Dexter Cattle

The Dexter cattle are a dual-purpose breed of cattle which are raised for both milk and meat production. It is a miniature cattle breed originating in Ireland.

The breed is about half the size of a traditional Hereford cattle, about one third the size of Friesian and is the smallest of the European cattle breeds.

The Dexter cattle actually originated in southwestern Ireland from which it was brought to England in 1882.

They were almost disappeared in Ireland, but was still maintained as a pure breed in a number of small herds in England and also in the United States.

Exact origin of the breed is quite obscure, but common assumption has been that these animals are a result of cross between the Kerry and some other breeds (probably the Devon cattle).

They have many similarities with the Kerry cattle, and many people considered Dexters to be a dwarf type of Kerry for many years. However, recent bloodtyping research has determined that the Dexter and the Kerry cattle, though closely related are genetically distinct breeds.

Currently total number of the Dexter cattle is around 2,000 in Ireland. And it's a rare breed, but is now considered a recovering breed by The Livestock Conservancy. Read more information about the breed below.

Dexter Cattle Characteristics

Dexter cattle are small sized animals. They have wide and deep body with well-rounded hindquarters. They appear in three colors which are red, brown and black.

They should not have any white markings except for some very minor white markings on the belly/udder behind the navel and some white hairs in the tail switch.

dexter cattle, about dexter cattle, dexter cattle breed, dexter cattle breed info, dexter cattle breed facts, dexter cattle behavior, dexter cattle care, caring dexter cattle, dexter cattle color, dexter cattle characteristics, dexter cattle facts, dexter cattle for milk, dexter cattle for meat, dexter cattle history, dexter cattle horns, dexter cattle info, dexter cattle images, dexter cattle milk, dexter cattle meat, dexter cattle origin, dexter cattle photos, dexter cattle pictures, dexter cattle rarity, dexter cattle rearing, raising dexter cattle, dexter cattle size, dexter cattle temperament, dexter cattle uses, dexter cattle varieties, dexter cattle weight

They can be either horned or or polled. The horned version has small and thick horns which grow upward with a forward curve on the bulls and upward curve on the cows. They have relatively short legs.

Average live body weight of the mature cows is around 350 kg. And the mature bulls on average weight around 450 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

Uses

Dexter cattle are dual-purpose animals. They are used for both milk and meat production.

Special Notes

The Dexter cattle are very hardy, forage-efficient animals and they are very friendly in nature. They are usually docile in behavior and have pleasant temperaments.

As an old mountain cattle breed, they are well-adapted to the harsh landscape of Ireland's rocky fields. They are often known to eat weeds and unwanted vegetation, and can thrive on low-quality pastures.

The cows are great mothers and they can protect their calves from predators very well. They have less issues in calving and usually calve quite easily. The cows can produce up to 3,500 kg of milk per lactation.

Their milk is of good quality containing about 4 percent butterfat and about 3.5 percent protein. Meat of the Dexter cattle is also of very good quality with good marbling. The small size of the carcass makes the breed an excellent choice for use in direct marketing programs.

They have sometimes been marketed as a novelty or ornamental breed. Review full breed profile of the Dexter cattle in the following chart.

Breed Name	Dexter
Other Name	The Poorman’s Cow
Breed Purpose	Dual-purpose (milk and meat)
Special Notes	Good milk quality, well adapted to native climates, good for meat, very hardy, good behavior, docile, calm temperament, good for ornamental purposes
Breed Size	Small
Bulls	Around 450 kg
Cows	Around 350 kg
Climate Tolerance	Native climates
Coat Color	Brown, red and black
Horned	Yes or polled
Milk Yield	Good
Rarity	Rare
Country/Place of Origin	Ireland

Comments

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...

Search This Blog