|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 6, 2015 14:21:51 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 6, 2015 14:37:27 GMT -5
My wife and I are building a herd of dexters in PA and have enjoyed much of the wisdom found on these boards. Thanks to those of you who offer sound advice and are willing to share. I figured I'd introduce myself since it seems to have been slow on here lately. We'll emphasize soundness and production traits within our herd (admittedly vague). The photo above is a nice example of the sort of conformation for which we're striving. We will not market dwarfs, and we currently own none.
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 6, 2015 14:43:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 6, 2015 14:45:33 GMT -5
Just sharing some of the herd...most of it actually. And Cherry's udder. 1st lactation, about 6 months in.
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Jul 7, 2015 9:58:51 GMT -5
Welcome jennyacres. Thanks for sharing some photos of your Dexter herd. You have a good start on a solid breeding program. Are you milking any of your cows?
Patti
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 7, 2015 11:03:59 GMT -5
Thanks Patti, I do think we have some nice foundation animals (in an appreciative way, not an arrogant way). You can see in the pictures that some need a little more work than others. I don't currently have time to milk any of my cattle, but I do plan on it in the not too distant future. Bit by bit we're improving our setup and infrastructure around the farm so we accomplish more in less time. We have some stalls and a vacuum pump. Maybe next year I'll get a Surge or Delaval milker and a pasteurizer (not a raw milk fan) and get to it.
|
|
zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
|
Post by zephyrhillsusan on Jul 8, 2015 22:30:22 GMT -5
Welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying your Dexters. We love ours, and we love their milk.
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Jul 16, 2015 12:08:09 GMT -5
Just thought I'd shamelessly share some more pictures. Belle Fourche Cherry Pie with calf Jenny's Strawberry. We just brought home Cherry's half sister Belle Fourche Peach (seen in my fancy new avatar picture) from Georgia with the help of Creig Bowland. Thanks Creig! Strawberry is also a half sister to Peach sharing the same sire. She was the first Dexter heifer born on our farm and we are pleased.
|
|
|
Post by jennyacres on Dec 14, 2015 18:39:05 GMT -5
Hi All! Its been awhile since I shared on the board, but I thought our first calf of the year was reason enough to post. I came home to a lovely heifer born to YRF Gisette (see the first picture in this thread). Gisette is a well conformed cow, sired by Mrald Rambler's Last Ride with a barrel of a body rarely found in the breed. The calf is sired by Belle Fourche Lasair. Both these bulls are beautiful and descend from well respected bloodlines. You can see some details on Gabriella's site here: www.dexters4u.com/semen/. I'll get some pictures of the heifer on here soon. She'll almost certainly be for sale to help fund some infrastructure (fencing) or equipment (feeder) to help us improve our operations, so any interested parties feel free to contact me at hrshenk@hotmail.com. On a side note, do any of you use oxytocin to help ensure a good clean out? An injection after calving has sort of been the standard on the dairy farms I grew up on, so I've used it on my dexters. But if no one else seems to use it on dexters and clean out problems are very rare then I'd probably not worry about it. Let me know your thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on Dec 14, 2015 20:19:34 GMT -5
We do not use anything, our healthy Dexter cows clean-out just fine without any interference or "help" from us.
|
|
zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
|
Post by zephyrhillsusan on Dec 14, 2015 21:56:55 GMT -5
Congratulations on your heifer calf!
Oxytocin release is stimulated by the calf nursing, just as it is in humans by the baby nursing. (It's one reason for letting newborns nurse right in the delivery room--besides bonding, it also helps the uterus contract and reduces risk of maternal bleeding.) So if your cow is healthy and your calf is nursing well, you shouldn't need oxytocin. While we haven't been breeding all that long, in seven calves born here, we've never needed it.
|
|
|
Post by legendrockranch on Dec 14, 2015 22:58:31 GMT -5
Congratulations on the new heifer. We've had nearly 150 calves born here, clean-out has never been a problem until this year. We had a first timer with a retain placenta. So off to the vet she went where he used Oxytocin to help with clean out. I'd say 1 out of almost 150 is a fantastic track record for the breed. Dexters are remarkable when it comes to calving.
Barb
|
|