating the need for cash adjustments? As long as the white faced calf is fit and well it should finish well and be worth a bit even though it is not Dexter. Spending money on DNA tests may well provide some answers but may not have any real benefit - you would need to show that the neighbour was at fault to have any claim, not always easy. Or maybe the purchaser would be happy to accept swapping calves with you at weaning if you have something equivalent.


Duncan

[LISA]

The white faced issue aside - the thing I found most astonishing was that there is still a buyer willing to pay £1000 for a Dexter at the moment.

My question is "Is it possible this buyer could go to Melton in September too (please!)"

[Jac]

The white faced issue aside - the thing I found most astonishing was that there is still a buyer willing to pay £1000 for a Dexter at the moment.

My question is "Is it possible this buyer could go to Melton in September too (please!)"

I should hope there is and if there is not then there should be more people beefing them and not giving them away. I personally would be willing to pay more than that for a decent animal and I know you have too.

[LISA]

Hi Jac, I have approx. 6 very decent females going to Melton - REALLY hope you are there and are feeling WILLING on the day!
Best Wishes Lisa

[Jac]

Hi Jac, I have approx. 6 very decent females going to Melton - REALLY hope you are there and are feeling WILLING on the day!
Best Wishes Lisa

Sorry Lisa, closed herd. Cannot afford to lose my Elite health status as it has taken too long to get it. Know you always have some nice stock for sale I am sure you will find willing buyers.

[Rob R]

I'd love to pay £1000 per female, can't make it pay but the sentiment is there.

[Jac]

I'd love to pay £1000 per female, can't make it pay but the sentiment is there.

False economy Rob.

[Mark Bowles]

I second that Lisa, i hope to take a couple of short cows with calves at foot to Melton so if there are some buyers that appreciate decent cattle there then i will buy them a coffee!!!

[Saffy]

Mark will you be offering them some generous "Luck" as well?

Stephanie

[Rob R]

I'd love to pay £1000 per female, can't make it pay but the sentiment is there.

False economy Rob.

Perhaps a subject for another thread, but I'd be interested to see your two partial budgets for two herds with, say, females at £1000 and £500. You'd have to have a hefty production advantage to cover the extra depreciation and finance costs.

I would have believed you more had you snapped Lisa's hand off rather than making your excuses. Animals are not worth anything unless there is someone willing to pay it. Sitting on your hands at auction is not going to help prices. You may not want to expand your herd and therefore you are not willing to pay any more for those animals. You're no different to me. We can't will prices up, sadly.

I agree about beefing them though - if you can beef them for £1000+ after costs. Not many people can, hence why the prices are lower overall.

[ann]

This is an interesting conversation, when I was first looking for dexters in the 80's my first buy cost me 200gns complete with Charolais x calf at foot, she had horns and no one wanted to bid for her, she went on to produce me some very nice calves, my second one cost me £800 and never produced a calf, my 3rd one was 800gns and i still have her line in my herd. My 4th one was £200 and again I have her line still in my herd. Sadly people often pay good money for cattle and then just get fed up with them and you can quite often pick up very well breed cattle at very low prices. As long as dexters have novelty appeal this will continue to happen. Good luck if you can get £1000 for a cow in calf, the silly thing about this story is that if the calf is a hereford cross it will probably fetch far more when killed out than a dexter. many people who are attracted to dexters are hobby owners and just want a dexter, it does.not seem to matter if its a good example of the breed, judging by what you see sometimes at auctions, if its a bargain they are happy. I don't sell cheap and I tell people this before they come to visit, I also make sure anyone who buys from me gets a nice animal and it definitely pays of as most are still in the original homes I sold them to.