Alternative uses for Dexter Bulls !

[Kate]

As some of you know I have established a small herd of pedigree dexter cattle in central France - small being 8 females and two bulls ! Any excess animals are sold as yearlings or in calf heifers. Today I have had my first enquiry of a different nature - a dairy herd looking for a short legged dexter bull as a 'souffler' - a heat detecter for their dairy cows - the criteria being - short legged and friendly. They are coming to look at the yearling bull's at the weekend so I shall let you know how I get on !! Has anyone in the UK sold to dairy herds for this reason ?? Best wishes Kate Pude

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Hello Kate, is a vasectomy on the cards? without it a short dexter will manage to serve holsteins, I have seen it. Our Shilton Pontius, not short legged but only 42 inches, broke into our neighbour's holstein heifers three successive summers. The first time there was a particularly tall heifer, should have been in calf anyway I would have thought, and she was in season. I offered to jag her with prostaglandin the next week but Willie thought it would be a waste of time, he would never manage it. He did. The heifers got jagged the next two years when it happened. And every time it was the wee bull who jumped the fence, not the long legged holsteins.

I sold a bull in 2001 to cover Belgium Blue heifers, but never got any reliable feed back on performance.

In the 1990's I sold some Ilsington Bramble semen to a dairy farm where the heifers were not well done and they had had too many calving difficulties. That went ok, but in retrospect he would have been better to have used a non-short then the calves would have been more consistent and marketable.

Duncan

[goldshaft dexters]

Where there's a will there's a way & when you are a Dexter you will find a way!!! I know of quite a few Dexters successfully serving Holsteins - from using a mound of dirt through to waiting for the cow to lay down.

[Inger]

Dexter bulls are also useful to put over dairy heifers, as they sire lower birthweight calves, which go on to be beefy little weaners. There's a good market for dairy x beef weaner steers in NZ. They make up a good portion of the beef industry here, as we have so very many dairy cows and have to do something with the resulting calves.

Rather than produce the smaller purebred Jersey calves, farmers often use a small beef bull on the heifers, to add value to the otherwise unwanted calves. We've sold a young bull to one dairy farmer for his first calving Jersey heifers. The low birthweight of the calves, gives the heifers the best start to their productive life and makes the calves more saleable.

[natmadaboutdexters]

Our short legged bull broke the fence down to get in with some Aberdeen Angus heifers and we thought he wouldn't reach. The heifers were very accomodating and knelt down so he could serve them! It certainly is possible.

Natasha

[domsmith]

i sold 2 ayrshire heifers last year in calf to the Angus, both calved dexters. i told him how lucky he was! imagine the beef he was going to get.

my old black and white here, calved with the usual black offspring, but as time has passed this year i realised he is a dexter. still a good calf.

my bull is a non short but he was only 12 months old when all thesewhere served.

lol

dom