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Post by kansasdexters on Jul 1, 2016 19:12:42 GMT -5
Carol -
You kept (and sold on to other breeders) 4 registered Dexter bulls, from your Lochinvar daughter, Chautauqua Dulcie. You even bred her back to her sire, Lochinvar. You kept her in your herd until she was 10 years old before you beefed her. So she must have had some extra special redeeming qualities (besides her size) right?
6 Animals Out Of Chautauqua Dulcie Midhill Miss Maggie 15474 Goewey's Michael C Black 2004-01-03 Carol Koller Carol Koller 3 Midhill Charles 016395 Goewey's Michael B Black 2005-01-29 Carol Koller Joshua Abrams 7 Midhill Hilda 017762 Lochinvar C Black 2006-05-28 Carol Koller Rick/Rita Browning 1 Midhill Echo 018817 Leep At Farm Pogo B Black 2007-05-26 Carol Koller Carol Koller 1 Midhill Tanner 023004 Midhill Echo B Black 2009-07-09 Carol Koller Janet Haveron 4 Midhill Ziek 024161 SGF SANT Yukon B Black 2010-05-30 Carol Koller Bill Stearman
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Post by midhilldexters on Jul 1, 2016 20:19:45 GMT -5
LOL are you assuming I knew he was 51"? I don't think even Shaun knew he would get that big. Whatever year he was collected and his height went online with his AI info is the time I found out? Was I shocked, yes, as were many people. Doesn't mean he wasn't a nice bull, but he was tall. As Shaun has mentioned many times we have a lot of tall animals in the NE area, she thought the Yellowbird breeding was on the large side. Patti the whole point is that if leeway is given it is used, it's in print as a guideline so people will be ok with using it as a guide and the breed will get bigger.
Carol K
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Post by cddexter on Jul 2, 2016 11:29:39 GMT -5
Marion says take any cow and breed it Galaxy, then breed the daughter to Magician, and the granddaughter to Warlord, and voila: an exquisite, beautiful true dual purpose ggdaughter: genetically small non-dwarf with level top, fine bones, good length in both saddle and hip to pin, great muscling, beautiful udder, lots of milk, great temperament, the perfect Dexter. A little linebred of course, but not overly so, and with only good genes to pass on, offspring will be consistent and lovely. She has a pic of one taken a few months ago but she won't let me share because there's mud in the background. I've insisted she get a nice pic she'll share. Wait till you see her Briar Rose in milk and the latest calf from Reba (or is it Tabi?) Cheers, other Carol.
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Post by Olga on Jul 4, 2016 11:09:16 GMT -5
I brought friends to the AGM this year. They have had a small herd of very nice, very big beef cows for many years. They have seen a few Dexters, including mine, and decided to make the switch. Their fresh, "green", non-political impression from the AGM was that the majority of the animals were very high quality, only a few "culls", but many "too big".
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Post by cddexter on Jul 5, 2016 12:23:53 GMT -5
Well, Olga, the disadvantage of being really, really old is that one has a long memory for history. 35 years ago, the only selection trait was height, always the dwarf. 'Longlegs' were considered the poor cousins one had to put up with. Many were very tall, very shallow in the heart, rangy beasts. Conformation was just a word, not a goal. That's at least one reason why 'modern' Dexters don't look the same: they've been selected for other traits besides dwarfism.
Until everyone is on the same page, and selecting for non-dwarf height rather than using dwarf genes to generate small, we will continue to have big animals. If big animals are now going to be okay officially, then you are right: heights will increase because bigger won't be bred away from. Maybe the ADCA could generate some info on the whys and express opinions on how to reduce size without dwarfism, and make it a desirable thing for the breed.
"Yes, we have some taller animals, but a conscientious breeder will work toward the smaller end of the height scale without using dwarfism, concurrently working toward better conformation."
I well remember the O'Briar Hill herd of James Johnson, President at the time, and many of his non-dwarf cows were in the 44-47" range. The de la Baud herd had 45" dwarfs. Some have brought the height down but not fixed the conformation so we now get 44" cows with very shallow bodies, almost deer-like. There's still lots of room for improvement.
Cheers, c.
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