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Post by krisb on May 4, 2016 9:19:19 GMT -5
Hello all, I am currently only dreaming of welcoming a Dexter cow to our little homestead! Looking forward to learning from you all!
I have experience working on a small farm caring for and milking a small herd of Ayrshire cows. We bought our own little homestead 2 years ago and I am working toward making the dream of having our own milk cow a reality! We currently have a couple dwarf Nigerian goats, lots of chickens and some ducks!
I am researching breeders right now through the adca website. I am in northern Indiana and would be willing to travel to WI, KY, OH, IL, MI. If you have any strong recommendations I'd love suggestions!
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zephyrhillsusan
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Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502 
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on May 4, 2016 11:57:25 GMT -5
Welcome, krisb! You're starting out ahead of the game compared to many of us who started with now experience at all. I think we'll probably have a lot to learn from you, too! Right off the top of my head, there are two members of this forum who are in the states you mentioned: hoperefuge and Pinevalleydexters. Their farm names are Hope Refuge Farm in KY and Pine Valley Dexters in WI. Sorry if I missed anyone else! |
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hoperefuge
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Milking our Dexters in the mountains of KY since 2007
Posts: 101
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Post by hoperefuge on May 4, 2016 16:29:30 GMT -5
Welcome! (and thanks, Susan!) We're just half an hour off of I-75, so would be an easy trip for you. There are breeders closer to you, but the tricky part is finding one who knows anything at all about their cows' milk production. Kim |
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Post by krisb on May 5, 2016 6:47:48 GMT -5
Welcome! (and thanks, Susan!) We're just half an hour off of I-75, so would be an easy trip for you. There are breeders closer to you, but the tricky part is finding one who knows anything at all about their cows' milk production. Kim Hi Kim, I emailed you yesterday! (And I replied to your email just moments ago) Fun! I agree, I have looked into some breeders closer but most seem to focus on meat. |
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hoperefuge
member
Milking our Dexters in the mountains of KY since 2007
Posts: 101
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Post by hoperefuge on May 5, 2016 10:00:00 GMT -5
I had put it together that you must be the same person. Kim |
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zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on May 5, 2016 10:48:32 GMT -5
krisb, the cow I'm milking now came from hoperefuge. She bred her, trained her to machine milk, and introduced her to hand milking as a favor to me before we got her. (Hope I'm not setting you up for more hand milking, Kim!)  Kim, you'll be happy to hear that Ebby is such a sweet milk cow. Just this year she has decided she loves TSC apple nugget treats and raises her nose for some after milking. She seems to want her kiss on the nose, too! And the halter training you give your heifers is SUCH a blessing! She comes up to the top of our hilly pasture when it's close to milking time, and I walk out in the pasture and put a halter on her and take her back to the barnyard without any trouble. Now that Buddy is a few weeks old, she'll even come without me having to get him, too. I open the gates between pasture and barnyard to leave an alley for him, and he can come up if he wants. The other day he almost did, but just as he got to the barnyard the Muscovy ducks got into a fight right under his nose, and he took off like a race horse! Ebby was very calm and patient even though Buddy never did get up his courage to come back. Yesterday he came in to explore the stanchion, then left to go meet his big brother who was penned up nearby. His coming and going didn't faze Ebby at all.
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hoperefuge
member
Milking our Dexters in the mountains of KY since 2007
Posts: 101
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Post by hoperefuge on May 5, 2016 12:43:47 GMT -5
Wonderful to hear, Susan! That's my goal...calm, adaptable girls. I've just started training Jammy to milk over the last couple weeks & I'm so proud of her, too. I should start my own thread about that instead of hijacking this one. Kim |
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Post by krisb on May 6, 2016 21:29:12 GMT -5
krisb, the cow I'm milking now came from hoperefuge. She bred her, trained her to machine milk, and introduced her to hand milking as a favor to me before we got her. (Hope I'm not setting you up for more hand milking, Kim!) Kim, you'll be happy to hear that Ebby is such a sweet milk cow. Thank you for sharing!!! |
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Post by krisb on May 6, 2016 21:35:54 GMT -5
I had put it together that you must be the same person. Kim |
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