starting with dexters

Sam1 · Post by **Sam1** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:26 pm

hi everyone,

i have recently started keeping dexters , getting my first 3 cows back in july, they are aged 6, 7, and 8 and are all black and short legged.

we bought them from someone who had been keeping them just too keep the grass in his paddock down and as a result he hadn't bothered to get them in calf for two years, although they all have calved before.

i also bought 8 straws of semen (elmwood robson), and we have now served them all twice each and none are in calf.
they have been checked out by our vet who can see no problem with them and said he thought they were like heifers and they are in great condition. anyway we have are suspicions that it may be down to the semen being poorly handled but having spent so much so far on buying the semen and having the vet out a couple times, i have decided that it will probably be best to get a bull. i am not that bothered what, ideally woud like a red or dun but i really just want to get them in calf now asap.

i am in cornwall, and wondered if anyone in cornwall or even devon had a bull available, we would have to buy it as our holding is under tb restriction, but would be quite happy with either an elderly bull or even a young yearling which we could use to get the cows in calf and then eat.

thanks

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:50 pm

Hello Sam,

What sort of condition are your cows in, have you condition scored them? If they are over fat, or very thin they will have trouble to concieve, also if the soil you have them on, or were on for all that time is very short in certain trace elements they can have difficulty to concieve and/ or hold a pregnancy e.g. lack of iodine.

Also there is a post somewhere that I did on when a cow is bulling which may be worth a read, as it isn't always as obvious as all that which one it is!

I can't help you out with a bull - sorry but I'm sure someone else can.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having this problem with your cows but I'm sure it will be easily resolved and youare guaranteed a great deal of pleasure from your dexters in the future!

Stephanie

Sam1 · Post by **Sam1** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:50 pm

also just to mention i live on a dairy farm, with 300 other cows and AI cows ourselves daily.

thanks saffy, the cows are a little on the fat side but wouldnt have thought enough to effect them.

Edited By Sam1 on 1289051576

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:55 pm

I have heard that some find the dexter difficult to AI as they are so small, not sure if that is true though, I intend to go down the DIY AI route but I haven't even done the course yet and see if I can do any better. :;):

At the moment I am OK as I have a bull.

Stephanie

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carole · Post by **carole** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 7:43 pm

Hi Sam
We are in Cornwall and we do have a young dun bull, he is unproven, to be honest we were about to send him off to jaspers because he is over 18months and the cost to register him is prohibitive but if you would like to discuss it please pm me your telephone number.

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:43 pm

Just make sure whatever bull you get is NOT a short leg! Please read up the posts on chondrodysplasia!

I think its more that they have had time off, and are getting older. I have trouble with my middle aged girls if they have not been running with the bull, if they have, and calve each year, they are fine. But - a year or so off can cause them to "switch off", as I have found with a couple of my girls.

Good luck!

Sam1 · Post by **Sam1** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:46 pm

thanks denise, yes we will only use a non short

.

i think you are probably right, i expect if we can just get them in calf this time they will be no problem next time.

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:25 pm

Stephanie, sometimes I have to put one foot up on a side rail to take the strain off my back, wishing I had a shearer's sling when AIing heifers, but the actual AIing is usually OK, maybe because I don't do any bigger cattle.
However, yesterday I came across one who is so short in the pelvis that if she returns she can be left empty to grow out for another six months. She doesn't look that much smaller from the outside but drops off very suddenly on the inside.
Also yesterday, a busy AI day, several imported straws of one Canadian bull had no plugs, maybe exploded on freezing or something, or maybe they were re-frozen, don't know. Useless anyway, whatever happened to them.
Margaret
Margaret

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:28 pm

Edit the ditto. Or maybe I just won't sign off this time.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:38 pm

Denise wrote:Just make sure whatever bull you get is NOT a short leg! Please read up the posts on chondrodysplasia!

Following up on what Denise says about not using a short-leg bull, I would also add don't use another breed. It's probably unlikely you would be, but I thought I'd say it just in case. I've done it once, by accident, and the result was something quite different from a Dexter shortie and not very nice at all.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1289482795

Sam1 · Post by **Sam1** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 10:53 pm

Following up on what Denise says about not using a short-leg bull, I would also add don't use another breed. It's probably unlikely you would be, but I thought I'd say it just in case. I've done it once, by accident, and the result was something quite different from a Dexter shortie and not very nice at all.

well we had considered using another breed, just to get them incalf with this time, as have a flask full of nearly every other breed but dexter! :D

have decided against now but out of curiosity what would be the problem, a dexter cross in general or specifically the cross on short cows?

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:14 am

I put my Angus to a large shortie who I forgot was in the field. Anyhow, as she was large I thought I'd let it go full term. The calf was born fairly normal size. It has a larger head which you'd expect to an extent, but up until it was something like 3-4 months old it had considerably trouble walking and it could not breath very well. It snorted loudly as it breathed, which I presume this is where the term snorter comes from in other breeds (Hereford?).

But the worst thing by far was it's walking. It walked literally like a spider, legs bent in an arch, it was horrible to look at, and it could only move one or two legs at a time. It looked very sorry for itself. I was on the verge of shooting it for the whole 4 months but gradually it has got over the leg problem and the snorting has reduced, but is still there.

It isn't unhappy otherwise I would put it down, but it isn't right and you can see it isn't as fluid in it's movement as the other calves. You'd never ever see it galloping around. I assume it's skeleton/joints are a bit messed up.

I've also had a Dexter shortie with problems walking till it was 5 months, but nowhere near as bad as this one. An very long-standing Dexter breeder said to me once that with shorties, sometimes you have to wait "till the bones knit together", so I assume this is not that uncommon and why we don't do shorties any more.

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Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 10:09 am

PS. Sorry, forgot, we put two large shorties to the Angus. The other one produced a non-short cross. It couldn't find the teats and as mom was quite dangerous when with calf it was a difficult problem especially in the middle of lambing! We've had this with dexter shorties especially with with non-short calves, but nowhere near as much probably because they are smaller and shorter.

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