Dexters in WV

[justtom]

Hi, 

JudyS pointed me to this board as a site for Dexters, as the yahoo boards seem to be just about dead.

I have several traditional (aka horns and long and short) dexters to sell, bulls ranging from buffalo size ready to work, to young un's just getting their horns, and heifers as well, both dun and black of each. I haven't registered any of the offspring, partly due to the freezer not caring, but mostly due to all of the nasty politics of the orgs when I got started turned me off, so I pretty much stopped following them years ago. I don't object to testing and registering (but don't know if current rules of any of the orgs allow it), but don't mind just selling them either if you don't care about registration either.   Maybe the political climate is better now, but I really haven't thought about them for years and basically just enjoy hanging around my little cows, as none of them really care about any of that stuff. 

I have a waiting list for beef, and never have a problem finding folks who love both the size and the flavor, but my wife reminded me that I chose this little cow to help preserve the breed, and so, would like to give the opportunity for someone to either start or enlarge a herd if I could before moving them into the freezer. Selling at stock sale or into the freezer doesn't further that goal so I tend to hold onto them longer than I should hoping to find a match. I'm told my genetics are desirable, and I had opportunity to export a little bull to Canada last fall, but would rather dip my toe in the water and sell within reasonable distance (I'm in WV) before trying to deal with a possible headache like that.

My originals were all adca registered and I have been closed ever since, maybe 8 or 9 years (although the red project interests me). Nothing but grass, hay, and the occasional horse treat. 

I may stick a few photos in the horn gallery, but here is one of the friendlier little ones that I'd rather see prosper in someone's field rather than on a plate.  




Hope it's not poor form to have a for sale as my first post, 
tom

[otf]

Jul 9, 2016 17:23:43 GMT justtom said:

Maybe the political climate is better now, but I really haven't thought about them for years and basically just enjoy hanging around my little cows, as none of them really care about any of that stuff. 

justtom, I post infrequently, but your post struck a familiar chord, and I admire your candid approach.

Actually, I'd politely suggest forgetting the "red project" as it did nothing for us but it seems to have dominated the market -- I will never understand why red, polled, and female (the proverbial "heifer fairy") are valued more highly than a strong, healthy calf of any color or gender that nurses immediately and gets off to a good start with a dam that knows what she's doing).

Whatever...I wish you the best in your endeavors with your herd, registered or not. You seem like a forthright fellow.

[Deleted]

Welcome, This site is not without political disagreements but I hope you will stick around. 

You said your herd was closed and all descending from ADCA stock. Would you care to list those animals? If you dont want to list them here I understand. Second question would be have you kept breeding records. In other words do you know who is who in your herd so if someone wanted to register them they could.

 

[lonecowhand]

Hi Justtom and Welcome, not poor form at all, good to hear you have endeavored to preserve the breed . Folks like you with closed herds have helped out the Dexter more than most associations have!

I second the request for a listing of your original stock, and of course photos of every critter you care to share!

Bill

[wvdexters]

Hi Tom, Welcome to the group.

It's great to meet another Dexter breeder in WV. We're up in Mineral County just outside of Keyser.

[justtom]

Sorry guys, I'm having laptop memory issues and have crashed 3 or 4 times trying to answer this past week. Gonna try again.

OTF, see I didn't even know something like "red" was controversial. i just know I was asked a few years ago to maybe do an invitro to help save reds, and although I couldn't help, it's the kind of preservation effort that caused me to get into heritage livestock in the first place.  I have rabbits that a few years ago were thought to be totally extinct, and am slowly buidling the numbers back up, and it's very satisfying.  Besides, my wife really likes the duns in the pastures, so addding a red at some point would make her happy.  Nothing more sinister than that.

Dexterfarm, original herd is www.dextercattle.org/pedigreedb/ponyweb.cgi?search&OwnerName=hylton  I can't recall which off top of my head, but I believe one of the gals was tested and was A2.


Carol and Lizzie are dead. Others still kickin'. I have descendants of each. As long as no adca rules have been put in place that would somehow disqualify me because I don't play, I would think they could be registered with proper testing. Judy has been on me for years to register in legacy, so I would assume that I could put them in there as well. I've thought about it a few times, but always came back to not wanting to deal with it.   As you'll see below, I have 3 full bulls, which are all free to do their thing.   Mickey is boss, but I'm sure the others have found a gal or two. 

Lonecowhand, Nothing that noble and tbh,a little laziness in it too. I have a pretty stressful high tech job, and I have livestock to get outside and not think about it, and when I saw people acting a lot like those in charge at work, I just didn't care to deal with it.

WV, cool, I'm originally from down south in greenbrier county (yes, where the terrible flooding just occurred), but am now in the eastern panhandle.


Here is my main herdsire, Mickey, and one of the ladies, Peate.  Not for sale, but parents of several I do have, including a little dun calf that I just weaned. 



This is Hershey.  He is the only calf Carol gave me.   My wife thinks he looks like a buffalo.  Born in 2011.   Several circumstances have led me to keep him much longer than I'd like,  but it's his time to go, either to someone's field to carry on little Carol's line (my wife's favorite),  or to someone's freezer. 


SirB,  another born in 2011 and which I've kept but who needs to move on.  He's the one that nearly went to Canada last year.   Fat little cow.  


Can only put 3 pics in a post, so going to try get this one in before I crash again.  if no objections, I can put more in as time and memory leaks allow...

tom

[Deleted]

Do yourself a favor before you sell or beef any of them. pull some tail hairs and send them in for parentage. Once you loose that animal you will have no way of making that connection in the future. 

[wvdexters]

That is good thinking Mike. Even if we just pull, label and keep them stored in a dry safe place. We'll have them safe for when we need them.

[Deleted]

Kerrie, pulling the hairs and holding onto them is better than nothing but not a 100% if you are counting on it when the time comes it is always possible that they cant get dna from the sample and their would be now way to go back and get it if that were your only sample. Just this year I had to re pull one of mine because the sample I sent in was no good. Does not happen often but it does happen

[genebo]

Twice I pulled tail hairs too soon after birth, when the birth fluids were on the hairs. I had to do it again later.

I was told to store tail hairs in an envelope, not a baggie. The plastic bag will cause the hairs to sweat and rot.

[jamshundred]

Tail hairs can be archived into "forever" if properly pulled and properly stored.

I always suggest an owner pull at least two samples and keep them in seperate envelopes.    Use paper envelopes. ..  . .. . OR .   . .. .archive them as UC-Davis does.   They use the same type of envelopes that photo negatives used to be returned in along with the photographs.   

Once you have the sample, trim off the excess length.   I leave mine about an inch 1/2 or a couple inches long.  ( Don't do the wrong end!).    I usually take a piece of scotch tape and wrap it around the sample where I plan to cut, and then cut through the paper so the hairs are gathered together with the tape.  Frankly, the scotch tape is too wide. . . . and the BEST thing "I" use are these small colored labels/stickers that I once purchased for yard sale prices.  They are much easier to wrap and handle than scotch tape.

Use what works for YOU. . . . . just don't touch the roots, place in an envelope for storage, and be sure and LABEL the envelope with the name of the animal!

I just finished DNA typing some Rainbow Hills animals that have been deceased for a while. . . . .  all of them born before the turn of the century.  All the samples were fine.

Judy