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[nocows]

Could someone clue me in on how to shop for a Dexter?
All the really necessary bits like ...
what to look for in a dairy animal;
how old is too old? ;
what is considered a reasonable price? ;
pros or cons of short vs. long legged;
is a polled cow preferable if you have hyper little nephews? (and how practical is it to have a mature cow dehorned);
how practical are milking machines and are claws available
for these small cows?

I have been reading everything posted here in the way of others experiences and expertise and the information is very helpful.
Many of my questions have already been answered in the process.

Many Thanks

[MyMiniFarm]

From the information I gathered while I was/have been shopping for my first Dexter this is some of what I came up with.
One of the really important things for me was finding one that has been handled & could be haltered & led. One that was worked with by the previous owner/breeder so that it would be easier to get her used to people since I plan on milking mine.

Alot of what I have read said that removing horns on an older cow is more painful/tramatic than doing it when they are young. Though I have read where people have done it both successfully & not so successfully. I don't have personal experience with that. I have both horned ones & a dehorned one coming next week. I would also ask your vet their opinion.

Regarding the hyper nephews I personally (just my opinion) would be caution with them around both a horned & dehorned animal, I think a de-horned animal could be just as dangerous as one that still had horns if it gets frightened.

I haven't milked yet so I can't help out there, but I'm looking forward to see what the others post cause I'm overwhelmed when trying to research the milking machines.

Regarding what to look for in a dairy animal I had asked the breeders how their dam was (when I bought my heifer calf), did she produce enough milk for her calves, did all 4 quarters work. Did they know how much milk she produced. Did they milk her or did they let the calf have all of the milk. On the older one I bought I had asked how she was when they milked her. Did she ever have any problems? Any teat injuries/infections? And so forth.

Not sure if this helps you at all but I hope so, & these are just my opinions & what I did. I'm sure the others will give you more info.

[nocows]

Thank you. This is actually very helpful. I've been looking at 2 cows from Colorado and 2 cow/heifer pairs from Oklahoma. I now have more questions to ask the sellers!