Finally have Dexters!

[cmcgalla]

Hello, my wife and I have begun to build our tiny Dexter herd, and it is a dream come true. We never thought we could do it, but thanks be to God, we did! We raised dairy goats, but now we are moving away from that because being tied down to milking everyday, feed and so on we are taking a break.

We plan on milking our 4 month old Maggie, she was bottle raised and really sweet and gentle.

We also have two other heifers that are about 6 months old. We are going to raise for beef for us, and maybe sell some if we have enough. We are looking for a bull calf now.

My question: what type of vaccinations should we be using? What about worming? The Dexter people I have talked to do not vaccinate and only use the pour on wormer. Since we have a tiny herd we do not want to take any chances, so any advice on what the Dexter is susceptible to, what products work best and vaccination schedules is needed.

We do know a fair amount about vaccines and parasite control, we do our own fecals on the goats and give all the shots. My wife was a Medical Technologist and has an incredible knowledge base and skill set that is helpful.

Thanks
Zeek

[Olga]

Welcome to the Dexter community. The only vaccine I use is the Bangs. It is given to heifers at weaning, they get a permanent ear tag and a tattoo. In my state Bangs vac. is required. Occasionally my mature animals get vaccinated - when they are at the vets anyway - with a 7-way vaccine. I don't really know what's in it, I just tell my vet to "vaccinate for what we have in our area". As to wormer, I use the complete pour-on, Cydectin, once a year. About twice a year I use the "incomplete" pour-on, Ivermectin. In the summer I use UltraBoss pour-on intermittently, it is for external parasites only. Once a year I use a feed-through dewormer, SafeGuard block or pellets.

[wdd]

Contact your vet to find out what vaccines are needed in your area. I use the same 8-way that I use with my goats (Dairy & Boer). I also use pour-on for parasites internal & external.

[Dahdo]

Our vet was just out to do the required Bangs (brucellosis) vaccinations, so I had him give what he recommends for our area also. These include Triangle 10 and Covexin 8. We just have a few animals and I am not selling as organic, so I view it as cheap insurance. Some breeders, including the one our seed animals came from, do not vaccinate and use natural disease resistance as a trait they select for. I wholeheartedly agree with this approach, but until I have a larger herd and can afford to cull on this trait, I will continue to do some vaccinating.

Welcome to the the Dexter world!
Dave

[dexterfarm]

yes go with the vets recommendation for your area. But one caution do your own checking on their recommendations. After a vet gave a vaccination to one of mine the cow aborted. I went back and checked on what was given and there was specific warning on the one that was given to the calf. That said not for pregnant cows or calfs nursing on pregnant cows. They new the cow was pregnant she was there for a preg check along with her calf. Needless to say I was mad and when I brought that up. I was told it doent matter what the warning said they give it like that all the time. So I wonder how many aborted calves they are causing each year.
I will now only give vacinations that have killed virus in them. They are a little more expensive and slightly less affective but dont have the same risks.