Hello all,
I'm new to this site and I'm hoping to get some advice from experienced Dexter owners.
At the moment I'm a hobby farmer with just under forty acres of land.About twelve or so acres is good grazing/hay meadow and the rest is mixed and quite hilly.I have a number of sheep and want to take on some cattle.After some research, it seems to me that Dexters are the ideal breed for me.
Amongst the things I'd like to know are;What should I be looking for in conformation in a bull/cows for breeding?
Because some of the land is steep hills and in parts quite soft ground,would I be better with a non short herd or would this make no difference?
If this makes no difference,is there any advantage of short over non short,or vice versa?
What is the ideal stocking density and to what extent do Dexters and sheep compete for the same grass?
There are many more questions but I think thats enough to be going on with at the moment.
Thanks, Andy
Advice please
-
Broomcroft
- Posts: 3005
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:42 am
- Location: Shropshire, England
- Contact:
Re: Advice please
Hello Andy
First thing I would do is buy a book, and personally I'd recommend "Dexter Cattle: A Breeders' Notebook" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dexter-Cattle-B ... 372&sr=1-1, as it's very clear and covers most things concisely, including telling you about shorts and non-shorts.
If you are breeding you can't breed just shorts because a short is simply a non-short with a genetic fault, i.e. it isn't a breed in itself. So when you breed shorts you will get 50% shorts and 50% non-shorts. NEVER breed a short to a short because then you'll still get 50% non-shorts, 25% shorts and 25% dead calves. The book explains in detail.
The cattle will compete with your sheep very much but in a year when there's plenty of grass, the difference in grazing is an advantage because you can put your cattle on longer grass and sheep on shorter etc. Although some people do it the other way round. On average I'd estimate a Dexter eats roughly 6 times as much as say a 65kg ewe. You can mix the two, well we do anyhow without problems except having to be careful what mineral licks you put out. And if you're feeding in the field you may have problems with them mixed.
First thing I would do is buy a book, and personally I'd recommend "Dexter Cattle: A Breeders' Notebook" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dexter-Cattle-B ... 372&sr=1-1, as it's very clear and covers most things concisely, including telling you about shorts and non-shorts.
If you are breeding you can't breed just shorts because a short is simply a non-short with a genetic fault, i.e. it isn't a breed in itself. So when you breed shorts you will get 50% shorts and 50% non-shorts. NEVER breed a short to a short because then you'll still get 50% non-shorts, 25% shorts and 25% dead calves. The book explains in detail.
The cattle will compete with your sheep very much but in a year when there's plenty of grass, the difference in grazing is an advantage because you can put your cattle on longer grass and sheep on shorter etc. Although some people do it the other way round. On average I'd estimate a Dexter eats roughly 6 times as much as say a 65kg ewe. You can mix the two, well we do anyhow without problems except having to be careful what mineral licks you put out. And if you're feeding in the field you may have problems with them mixed.
Clive
-
springwater
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:28 am
Re: Advice please
Hi Andy
We live around 1000ft up on Dartmoor and run an organic herd of Dexters and an organic flock of Hampshire Downs. We try to have the sheep following on from the cows as a rule, but do sometimes run them together.
I find the Dexters MUCH easier to look after than the sheep!!
Whereabouts are you? It may be worth visiting people in a similar situation to yourself for a chat - the Dexter folk are very friendly
Carina
We live around 1000ft up on Dartmoor and run an organic herd of Dexters and an organic flock of Hampshire Downs. We try to have the sheep following on from the cows as a rule, but do sometimes run them together.
I find the Dexters MUCH easier to look after than the sheep!!
Whereabouts are you? It may be worth visiting people in a similar situation to yourself for a chat - the Dexter folk are very friendly
Carina
Re: Advice please
Hi Andy, welcome to the forum.
If you have decided that Dexter cattle are for you then I would look on the Dexter Cattle Society web site and find your nearest Dexter Group. For a very small membership fee (you do not need to join the Society at this stage or own a Dexter) you will be put in touch with breeders in your area and get as much advice and support as you require.
I would strongly advise you to start off with a couple of steers (unless you are set on milking) and not get yourself into breeding in the early stages so if things don't work out quite as you had planned then you can pop them in your freezer. You do not say what breed of sheep you keep but in common with most native breeds these cattle are not like commercials so marketing surplus stock requires some degree of effort as you cannot sell them through the usual routes (livestock market).
If you have decided that Dexter cattle are for you then I would look on the Dexter Cattle Society web site and find your nearest Dexter Group. For a very small membership fee (you do not need to join the Society at this stage or own a Dexter) you will be put in touch with breeders in your area and get as much advice and support as you require.
I would strongly advise you to start off with a couple of steers (unless you are set on milking) and not get yourself into breeding in the early stages so if things don't work out quite as you had planned then you can pop them in your freezer. You do not say what breed of sheep you keep but in common with most native breeds these cattle are not like commercials so marketing surplus stock requires some degree of effort as you cannot sell them through the usual routes (livestock market).
The Alvecote Herd
http://www.alvecotedexters.net
http://www.alvecotedexters.net
Re: Advice please
Thanks all of you for the replies.
I,ve ordered the book and together with that and looking for somebody close to home(Lancs/Yorks border) to question I,ll take my time to make a final decision.
Going with the steers for starters may be a favourite as the initial thoughts behind getting cattle were to improve the ground they graze.This leads me to some more questions if I can impose again.
How often is a TB test required and what is the cost?
Are the cattle as hardy as I'm led to believe(I'm at a similar altitude to you Carina but further north),
I have shelters for stock but they're not totally windproof.
Will the Dexters need much in the way of feed supplements to thrive or can they do well off mixed grazing,and do the Dexters significantly improve"rough" ground?
Thanks again,Andy
I,ve ordered the book and together with that and looking for somebody close to home(Lancs/Yorks border) to question I,ll take my time to make a final decision.
Going with the steers for starters may be a favourite as the initial thoughts behind getting cattle were to improve the ground they graze.This leads me to some more questions if I can impose again.
How often is a TB test required and what is the cost?
Are the cattle as hardy as I'm led to believe(I'm at a similar altitude to you Carina but further north),
I have shelters for stock but they're not totally windproof.
Will the Dexters need much in the way of feed supplements to thrive or can they do well off mixed grazing,and do the Dexters significantly improve"rough" ground?
Thanks again,Andy
-
Broomcroft
- Posts: 3005
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:42 am
- Location: Shropshire, England
- Contact:
Re: Advice please
Hi Andy
The TB tests frequency depends on where you are. We're in an annual zone. We were a four year zone till a few years ago. I think you need to ask your local Animal Health dept, or your vet or a local cattle farmer will know. The test is free. I THINK you have to have a crush for it otherwise some vets may refuse to do the test, and maybe other work as well, or at east something of a race. Don't take my word for it.
Most if not all cattle are tough to one degree or another. Sheep like to die, cattle like to live. Dexters are probably tougher than most but they still need fair to good nutrition all year round, they won't live on nothing. What they need at various times of the year depends upon your grazing, but it would be a norm to give them something over the winter as a feed, even if only relatively small amounts. And you would need hay, haylage or silage for them over the winter. Ours just get haylage and licks, we only rarely feed them anything else. Over the winter we give them about 13-16kg's of forage a day each for grown animals. They have ad lib access, so that's just what they manage to eat and it includes what goes on the floor.
They need some sort of cover mainly to avoid them being constantly wet. I've wintered out before now and it's been fine, but some got rain scald. Trees, walls, small barn, a homemade shelter.
I've not used them on rough ground, but they do clear up my 6m field borders of just about everything.
You may well ask around about Dexters, and for some inexplicable reason, a lot of people who haven't had them, will tell you they've heard that they are wild and hard to manage. I haven't got a clue where this came from but it is complete tosh as you'll see for yourself when you look at other people's stock.
If you buy a couple of steers, or whatever, when you get them back home make sure they are penned up quite well until they get used to the fact that the herd they have left isn't around any more. Otherwise they might want to go looking for them. Like sheep, if they want to, they can jump. Just a few days should do it, then your place becomes home.
And the beef is quite probably the best there is on this planet.
The TB tests frequency depends on where you are. We're in an annual zone. We were a four year zone till a few years ago. I think you need to ask your local Animal Health dept, or your vet or a local cattle farmer will know. The test is free. I THINK you have to have a crush for it otherwise some vets may refuse to do the test, and maybe other work as well, or at east something of a race. Don't take my word for it.
Most if not all cattle are tough to one degree or another. Sheep like to die, cattle like to live. Dexters are probably tougher than most but they still need fair to good nutrition all year round, they won't live on nothing. What they need at various times of the year depends upon your grazing, but it would be a norm to give them something over the winter as a feed, even if only relatively small amounts. And you would need hay, haylage or silage for them over the winter. Ours just get haylage and licks, we only rarely feed them anything else. Over the winter we give them about 13-16kg's of forage a day each for grown animals. They have ad lib access, so that's just what they manage to eat and it includes what goes on the floor.
They need some sort of cover mainly to avoid them being constantly wet. I've wintered out before now and it's been fine, but some got rain scald. Trees, walls, small barn, a homemade shelter.
I've not used them on rough ground, but they do clear up my 6m field borders of just about everything.
You may well ask around about Dexters, and for some inexplicable reason, a lot of people who haven't had them, will tell you they've heard that they are wild and hard to manage. I haven't got a clue where this came from but it is complete tosh as you'll see for yourself when you look at other people's stock.
If you buy a couple of steers, or whatever, when you get them back home make sure they are penned up quite well until they get used to the fact that the herd they have left isn't around any more. Otherwise they might want to go looking for them. Like sheep, if they want to, they can jump. Just a few days should do it, then your place becomes home.
And the beef is quite probably the best there is on this planet.
Clive
Re: Advice please
Hello andy
If you would like to e-mail me at secretary@northerndextersgroup.co.uk or visit our
website http://www.northerndextersgroup.co.uk
I should be able to put you in touch with some one near to you with dexters
If you would like to e-mail me at secretary@northerndextersgroup.co.uk or visit our
website http://www.northerndextersgroup.co.uk
I should be able to put you in touch with some one near to you with dexters
Re: Advice please
Hello Andy
York Sale is this Saturday 8th October. There are quite a few steers forward for sale, and females of course.
Best Wishes
Lisa Bell
York Sale is this Saturday 8th October. There are quite a few steers forward for sale, and females of course.
Best Wishes
Lisa Bell