New member considering a purchase

[mongrel]

Hey, all!

Thanks for this great site and resource!

I don't have my Dexters yet. I promised my wife I wouldn't buy any until I'd sold an equivalent dollar amount of beef from the Scottish Highland cattle I just had processed. I'm almost there!

There is a fellow across the line into New York State who has a couple of short-legged cows he believes are bred. He was straightforward about Chodro and PHA--they haven't been tested. He said as long as I always breed to a long-legged bull, I won't have to worry IF I'm only interested in beef animals. Is this correct?

As they become available and I can afford it, I expect to add some tested and cleared cows to the herd. I'm just wondering if starting with these two questionable cows is something that would be okay, knowing that I might not be able to use them for breeding stock.

Thanks!

[Star Creek Dexters]

My advice is this: Start out with the very best you can afford. Your initial investment is going to be the foundation of your future herd. Know where you stand so that in the future there is never any question.
Talk with the owner of the cows, see if he will split the test with you 50/50. Alot of owners around here have no problem with that, many owners with excellence will do it at there expense. It's better to know in the begining exactly what you have. Learned from experience and the experience of others!

Good luck and keep us posted on your new herd!

[mongrel]

Thanks for that advice, genebo. I was kinda hoping somebody would say that. We don't have many Dexters around my way, so until I'm in a position to do a Dexter tour of the eastern half of the U.S., hand-picking my perfect breeding stock will be kind of hard. And I agree with you. I grew up on a small farm, and we had a lot of animals who had one flaw or another who ended up being the best purchases we could have made.

And thanks, starcreek, also. I usually try to live by the "best I can afford" philosophy. Lately, that hasn't been translating into the "just what I always wanted!" outcome. Sigh. But here's to hoping that I can turn whatever I start out with into a herd foundation that can at least keep me in business and growing.

And yes, temperament counts a great deal to me. I just sent the "perfect" Scottish Highland cow to the slaughterhouse because after giving her a year to "settle down," she still tried to poke holes in me with her great big horns. No amount of human contact, treats, or soft words would break her of her hostility. I guess that's part of the problem of buying a cow that's a few years old--Unless you really know how they were treated, what kind of disposition the parents had, etc., it can be such a crap-shoot!

[lsg]

Jan 16, 2011 21:30:21 GMT -5 Star Creek Dexters said:

Talk with the owner of the cows, see if he will split the test with you 50/50. Alot of owners around here have no problem with that, many owners with excellence will do it at there expense. It's better to know in the begining exactly what you have. Learned from experience and the experience of others!

Good luck and keep us posted on your new herd!

I think this is good advice. Even if he won't split the cost, you can use genebo's advice and breed them to a non chondro carrier. Are these cows registered, if not you won't be able to sell their offspring as registered anyway.
For me, it would depend on the condition and disposition of the cows and the price.

[ctownson]

If the cows are bred, make sure they are registered and the bull they are bred to is registered with his genotype on file with the ADCA. If short-legged and you always breed to a long-legged (tested chondro free), then you never have to worry about that. The same woul hold true if the bull you breed to is verified pha free. We test all our cows for pha, but it is something you can breed around even if you get a positive pha cow. My strongest recommendation is to absolutely make sure the calves can be registered before you purchase them.