I received this comment from Eric about his Dexter herd in South Africa. I thought the comment was very interesting.
I have been breeding Dexters on the harsh South African Highveld for over 33 years. I run a small herd, split into reds, blacks and commercial of about 250 females.
They are remarkable animals. I also run a herd of Brahmans and mixed breeds. The Dexters outperform some of their bigger cousins with regard to milk and meat. This one sees when looking at the profitability and feed conversion per herd.
Dexters eat practically anything, but excell when fed well. Some of my surrogate Dexter mothers raise up to eight calves a year, every year. One cow has regularly weaned a calf that weighs more than she does.
My oldest cow is 21 years old and has produced 19 calves.
In short, no pun intended, a little beast with big potential!
Regards
Eric
Potchefstroom
South Africa
Thank you Eric for taking the time to tell me all this interesting information about your herd and the dexter breed. I can’t believe your oldest cow is 21 and has produced 19 calves. I am surprised that your surrogate cows can raise up to 8 calves a year. Very interesting information. Thanks again for this interesting comment – I have learnt a little about the Dexter breed of cattle.
Comment by Dawn – February 23, 2008 @ 8:07 pm