# Thinking of getting a Dexter



## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

I found a man who has a bred Dexter for sale (bred to a Zebu) she is 5-6 years old and stands about 45 inches tall. This will be her fourth calving. I have raised dairy goats before (nubians) but my husband didn't like the milk nor does he like goats. He raised steers as a kid and loves cows. I really need the manure for our sandy soil too. I would have to buy in hay and grain at this point but I also have 7 kids who would gladly help me milk a cow as well as feed her. In turn she would help feed them! We made goat cheese and such before and i can only imagine how much easier making cheese, butter etc would be with a Dexter. 
I just wanted advice on going abotu purchasing it. I am told no Mastitis troubles, owner is just downsizing his herd and he is shifting towards a guernsey for his milker. The asking price is only $750 which I think is a great price. I have seen pregnant Jerseys for sale for $1500+... This Dexter should kid in march or so and I would leave the calf on and then milk out her extras for our home use for the summer. Come fall i would sell off the calf and keep on milking her and then feed some pigs and such on any excess milk plus cheese etc. I think i can handle it all- I just need a little confidence here  My goal in life is to be self sufficient and not to use tax payers to support my family at all. A family milk cow would help a lot!! Although it would mean a lot of hard worth and going off and cutting grass on land that my FIL owns to bring home for hay in the summer etc. I'd still rather buy in grain than to buy in store bought milk and cheese. Oh i am so excited. What do I look for if I go and check out the Dexter besides checking her udder for lumps?


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## Onthebit (Dec 3, 2008)

:umno: You don't say if she has ever been milked? If she was then how much was she producing? 7 children will drink a LOT of milk :stars: Won't be much left over for cheese. 

Just for future reference; Cows have calves and goats have kids!:goodjob:


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## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

you need to count how much milk you buy now. how much you cook with...and count how much more you would drink if it from your cow....I take it 7 kids and 2 adults thats a lot more milk then a Dexter will produce IMHO....that jersey for $1500 will produce 3 or 4 times the milk ..... yes will eat more but half the time of milking is getting ready to milk....but now milk cows are cheap I bet you can buy a jersey for $750 also if you look around



that is with out a calf taking half of it


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

LOL sorry  im used to goats and goat terms...

At this point we really only drink a gallon a day. i dont drink any milk and my youngest is still nursing. My kids are on the younger side. we eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and not cereal so milk is just to drink usually at breakfast. Some days we do have 2 gallons but its rarely. I think part of it is the price of milk keeps us from having it too often. I am not on WIC and water is free and that tends to be what we drink 

The owner said that the previous owner hand milked her but didn't say what she produced. He bought her from his friend and she has calved once that he had her but he left the calf on her and didn't hand milk her himself. I dont really want a high producer.. I need her to poop a bunch and give enough milk for a gallon and to keep a calf happy.


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

People who buy a Dexter for milking usually do so because they have a small amount of land, not enough to support a full sized cow.

The most common plan is to milk the cow while she raises a calf until the calf is weaned or sold. You fit right into that plan. A Dexter calf will give some of the best tasting beef in the world. A half zebu calf will still have some of the Dexter beef quality.

Most people who follow the plan get about one gallon per day for their own use and leave the rest for the calf. Taking the calf away from her right away will get you about two to three gallons per day, probably the lower amount, although I've heard of a lady up north who says she gets four gallons a day from a Dexter cow. I don't know what she's feeding her!

If your needs for milk are greater and you have enough pasture to support a bigger breed, then you should either get the bigger breed cow or two Dexters. With two Dexters, you can stagger their freshening so that you always have one in milk.

There's a lot of difference in Dexter milk and Jersey milk. Dexter milk has smaller fat globules and is easier to digest. It's white, rather than the yellow color of Jersey milk. It separates more slowly. Jersey milk might separate in a couple of hours while Dexter milk is better left overnight to separate. Dexter milk tastes more like store-bought milk while Jersey milk tastes creamy. Both are equally nourishing and contain about the same amount of butterfat.

Zebu milk is almost always A2/A2. Over half of Dexter cows give A2/A2 milk. It's a little bit harder to find in Jerseys, according to the small number that have been tested so far. Goat's milk is all A2/A2, but you've already said that the taste isn't suitable.

The amount of milk-related diseases and conditions seems to be directly related to the amount of milk the cow gives. The more milk, the higher the incidence of milk fever and mastitis.

The lower production of the Dexter cow makes her more suitable for once-a-day milking. In an emergency, you might even skip a day without harm. She's also better suited to an irregular schedule. That means you could milk her later on Saturday and Sunday mornings if you wished. 

Dexters are one of the gentlest breeds of cattle. There's a good chance that you'll be able to milk a Dexter without a proper stanchion, just by giving her a bucket of feed to work on while you milk.

Even Dexter bulls are nicer to be around than other breeds. If you get a bull calf, you won't have to worry about disposing of him before he gets old enough to turn mean. Dairy breed bulls are notoriously mean once they reach maturity.

As an actual comparison, my friend milks three Dexter cows and one Jersey cow. He takes one gallon from each Dexter, once a day and takes three gallons from the Jersey by milking her twice a day. He sells the milk on cow shares and his customers ask for the "white milk" (Dexter milk) because it doesn't upset their stomachs. That might be because all three of his Dexters have been tested to be A2/A2 and his Jersey is A1/A2. Or because the yellow in Jersey milk is from unconverted beta carotene, while the beta carotene has been converted to vitamin C in Dexter milk.

I obviously like Dexters, but I've bred a few Dexter/Jersey crosses. It's a popular cross among those who want more milk while getting the other Dexter benefits. I have a new Dexter/Jersey calf right now, only it's a bull calf. I was hoping for another heifer.

Genebo
Paradise Farm


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

Thank you a lot Genebo! that information was very helpful! It has convinced me even more than Dexters would be a far better breed for me. I only live on 2 acres so at best my pasture area is maybe a half acre at best. Well my fenced in pasture is 1/4 of an acre and what I can do is til up some of my ground and start growing a pasture mix and then expand my fencing or trying some rotational grazing of some sorts. I know I will likely have to buy in a lot of hay for a year or two but as she adds manure and i work in a pasture I can build up my land to be that to handle a cow far better without supplement hay during the summer. My neighbor sells hay so getting ahold of hay is no trouble at all. 

The goats I had did have that yellowish color to the milk- my husband wants white milk! thats part of what he didn't like about the goat milk. he wants something that looks like the store bought milk. ANyways! Now to talk to hubby and get his okay on the cow. I am pretty sure this would be the best breed for our needs


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

An average Dexter is not going to give enough milk to feed a family of nine. I love my Dexters, but they do not produce like some Jerseys and Guernseys. On the other hand I do have a Dexter that milks 4 gallons per day at her peak, but she tapers off in the late summer and fall. My Jerseys usually don't milk over 4 gallons per day.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I think it matters more what this specific dexter will give. There are plenty of them out there that don't give 4 gallons a day. Since she is only producing enough for a calf right now, you won't know until you get her into a milking routine. I am not sure you can come out ahead if you have to buy all the hay and grain. If you have a source of free hay, you will do much better, but even if you have the land you have to pay someone to come and bale it for you. I paid $2 a bale for hay from our fields. A dexter will be an easier keeper than a jersey usually. My cow is a small jersey.

For example:
I feed my cow about 10- lbs of grain in summer 15 in winter. It's about 30 cents a pound right now (and still creeping up)so $3-4 a day in grain. This number could probably be lessened if I wanted to. I like my cow in very good condition - especially in winter. I buy alfalfa/grass mix hay for $4 a bale and she eats 1 bale a day. I'm up to $8 a day for my cow- without the cost of fencing, milking equipment, etc. I get 3-4 gallons of milk a day. When I am raising calves there's just enough for us to drink. I raise 2 at a time. When they are weaned, I have plenty of milk for cheese and other dairy products. This is just what I do. I wanted to give you a picture of that since it can be very hard to picture it all out.

If dairy products in the store keep going up in price, it might be cost effective sooner than I think.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

Some cows produce lots of milk others not .a proven gentil kind milkcow is worth the price .as my cow boy days were behind me I saved up and milked my cow before buying her there are a couple more things to consider .one are her teats of a size not to small or big for easy hand milking you sure don't want a battle twice a day with a wild jumpy beast or to take a chance of being kicked espicilly with young children .check her out carefully .I would have liked to have a smaller jersey or gernsy but all failed the calm ready to hand milk test luck led me to a brown swiss, big and healthy bred to a angus bull don't worry about to much milk buy raiseing the calf and then there's butter 'i have'nt bought beef from a store in years ,ice cream and a porker all will flurish .better safe and happy .hope the dexter is a gentle easy milker and good producer a milkcow can be the center of the homested and best contributer and as mine a big friendly pet .


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

I'm always amused by the reasons people tell you they're selling a particular cow. He may be downsizing, but why this cow? Will he let you pick any of them?

I called a guy up years ago and asked if he could sell a Dexter, and he was able. I'd say he found his worst one - a witch that gave little milk, and produced a scrawny calf. Was otherwise okay.

Like others said, you need to assess the individual animal, and ask questions.

Of course, the best way to learn what not to do is to do it.

BTW, I'm thinking 45 inches tall is pretty big for a Dexter cow. I had a 46 inch lowline/jersey cross which was frame 2 on the standard cattle chart with scale of 1 to 10. Usually the small breeds are below zero. Makes you wonder if she's a purebred.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

This original post is from January 2011.

I wonder if she got the cow?


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

2011   I never even checked that ,i'v put 2 of bessys calves in the fressor and she's ready to freshin any time now   . I to hope the lil red hen has found a good family milker


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