Dexters are primarily a horned breed of cattle. Most folks de-horn their cattle. Seven Oaks Honeybun here is a good example of a de-horned Dexter. She is also a good example of the 'type' that I will be selecting for.
Honeybun will be a foundation cow as I breed for a polled herd of Dexters. I bought some homozygous polled semen from a beautiful red bull and will use it on ALL of my foundation cows for 2011 calves.
This is Amberdawn Ramona, another of my foundation cows. She is also an example of the'type' I want. Unfortunately, she will have to be de-horned in December as she uses them as weapons against de-horned cows.
Earlona Petula, another foundation cow is also fine example of 'type' for my herd. Again, though ... her horns will be removed in December as she uses them as weapons
My beloved Aldebaran Hollis is de-horned and perfect in 'type' and colour ... I'd LOVE an entire herd of dun Dexters. Unfortunately, when I tested her recently, she came back as a PHA carrier. If she were bred to a PHA carrier bull, the calf would die, and likely the cow as well. She has MUCH to offer to my program though and will be retained as a foundation cow as well. Bulls will be selected carefully, with all of her off spring being tested, and all carriers culled to the freezer.
Marjori is a lovely example of a young Dexter cow, but unfortunately, she is a Chondro carrier, and thus her size is due to this 'dwarf gene' and not just to her being a small cow. That is one more thing for me to test for and cull for as I breed toward a herd of homozygous polled Dexters and I have chosen to keep my herd Chondro free.
There are lots of people breeding with these 'short leg Dexters'. As long as they are bred to a 'long leg', or better yet, a tested non-carrier, there will be no issues. Marjori will be for sale next summer, after she has calved (May/June), and once she has been trained as a family milking cow. She will be a nice size for someone looking for a small, easy to handle, family milk cow. She was a bottle baby and is dog tame. Let me know if you are interested and we can chat more.
So ... these are my 4 foundation cows ... and one that will be for sale.
I also have 4 yearling heifers and I am in the process of evaluating them. My goal is for a foundation herd of 6 cows, but I COULD go as high as 8 ... :-).
2 comments:
Even if I have no interest in having cows, I can definitely admire your hard work in selecting so carefully for the traits you want. Of course, you've done this in your Shetlands, so it should come as no surprise that you would be so meticulous and ethical with your cow operation! The world needs more like you, Bill.
Thanks Michelle! You, also, work hard and are so ethical. I was sorry that you didn't get on the Board ... but I'm still with you on all that you treasure with Shetlands ... :-)
I LOVE my cows and look forward to starting to milk in June/July.
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