2 HERD BULLS FOR SALE

[dbaker]

I know I have not posted in a very long time, so hello again. I now have a website up & running.  It is a simple website, I am not a webmaster.  I have some pics of some of my animals with 2 of my bulls that are for sale.  Both are proven & VERY gentle, beautiful animals.  Both are registered with ADCA.   Take a look at www.grassycreekdexters.com & give me your comments.  I have 3 bulls & need to move 2 of them to happy homes.  Thanks & Happy New Year!

[dbaker]

I have updated my website with new information & new pictures. Please take a look. Thanks

www.grassycreekdexters.com

[zephyrhillsusan]

I'm not in the market for a bull, but if you really mean it about comments on your website, I'll give you some input.  

First of all, your photos are mostly bright and clear, and your animals show up well, especially the two on the banner of your home page.  Your website is simple and not too cluttered, and I personally think that is preferable to trying to cram too much into the space.

One suggestion is you might have a For Sale page.  You can include links from the animals' names to their ADCA pedigrees.  This helps people get more information easily without having to email you.

You might also add a Herd Book or My Herd page, listing each animal by name with a high quality photo of it and a link to its ADCA pedigree.  You can add a little blurb about each animal, mentioning things that don't show up on the pedigree page such as A2 status, temperament, etc.  This would be similar to the captions you have for your herd leader (WOW! what a set of horns!  and diva, just more information that will help people understand your breeding approach.

Here are some examples of what I mean.
Hope Refuge Farm - Hers is more detailed because she had a pro set it up, but it's very thorough.
Zephyr Hill Farm - This is ours.  I set it up using my Blogspot blog without any training or help.  So it is what it is!  The blog is the main feature you see, but if you look at the top right, you will see that I have other pages.  I need to update the Our Breeding Philosophy and Our Herd page, and I need some better photos, especially of Ebony, but this gives you an idea of a very simple and easy way to give information about your herd.  If Blogspot allowed me more pages, I'd do it the way Kim does, with a link from a photo leading to a separate page for each animal.  Once they're sold, they go on the Herd Archives page, but I have to move Macree.  

Finally, here's a post I did on photographing Dexters. I mostly included how NOT to photos.  That's why I say I need to update Ebony's photo because she was in her winter coat without the sun shining to highlight her features.  The one of Siobhan on the Herd page is much better with the sunlight on her summer coat.  I no longer use head-on shots as they tend to make the animals look weird.  And although you don't actually want a photo of a bull peeing, right after or right before puts him in a good stance.  It's important to get the animals side on, a tad closer to the rear than to their middle, to show off their hindquarters.  I'll be working on getting a good photo of our bull once he sheds his winter coat, and until then I won't post one.  A bad photo stays on the internet forever and can come back to haunt you.

I hope this feedback helps.  I love bouncing things off other people; it always makes me see another perspective I might have missed.

[dbaker]

Susan, Yes I am very serious about comments. I need all the help I can get. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I will start on these upgrades immediately. Thanks again!!!!!

[cddexter]

nice clean website. well done.

I'm guessing Dancer is a dwarf?

As an old fart with strong opinions on how English she is not spoke these days, I might suggest the caption could read Dancer and I, since you are using the subjective, not the objective case here Or you could say this picture is of Dancer and me, if you want to keep the 'me'. I'm probably the only one who notices these things...

Also, instead of commenting just on curls (cosmetic, cutsie), you might appeal to a wider audience if you comment on both bulls' exceptional length (more high end cuts), good sheath attachment (becoming a problem with some herds), heavy muscling (check out the volume of muscle just in front of the hock, which translates to heavy muscle throught the animals), good feet, etc. as an incentive for someone to want them to improve qualities in their own herds.

Good luck with your sales.

Cheers, Carol Davidson.

[dbaker]

Thanks Carol, I am taking your comments seriously also. No Dancer is not a dwarf, I must be standing slightly uphill from him. He is actually 44 inches tall at the shoulders. But I am also tall.

Both you & Susan (& anyone who knows),I need help: I inserted more pages & got my animal moved to the correct page, BUT, how do I link my animal to their ADCA Pedigree page. I tried to right click on the URL but I cannot copy & paste it. I even wrote that long URL down & typed it in, but it just would not work. HELP

[dbaker]

I got it! I played around enough that I mistakenly found out how to do it. I am still learning this website thing. Thanks. www.grassycreekdexters.com

[zephyrhillsusan]

Great job, dbaker!  You've really added a lot of great things.  I foresee a future in web design for you if you keep this up!  It's kind of fun figuring things out, isn't it?  And sorry, I was out all day seeing doctors and getting groceries and just got home a short while ago.  I've always linked words, but I've never tried linking photos.  I'll have to give it a go.  Thanks for the idea!