Canadians! - Will the Canadians please stand up!

jim · Post by **jim** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:36 am

Hi,
I was hoping to hear from Canadian Dexter owners so that I/we could network a little.
What do you say?
jim

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:55 am

Say about what, Jim? Liz

jim · Post by **jim** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:13 am

Well you know-anything Dexter.
I am interested in milking-I wonder who else in Canada milks their Dexters. What about good milking genetic lines available in Canada?
I will be looking to purchase a bull this year and wonder who has what for sale.
Things particular to Canadian Dexters and their owners

marion · Post by **marion** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:17 pm

Hi Jim. Another Canadian here! I'm breeding for true dual-purpose, and training my Dexter ladies to hand-milk. I'm sharing the milk with the calves, as I cannot manage twice-a-day milking at this time.

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:04 pm

Me too, Canadian. I milk my cows, twice a day and bottle the calves with their dams' milk. It's a lot more work but I make a lot of cheese and this way I have a handle on how much milk they are drinking! I am also breeding for dual purpose. Liz,cdn (this what you mean Duncan?!)

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:29 pm

Yes Liz CDN'

that is sort of what I meant but I thought we could ammend our names to include the CDN or UK or whatever but after looking at my own details the name is all I can see that can't be ammended!! I used to milk two dexter cows and bucket feed the calves plus bought in calves which I just kept till I thought I could seel them and be in pocket, in my best year at it reared 7 bought in and sold them for £500 more than paid for, less two bags of cake. Our UK economics make that impossible these days - quite a few pure holstein bull calves are shot at birth to save the cost of feeding them when there is no market.

Duncan

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:37 pm

Hmm...Here holstien bull calves go for quite a bit of money at the sale barns, for feed lot veal. Jersy bulls on the other hand sometimes meet the same fate at birth as your holstiens. Hey do you think that this topic is a case of the colonies colonizing the empire!!! :D Liz cdn!

jim · Post by **jim** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:44 pm

We do the morning milking and let the calf clean up and have access to mom the rest of the day. Works real well and talk about easy! We would get about 3 litres from our single morning milking.
Do you folks know of a good line for milk perhaps among to AI bulls available to Canucks? We are also breeding for dual purpose but udders on our dexters could use some improvement. Most of our cows have small udders and small teats.
Which province[s] do you live in? We live in the Kootenays but have land and spend time in Alberta also.
Cheers

jim · Post by **jim** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:05 am

Whoa eh? Duncan, Holstien steers are good eating!
Why is it they can't be raised for beef?
jim

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:26 am

British supermarkets prefer to buy cheap foreign imports so the Holstein steers or bulls cannot be sold for what it has cost to rear them in UK. No money, no market. So the price of a bull calf a week or so old falls so low that it is cheaper to shoot than sell.

Duncan

jim · Post by **jim** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:40 am

Ah-ha macro economics. See my comment in 'Meat from a bull' Not only can we buy NZ beef at our local food store cheaper than Canadian beef but while in NZ we bought Canadian T-bones cheaper then they sell it at home!
Go Figure Eh?
jim

marion · Post by **marion** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:35 am

Jim, I have several "Galaxy" daughters, teats are decent and I was pleased with the milk (and cream!) I got last year, as first fresheners. I am eagerly awaiting calves sired by (AI) Hiyu Renown Magician, who's dam was a four-gallon milker with a lovely udder.

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:07 pm

Just logged on and saw the Canadian thread. I haven't milked yet but am training up a heifer for the future. She is out of Carol Davidson's Warlord and I suspect that any bull from Carol's breeding has a good milking pedigree. Those would be the bulls with the Hiyu prefix. I understand that Carol is planning to sell all her semen so if you want any of the Hiyu you may want to buy now (if it is still available!) Carol also owns all the Saltaire Platinum and Bedford Romarc Rambler (and maybe more that I'm not aware of!) Carol is retiring from Dexters but will keep a few of the old girls. This is a great loss for the Canadian Dexter scene. Are any Canadians considering importing British semen? Our choices are starting to become limited.

Kathy on Vancouver Island.

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:57 pm

You are right about Carol Davidson's retirement from Dexters being a huge loss, Kathy, but I think that it will impact on more Dexter breeders, than just us in Canada. Carol spent her entire life working with and trying to improve our little breed as well as collecting an extensive archive of Dexter information. I hope that some little bird will convince Carol to put all of that knowledge into a book. In the meantime, I am really excited about the use of Salty IV and Magician as part of my breeding program. Thanks Carol! Liz - CDN