Post by mossyoaks on Mar 3, 2012 11:06:21 GMT -5
Hello all, my name is Kimberly Montes. I bought my first Dexters last spring and have been lurking on this board (obsessively I might add...) since July. After gleaning so much great info I figured I ought to introduce myself and thank you all.
My husband and I live on 9 acres in the hills between Santa Rosa and Calistoga. We’ve been raising meat goats (Boers/Boer Xs) the last few years with our main buyer being a local Mexican meat market, the occasional word of mouth local consumer as well as a few for breeding.
Last year we decided to greatly reduce the goat herd and diversify with cattle. We decided to go with Dexter because of their small stature (less input, less footprint) and dual purpose nature. We put the occasional wether in our freezer and have a couple of Nubians for milk (and cross breeding) and would like to have both milk and beef from the Dexters, too. In addition to beef, I’m interested in training heifers/cows to the milk stand and selling the occasional family milk cow. (Of course, I’ll need to get proficient at that first...)
Last spring we bought a pregnant cow and her year old heifer. The cow calved in late August and now we have 3 ladies. The two older girls were pretty skittish to start but are taming down quite well and I’m in the process of halter training. They’ve also integrated well with the goats and the LGDs. (it did take quite a while for my dogs to adapt to the giant ‘goats’ but all is good now and everyone is bonded, especially since the calf was born)
Bought semen from John Potter (what a very nice man and a wealth of information!!) and bred the cow back. If all goes well, she should calve again in Sept. Tried AI’ing the (now almost 2yr old) heifer 3 different times but none took so borrowed a bull from another Dexter breeder in the next town. She’s gone through one heat with him (I didn’t witness the ‘deed’ though) and if not bred, should be back in heat next week.
Also am in the process of trying to get all 3 registered with the ADCA. The two I bought are registered with the PDCA but since their sire isn’t genotyped I couldn’t do a straight transfer. Luckily the sire’s owner is close and was willing to let me pull hairs and get him tested. Doing the same for last years calf.
Sorry for the novel, but after 8 months of radio silence I figured you all deserved to know a bit about the anonymous lurker on the west coast...
Anybody else in my neck of the woods?
Thank you all for the willingness to help newbies like me! I benefit greatly from all the questions and answers.
Cheers,
Kimberly
My husband and I live on 9 acres in the hills between Santa Rosa and Calistoga. We’ve been raising meat goats (Boers/Boer Xs) the last few years with our main buyer being a local Mexican meat market, the occasional word of mouth local consumer as well as a few for breeding.
Last year we decided to greatly reduce the goat herd and diversify with cattle. We decided to go with Dexter because of their small stature (less input, less footprint) and dual purpose nature. We put the occasional wether in our freezer and have a couple of Nubians for milk (and cross breeding) and would like to have both milk and beef from the Dexters, too. In addition to beef, I’m interested in training heifers/cows to the milk stand and selling the occasional family milk cow. (Of course, I’ll need to get proficient at that first...)
Last spring we bought a pregnant cow and her year old heifer. The cow calved in late August and now we have 3 ladies. The two older girls were pretty skittish to start but are taming down quite well and I’m in the process of halter training. They’ve also integrated well with the goats and the LGDs. (it did take quite a while for my dogs to adapt to the giant ‘goats’ but all is good now and everyone is bonded, especially since the calf was born)
Bought semen from John Potter (what a very nice man and a wealth of information!!) and bred the cow back. If all goes well, she should calve again in Sept. Tried AI’ing the (now almost 2yr old) heifer 3 different times but none took so borrowed a bull from another Dexter breeder in the next town. She’s gone through one heat with him (I didn’t witness the ‘deed’ though) and if not bred, should be back in heat next week.
Also am in the process of trying to get all 3 registered with the ADCA. The two I bought are registered with the PDCA but since their sire isn’t genotyped I couldn’t do a straight transfer. Luckily the sire’s owner is close and was willing to let me pull hairs and get him tested. Doing the same for last years calf.
Sorry for the novel, but after 8 months of radio silence I figured you all deserved to know a bit about the anonymous lurker on the west coast...
Anybody else in my neck of the woods?
Thank you all for the willingness to help newbies like me! I benefit greatly from all the questions and answers.
Cheers,
Kimberly
(Though, it is comforting knowing that I won't be dealing with trips and quads)
