Dexter Cattle

bragafc

Thinking of buying some Dexter calves or steers to graze rough ground. Does anyone on here keep any? Heard that they are tough and don't need to be housed overwinter.

ravima

contact the Irish Dexter Society and/or the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The are small, easy to keep but you might need a specialist butcher to kill as they are probably too small to send to factory or sell through a mart.

Browning

Kerry Cattle are a rare native Irish Breed and would be perfect for the job you describe. Tough as nails, minimum fuss and no need to over winter. If you interested I have a small herd with 3 (Last years Bull calves) looking for a new home. Make great eating when matured as they take a little longer than bigger breeds.

adne

bragafc wrote: »

Thinking of buying some Dexter calves or steers to graze rough ground. Does anyone on here keep any? Heard that they are tough and don't need to be housed overwinter.

AA cattle are plenty hardy for Irish Winters and Rough Ground

Sam Kade

adne wrote: »

AA cattle are plenty hardy for Irish Winters and Rough Ground

AA
Hereford
Shorthorn

galwayhillbilly

Thinking of buying a small breed like the dexter myself. 1) because of the incentives in AEOS 2) I have very heavy land, big cattle cut it up something fierce 3) need something to keep grass down for sheep. would go with 100% sheep otherwise 4) would probably sell it as beef locally for freezer.

AEOs = 200 per lU for rare breeds = 25 lu to achieve the max payment. 5 dexter cows and 100 galway ewes and a connemara pony for the kids and you've almost achieved max payment without having to worry about other measures in a major way. fix a few of the stone walls which you would be doing anyway if you were any good and you've made up the balance.
This could be a good scheme for anyone working on small acreage like myself as long as they dont make it too awkward.


When I researched this on the net many of the producers especially in the States were saying you could have a higher stocking rate because of their size.The nitrates directive might pose a problem here, Could one get an exemption from the nitrates directive based on the fact that they eat less and therefore put out less nitrogen, therefore one should be able to have more stock on the land.
The calculations are all based on an arbitrary 1 LU = x no of nitrates not very scientific, does one LU of belgian blue produce the same level of nitrates as one LU of Kerry or dexter??

Indubitable

Dexters are fantastic cattle, just a bit small for my liking

LostCovey

bragafc wrote: »

Thinking of buying some Dexter calves or steers to graze rough ground. Does anyone on here keep any? Heard that they are tough and don't need to be housed overwinter.

They are great cattle. The only thing is some carry the bulldog gene, I don't know how you avoid that, maybe ask the breed society.

LostCovey

gliomaigh

There are two types of dexters short and non short .The short carry the bulldog gene which is not a problem provided you cross to a non short.

Great beef serious flavour and very easy to keep calve etc.The carcass weigt is light for ns max 220 KG down to 120kg for short but they are easy to keep and the breed is becoming more popular in Ireland.It has huge following in the UK.

Check out www.dextersforsale.co.uk which has a comprehensive discussion board

Souterrain

gliomaigh wrote: »

There are two types of dexters short and non short .The short carry the bulldog gene which is not a problem provided you cross to a non short.

Great beef serious flavour and very easy to keep calve etc.The carcass weigt is light for ns max 220 KG down to 120kg for short but they are easy to keep and the breed is becoming more popular in Ireland.It has huge following in the UK.

Check out www.dextersforsale.co.uk which has a comprehensive discussion board

Very interesting, i didnt know any of this. My girlfriend bought some (supposedly) dexter beef from a specialist dexter meat producer last weekend and it was rather disappointing. A little bland, almost insipid.

Would the bulldog gene affect the taste and explain why this meat didn't live up to our expectations? Or do the short-legged ones taste the same as the long ones.

Souterrain

gliomaigh

No they taste the same but full of flavour almost like game,where did you buy it as thats very disappointing

Souterrain

gliomaigh wrote: »

No they taste the same but full of flavour almost like game,where did you buy it as thats very disappointing

Just a sec, people!!

Just discovered a basic housekeeping error here. The burgers we ate were from a batch made by our local butcher and we froze the dexter burgers by mistake! What a blunder, I just checked the bin and retrieved the wrappers of our local butcher, much to my releief if you know what I mean.

I am embarrassed but relieved as the guy we bought them from was so comitted and earnest about what he was doing, and so convincing and nice, and what we ate was so ordinary! I was gutted.

I have just taken the REAL dexter burgers out of the freezer (we have the 'inlaws" over for Sunday lunch tomorrow).

I will post a full review here tomorrow, I hope they are as good as you say, gliomaigh, and that we havent wrecked a premium product by freezing it.

Souterrain

PS these burgers were bought from a stall on a famers market in the southwest of Ireland last weekend

gliomaigh

good

I was going to send off my ones to you

At a guess was it in west Cork

coolshannagh28

Great cattle ,quality meat much in demand at present Crossgar meats in co Down have strong guaranteed markets and cannot source enough stock in Ireland at present .I always have stock for sale .

Souterrain

gliomaigh wrote: »

good

I was going to send off my ones to you

At a guess was it in west Cork

hi gliomaigh maybe i should have kept my mouth shut till your product arrived for a double blind taste test!

They are fully defrosted and they are going on the grill and we are opening a nice bottle of red as soon as they come out!

I wouldn't like to say exactly where we got them because I have frozen them and this is not really a fair trial, compared to eating this product fresh, and I dont want to do the porducer a disservice. It was well west of your suggested location as it happens.

I am going into the kitchen now and i may be some time.

Souterrain

Souterrain

Sorry, I forgot to post the results!

Those Dexterburgers were out of this world!

Gamey and strong-tasting as 'Gliomaigh' said, but sweet and went down very well with the clan. Going back for more!

Souterrain

Horace

are the native breed payments made on xbred cattle ie. dexter x irish moiled x or kerryx or must the animals be 100% pure bred

gliomaigh

They have to be registered with breed society,you have to be a member and they must produce every second year

corazon

How much land do you need per head? I have three acres of good pasture in the midlands and keep a few sheep on it. I am thinking of adding a few Dexter cattle for our own freezer. I hear the meat is great and they are very low maintenance. I understand that they can be out all year with a bit of fodder in the winter. Not looking to make any money at it, just supply our selves and a few friends and family with quality meat. Any thoughts?

scub_a

I'm also in the market for a couple of heifers if anyone wants to contact me.

Zelly

Hi All,
I am considering adding a few cattle to my small holding for pasture maintenance. Presently have 18 horses, 12 of which are stabled and turned out for several hours per day. I have 20 acres all divided into 1-4 acre paddocks and need alternative grazers to help with weed control etc. Would you rec either of these breeds for this purpose?

_walsh_

i have a contact for a man that has many dexter cattle aswell as other rare breeds including irish moiled.

scub_a

pm me

jfh

hey walsh, could u also PM me, cheers

leoch

hey walsh could u pm me aswell about the dexters

p.sheridan

Hi, I know this is an old thread but if walsh or you other guys have a contact for some Dexters I'd really appreciate it

memorystick

So how many people have dexters? Are they economically viable or just taking the space of a good commercial cow? Was talking to a bloke today and mentioned 5.50 per kg. I know small carcass and maybe wild but this guy has had Charolais, limousine, Simmental and now has12 of these.


Sorry about old thread but may all your problems be thread related.

Markcheese

What do you mean taking up the space of a commercial animal,??
The stocking rate (per acre) would be different for dexters and for eg. Charolais .
The beef is great, the animals are tough and hardy but i've no idea of the economics of them

memorystick

He has a great grass farm where cattle thrive really well. Why breed bad cattle beside good cattle on a great land? I appreciate the taste element but these hardier cattle are more suited elsewhere. It's like the woman with the 2 kids.

djmc

I have become somewhat interested in the breed myself a few of these old rare breed have a larger stomach enabling them to take in larger quantities of low quality grass and shrubs that modern cattle would loose weight on.
Meaning they can thrive where others wouldn't
If you can get the marketing right no point selling at the mart or sending to Larry's factory
Being small they will do less marking on wet ground can be carried at higher stocking rates and stay out longer than other breeds.
I came across a guy back in dingle keeping them on hills and marketing them as well as selling in the family restaurant.

http://m.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/entertainment/dingle-dexters-feature-on-bbcs-countryfile-29750433.html

http://www.dexterbeef.ie/

coolshannagh28

I keep 20 Dexter cows they are hardy light easy calving and very low input, the higher and rougher the ground the better they thrive ,the 20 cows draw 3400 in subs between GLAS and BDGP and the finished stock make €5 per kilo on the hook running to roughly 170 kilos.
Going forward I intend to run more on a tract of mountain possibly organic ,the secret is virtually no cost ie this winter I have 4 cows and their calves out on a big run, thick fat on no concentrate ,hay or silage

Limestone Cowboy

coolshannagh28 wrote: »

I keep 20 Dexter cows they are hardy light easy calving and very low input, the higher and rougher the ground the better they thrive ,the 20 cows draw 3400 in subs between GLAS and BDGP and the finished stock make €5 per kilo on the hook running to roughly 170 kilos.
Going forward I intend to run more on a tract of mountain possibly organic ,the secret is virtually no cost ie this winter I have 4 cows and their calves out on a big run, thick fat on no concentrate ,hay or silage

What age are they finished at?

coolshannagh28

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

What age are they finished at?

from around 2YO the older the better but some go around 20 months

laoch na mona

where do you sell them? I wouldn't imagine factory prices for such a small breed would be great

coolshannagh28

Its a specialist market but as discussed on another thread they are a native Irish breed with highly desirable beef and possibly the potential to establish something like the AOC system in France which designates and protects the authenticity of a wine of product and importantly keeps it from the clutches of large processors.

Meanman

Anyone tell me which is the better buy the "short" or "non short dexter" I'm thinking of buying a few for rough grazing I have. Need something with little maintenance and low investment.

coolshannagh28

Meanman wrote: »

Anyone tell me which is the better buy the "short" or "non short dexter" I'm thinking of buying a few for rough grazing I have. Need something with little maintenance and low investment.

The short Dexter s are true miniatures and beyond their value as pets are worth avoiding although they re beefy by nature..
The medium leg or non short is the Dexter more suited for beef production. There is a longer legged non short which is milky by nature not as suitable for beef production.In general they are very low maintenance and thrive on marginal ground.

Meanman

Coolshannagh28: Many thanks for taking time to respond to my post and your advise. As I am based in West of Ireland (Sligo) Any suggestion as to where I could purchase 2 or 3 possibly incalf heifers (medium leg) as they appear to be most suitable to my needs?

coolshannagh28

Done deal is as good as any or log onto the UK society website and source breeders local to you who will point you in the right direction

caseyjones01

I am based in sligo and have 4 dexter heifers/cows for sale 2 incalf, and two bullocks one a year old and one 6 months old

Floury

I am in west cork and thinking of getting into dexters I'm wondering where in west cork I can buy some and is there a butcher that would interested in supply.
Also what sort of price would the be ie. weaning heifer medium leg