The Real History of Dexters

[Cascade Meadows Farm - Kirk]

Dexter cattle started as a type of Kerry cattle in the 1700's and 1800's. Most of the older history of "Dexters" is really the history of Kerry Cattle. Kerry cattle lived in southern Ireland in and around County Kerry and were NOT a completely "pure" isolated breed, but they were the local cattle breed with a good degree of ongoing gene flows from other areas and other breeds of cattle.

Like all breeds of livestock, one might notice that some individuals are larger/taller and some are shorter/smaller. In parts of Ireland, one common word for shorter/smaller things was "Dexter". That word has been found to describe various shorter things found in Ireland. "Dexter-Kerry" cattle simply meant "Shorter-Kerry". So, there were Regular Kerry, and Shorter-Kerry (Dexter-Kerry).

Lots of things can make an animal or human shorter than average. Go into any 11th grade school-class and line up all the boys in order of height, and you'll find a good bunch of rather tall boys and a good bunch of rather short boys. Most of the short boys are simply going to come from naturally shorter genetics, but it's possible that you might also find some who are short due to genetic defects or nutritional shortages. The same thing happens in breeds of cattle... some are naturally short while some may be short due to a genetic defect or nutritional shortage.

In the case of Kerry cattle, they were already a small to medium sized breed, but some would have been naturally shorter, while some would have been shorter due to a dwarfism defect or nutritional shortages.

Regular-Kerry and dexter-Kerry cattle were managed together as a single breed with much interbreeding, until registries in Ireland and England and the US made decisions to create two separate breeds. They visually inspected the cattle and put the taller ones in the Kerry Breed Registry and the shorter ones in the Dexter Breed Registry. This is the FIRST time that Dexters became a real separate breed.

In the first groups of Dexters, there would have been a good number of naturally shorter cattle along with some that had genetic dwarfism or nutritional dwarfism. The naturally shorter cattle would have brought naturally shorter genetics into the new Dexter breed, but any with a dwarfism gene or nutritional dwarfism, would have likely brought larger hidden genetics in with them.

Early breeders of Dexters struggled to stabilize Dexters into a short-in-stature breed but would have encountered some difficulties because some of the shorter dexters (those with the dwarfism gene) could not breed true, and would continue to have some much larger calves.

In the case of selecting for naturally shorter dexters, one would expect that after a few generations of selection, one would stabilize the herd and would stop having larger calves, but those with the dwarfism gene could NOT be stabilized. In order to stabilize a feature in a breed of animals, one has to breed toward homozygosity (identical pairs of genes). But in the case of the lethal dwarfism gene (chondrodysplasia), homozygosity is lethal so Chondro-Dwarfism cannot be stabilized.

One of the first breeders to figure it out without the help of DNA testing, was Beryl Rutherford of the Woodmagic Herd. She did what the originators of the Dexter Breed intended to do... stabilize Dexters into a true-breeding shorter breed of cattle.

Today, with the help of DNA testing, anyone can easily create a herd of 100% shorter dexters that ALL meet the breed description for shorter cattle.... simply select for truly shorter Dexters, that don't have the dwarfism gene. After several generations of selection, you will stabilize your herd at the desired height, meeting the breed description with ALL of your calves.



PS. Does anyone know the exact year(s) that Dexters were separated from Kerry Cattle and became a completely separate Dexter breed?

[cddexter]

Kirk:
I'm sure Patti will wade in here with definitive statisitcs, all backed by references.

In the meantime, all my stuff is packed and in storage about 100 miles away while I live in a camper waiting to get my house built on my new property. So, this is from memory, and subject to error. The English registered in Ireland, herd book separating Dexters and Kerries but printed in the same annual book, kept by the Royal Dublin Society starting in 1889 (but with an earlier register started by the Irish Farmer's Gazette incorporated as the first entries, from 1879). In that first 10 years, there were four Dexters registered, not kept as a breed but as novelties, one here, one there. The English started their own separate Dexter (only) society in 1898, and their own Dexter (only) Herd Book in 1900. The first president was The King. Ireland stopped registering Dexters, can't remember the year, but I think around 1915?

The first Dexters sent to England were from Kerry and from Tait in Malahide, just north of Dublin (he was a nurseryman, with a Royal Patent, and secondly a Kerry breeder and livestock dealer). Later, Dexters surfaced on their own around England. Could have been unregistered exports from Ireland, landed off the boats at Bristol, and selected out by canny dealers for sale to the gentry who were buying them in droves), could have been animals that looked similar from the native populations around England (there were duns on the east coast that were polled and very small that likely got included until they were all incorporated into the Lincoln Red and Red Poll breeds and were officially 'extinct' as a breed by 1906, and also there was a local variant of Welsh cattle called the South Wales Runt, said variant dying out as they were culled or crossed with the North Wales, a larger type, because everyone was breeding practical cattle for size). The South Wales Runt would have been available around Bristol, and may be where the white spotting gene comes from, as illustrations show them as diminutive, fine, black, white horns, nice udders, and white spots all along the underside and udder.

Otherwise, you are spot (small pun here) on. Cheers, c.

PS the trick is to keep them genetically small without ending up with miniatures, too small for practical purposes (who'd want to milk an udder 6 inches off the ground, no matter how well attached ).

[kansasdexters]

Kerry cattle made their showing debut at the Spring Show of the Royal Dublin Society in 1844; Dexters had their first separate class in 1876. In 1887 the Dublin Farmers Gazette published the first "Register of Pure Kerry Cattle and Dexters". The Royal Dublin Society took over the publishing and in 1890 Volume 1 of the Irish Herd Book was produced, containing 118 Kerry bulls and 943 Kerry cows. There were 56 Irish owners and 27 British owners in this 1890 Volume 1.

Initially the Royal Dublin Society carried out a series of inspections to qualify foundation stock for entry into the Irish Herd Book. In 1900 the Irish herd book was closed to bulls other than pedigree animals and after 1904 females could only be entered by pedigree qualification. These methods of herd book entry by inspection and pedigree were also adopted by the English Kerry and Dexter Society. In 1904, the Irish Herd Book comprised 492 Kerry bulls and 3,336 Kerry cows. The Kerry and Dexter Cattle Society of Ireland was not formed until July 14, 1917 and then in 1919 it was decided to change the name to the Kerry Cattle Society of Ireland. This change was deemed advisable as herds of pedigree Dexter cattle had practically ceased to exist in Ireland. The Irish Society then put all of its efforts into developing and promoting Kerries and in 1920 the Irish Herd Book contained 909 Kerry bulls and 4,268 Kerry cows.

At the same time as the collapse of interest in Dexters in Ireland, there was a boom of interest in Dexters in England. In England, the first show appearance of Dexters was at the Royal Show at Norwich in 1886; when Mr. Robertson of La Mancha, Malahide County, Dublin, Ireland, gained 2nd place prize with his 3-year old cow "Silene" in a class for cows of any other breed. At Newcastle, in 1887, there was one class for Kerry and Dexter-Kerry bulls and another class for cows or heifers. At Windsor in 1889 there were separate classes for Dexters and Kerries.

On October 14, 1892, there was an article published in the Livestock Journal and it provides the following information:

"To be successful in breeding it is necessary to be fully conversant with the points to be bred up to, in order to make judicious selections for crossing. The Dexter is an improved breed, still open to further development, and as some breeders seem to have a different idea as to what a Dexter should be, it is not surprising that the exhibits in this class, even at our leading English shows, present such a different appearance, varying in type. We sometimes see Dexters entered in a class for Kerries and Kerries amongst the Dexters; in short I fear the Kerries and Dexters have got rather mixed since their expatriation.

Some of the English-bred Kerries, which appeared for the first time at the Royal Warwick Show, showed a distinct, original character, perhaps to some extent due to their improved condition of life, and the tastes of their breeders, which suggested the idea of a third class, to be called English-Irish Kerries. They were very beautiful, no doubt, but not typical Kerries. This arises from the want of a fixed standard for the Dexter, and a more careful study of the normal Kerry, a breed so well established from time immemorial."

A meeting of the Smithfield Club on December 6, 1892 resulted in the establishment of the English Kerry and Dexter-Kerry Cattle Society.

[cddexter]

Thanks, Patti, I knew I could rely on you. Brain fart had me write Tait instead of Tait Robertson.

Might be worth mentioning that both the Royal Dublin Society and the (English) Royal Agricultural Society had artlcles on Dexters and crossing. My earliest examples are from 1872 I think, but I'm only going from those I managed to acquire, not from searching the net. There are probably more.

And, again if memory serves me, once the RDS took over the registry from the Farmer's Gazette, things really took off. The first RDS herd book in the Dexter section had 100 cows and around 15 bulls, certainly more than just 4 in the first 10 years. cheers, c.

[kansasdexters]

Hi C.

I didn't have the number of Dexters shown, just the number of Kerries. Had to go looking a bit more to find the Dexter numbers. The Year 1904 is when females had to be pedigreed in order to be eligible to be registered in the Irish Kerry and Dexter herd book.

So to clarify: In January 1887, the Farmer's Gazette of Dublin published the first register of "Pure Kerry Cattle and Dexters" in Ireland. This first register included 46 Kerry bulls, 100 Kerry cows, and only 10 Dexters. It did not include any Dexter bulls. The Royal Dublin Society acquired the rights from the publishers of the Farmer's Gazette for this Register. In 1890, the cattle with the original numbers assigned to them, were thus included in Volume 1 of the Kerry and Dexter Herd Book, as published by the Royal Dublin Society in Ireland. This Volume 1 included 118 Kerry bulls, 943 Kerry cows, 26 Dexter bulls, and 210 Dexter cows. By January 1912, the Royal Dublin Society had published 14 volumes with the following number of animal registrations: 678 Kerry bulls, 3,565 Kerry cows, 565 Dexter bulls, and 2,349 Dexter cows.

The English Kerry and Dexter-Kerry Society was organized in 1892 in England. Previous to that date, breeders of Kerry and Dexter cattle were obliged to register their cattle in the books of the Royal Dublin Society of Ireland. Volume One of the English Herd Book was published in 1900 and Volume Two was published in 1902. By January 1912, eleven volumes of the English Herd Book had been published and the following number of animals registered: 238 Kerry bulls, 1,334 Kerry cows, 455 Dexter bulls, and 1,820 Dexter cows. In 1924, the English Kerry and Dexter-Kerry Cattle Society changed its purpose to the exclusive one of promoting Dexter cattle and adopted the name "Dexter Cattle Society" in Volume 25 of the English herd book. Herd Book Volume 27, in 1926, showed that 986 Dexter bulls and 3,896 Dexter cows had been recorded since the foundation of the English Society in 1892.

It was Mr. James Robertson of La Mancha, Malahide County, near Dublin, Ireland that sold 10 Dexters to Mr. Martin J. Sutton, of Kidmore Grange, Oxfordshire, England in 1882. But there is also a record of R. Tait Robertson & Sons, Malahide, Ireland that sold and exported cattle in the early 1900's and he exported some Kerry cattle to the United States (La Mancha San Troy - ADCA 38K; La Mancha Sambo - ADCA 11K; and several others).

[cddexter]

I always wondered why Martin Sutton got involved with Dexters, until I found that both he and Robertson were seedsmen with royal patents...that explained the connection. Robertson was credited with promoting Irish butter to fight the Danish butter market and improve Ireland's export trade. He and a couple of others had built a portable milking parlour and butter making facility and had it hauled around Ireland to demonstrate to farmers how to make superior butter from their Kerries.

cheers, c.

Oh, and La Mancha Hard to Find was (is?) the poster girl for the DCS.

[kansasdexters]

Here's a photo of La Mancha Hard to Find:

[hoperefuge]

This is all so interesting!  I love the old photos of cows, especially ones like this with a person, so you can actually get an idea of their size.

Kim

[zephyrhillsusan]

She's quite a beauty!

[carragheendexters]

Thankyou for posting the photo Patti, I haven't seen  this cow before.

She is indeed a wonderful Dexter. The height and width of that udder is something that we have lost. I would love to be able to breed for udders like that, but even the best udders that I have  ever seen on Dexters of today just don't seem to have that height of attachment. Rear teats are a bit short but in the grand scheme of things ??

[cddexter]

yeah, but remember, old sour grapes here needs you to know she's probably just a dwarf Kerry. Put that udder on a 48" cow and while it's still a lovely udder, it's a lot more in proportion. c.

[kansasdexters]

From Howard Gould's Castlegould Herd in New York, Dexter cow, Kingswood Country Girl, ADCA No. 7, DOB: June 16, 1904, imported from England:

[kansasdexters]

From the Elemendorf Herd in Lexington, Kentucky, Dexter cow, Gort Sunbeam 5th, ADCA No. 114, DOB: July 3, 1907, imported from Ballybunion, Ireland:

[wagradexters]

Louise a copy of that exact same photo of La Mancha Hard To Find has been hanging in our private lounge for 10 to 20 years whatever. I love people who come to see me and don't notice the dust!

[carragheendexters]

Oh Margaret, that is so funny. How could I have never noticed it?  Too busy talking, laughing, eating and drinking LOL
Next time I will go out of my way to remember to look at it. Just so funny.  I've never noticed the dust either.