How Big are Dexter Cattle?

Рет қаралды 21,085

Жыл бұрын

In this video we talk about the size of Dexter cattle and attempt to measure the height of some of our cows and bull. We invited a viewer of our channel who is looking to start a farm to come visit. He commented that the cows look larger on video than they actually are. Dexters are the worlds smallest standard breed of cattle and cows should measure no more than 46 inches at the hip and bulls 50 inches at the hip.
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About Sweet Briar Farm
We are a small farm located in Central/Northern Michigan. Kelsey and I have been homesteading since 2009. We farm every inch of our 6 acres. We breed Registered Dairy Goats, Dexter Cattle, and Heritage Hogs. Clean healthy food is important to us and we like to produce the majority of our food on the farm and we grow and raise enough to sell to local customers. Producing our own food also means we forage for wild edibles such as mushrooms and tap our maple trees in the spring to make maple syrup. In 2019 we added honeybees to the farm and have had as many as 30 active hives producing honey for us.
Our goats include Nubian goats, Mini Nubians, Fainting Goats, and Nigerian Dwarf goats.
Our Heritage Hogs include: registered Berkshires, Tamworth, Kune Kune, and Hereford.
Check out more of our farm life and farm animal videos on our KZfaq Channel! Hopefully you enjoy and Subscribe to our channel. Thanks for Watching!
SweetbriarfarmMI.com
Facebook: Sweet Briar Farm
Instagram: SweetbriarfarmWB

Пікірлер: 60

@MyqOMatic Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for letting me visit. It was like being my own, private KZfaq video.😂 I was totally blown away by everything, the size of your farm and cows. I was very impressed with how much you were able to do on the amount of land you have. You have changed my view on the Dexters and about pigs! I think Dexters are the way to go for me. For anyone reading the comments, Mike and Kelsey, are just as nice people as they seem in their videos. They have so much knowledge and really do care about the health and happiness of their animals. Thank you both, so much for your time and information.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

I wish I could have sent you home with some real pork chops but we were all out. Thanks Mike!

@MyqOMatic Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan No worries. I got about half way home and realized that I forgot to buy some honey.

@kushcraft9914 Жыл бұрын

Cool 👍

@LtColDaddy71 Жыл бұрын

Steaks are a treat for us, so much more comes off a carcass that isn’t appreciated enough. But the beauty of a dexter steak, is you can have a crazy thick cut, yet it’s a good portion one can finish. They are so much better when it comes to grazing cover crops on ground that’s going to be planted with a cash crop. I predict Dexters will become a craze one day. One big factor is going to be opening up custom processors to cut beef that can be sold by the cut, and a pathway to on farm processing. It should be strict, safe and practical, and require training. I pray one day we can shorten the supply chain to under 100 miles for 90% of the food consumed.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

100% We need more small farmers and processors. Our local guy is custom exempt so we can do halves and wholes legally through him. The closest UDSA processor is about 40 minutes away which isn’t too bad.

@dolcepescas6153 Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan is it illegal for you to sell just straight to customers, not through stores, just by word of mouth, they come pick up from you? if so that's a shame

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

@@dolcepescas6153 it is illegal to sell cuts from your freezer direct to consumer without a license. The meat needs to be processed at a USDA facility as well.

@GWPHomestead Жыл бұрын

One of our goals for the next couple of years is to get a jersey for dairy. I know of at least one person who breeds their jersey to a dexter for beef and after seeing your herd I think that may be a great option for us.

@LarryWatson-zw8pz 11 ай бұрын

I’ve got a polled dexter bull and 3 jersey crossed with main Cows ! My calf’s this spring were 40 pounders and each one was a morning surprise!! 3 bull calf’s and a heifer !! Can’t wait till we are able to eat one !

@great0789 Жыл бұрын

We just got our first two Dexter heifer calves a few weeks ago here at the place. We are halter training them and giving them lots of hands-on attention. Looking forward to using them as seed for a future herd! They are both Homozygous Polled, A2/A2, non-Condro, non-PHA, and Red in color.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Awesome. They are great cows. We love the reds! Happy Holidays!

@beccarepurposed3416 2 ай бұрын

❤

@denisebrady6858 Жыл бұрын

Guys that was so interesting- your knowledge is exceptional regarding your cattle. Do you have chickens at all as I haven't seen them ? Cheers Denise- Australia

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

We do have some chickens. We just replaced a bunch of old chickens.

@cavalryscout8720 2 ай бұрын

Awesome information.. I've been considering a breeding pair of Dexter's to start a beef and dairy (multi-purpose) for our small homestead.. Question out of curiosity.. is the Dexter bull tall enough to breed your Jersey..??

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan 2 ай бұрын

Yes he is. Our Jersey calves with her first calf a few weeks ago. He is shown on a video we posted yesterday.

@abelromero4373 10 ай бұрын

Yes those are mini cows, however there are micro mini jersey I have two of them. Very loveable and friendly

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan 10 ай бұрын

We have one standard jersey who has just the best temperament. Very loves me and friendly as you say. How big are your micros? How much milk do they produce?

@ScottyHunter 8 ай бұрын

I know this video is a bit older, but I found it rather interesting. I'm still a few years out from a homestead but am considering cattle suitable for small acres. No major herd, just one or two cows for milk, and a bull for breeding. Do you find any attitude issues with your bull? Being smaller, does he have the "short man syndrome" and act up more than a larger breed bull might? Ever have any issues handling him? Do/Did you run him with your cows full time or did he need to be separated off?

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan 8 ай бұрын

Good questions! We were planning on making a video on maintaining/working with bulls on a small farm. We will address those questions!

@ScottyHunter 8 ай бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Sounds great. I'll keep an eye open for it!

@GHuh10 Жыл бұрын

I want a farm now

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

You have to hate money lol 😄

@hilltopgardenstn 8 ай бұрын

So .r P has no issues breeding that jersey?

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan 8 ай бұрын

I saw him breed her, she is about the same height as our tallest Dexter. I have heard others that have had Dexter bulls breed much taller cows. We also know breeders that have chondro bulls that breed long legged dexters with no problems. As one put it “he had a good jump shot”😃 ** edit** I just realized this video was from last year. That jersey ended up getting culled she would get ovarian cysts and never got bred. Our current jersey is much shorter.

@RockingRDranch Жыл бұрын

Just curious, how many head do you run on 6 acres? We just bought 10 acres here in sw Missouri. Also they seem real gentle on fences . How do they do with fencing I'm thinking of doing electric

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

We have 13 head. But we feed a lot of hay. We have field fence perimeter but also run two strands of electric about 2 feet and at the top. If we didn’t live on quite so “busy” of a road I would just go high tensile with electric. But I don’t want to risk a calf slipping through and getting on the road.

@tinolopez3136 Жыл бұрын

Torn between belted Galloway and dexters. Just trying to raise a couple each year for beef, no plans in breeding or starting a heard yet . Any advice ?

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Dexters are smaller. We have a friend that raises belties he switched from angus and is happy with them. Dexters will be more efficient on grass and hay than belties. But I don’t think you could go wrong with either breed.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Whichever you have closer access to might be a determining factor. This year should be the last year we have to purchase steer calves which is a 6hour round trip. We maybe biased but the dexter beef is darn good.

@racheleahb Ай бұрын

Do you have bulls in your heard at all times? And do you find them to have a bit more of an heir of unpredictability than the girls? We had a heard of angus growing up and the bulls always made me a little nervous. I brought my 2 year old into the pasture to see the cows this last Christmas and one of the bulls randomly got a bit aggressive which I have never experienced in 15 years having them on my parents farm. So I am curious, looking into some smaller breeds for our own farms that would be a bit more manageable for kids to grow up with and raise! Appreciate any insight.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Ай бұрын

Dexter Bulls are the BEST! Managing Bulls on a Small Farm! Q & A kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e5h_bJh7vrrSgqs.html

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Ай бұрын

If you get a Dexter Bull that has been trained and handled from a young age they are easy keepers. But a bull is a bull and you can never 100% trust them. In general I prefer working with bulls than some of the cows. -Mike

@dolcepescas6153 Жыл бұрын

Are there certain kinds of dairy dexters? Or will all dexters give similar milk and be a decent dairy cow, as long as they have good udders? There's only one person selling dexters in my area, and he says they're mostly for meat, he generally doesn't sell them as dairy cows (doesn't mean they're not good for it) and although they've milked one of them, and the milk was good just not very creamy compared to other dairy cows... I only have small amount of land.. so dexters sound great, but I don't want to be disappointed with milk.. my other option right now is a mix of mini jersey, guernsey, and brown swiss. Apparently all these ones from this farms stay small, but even if it's small, I wonder if my 1 - 1.5 acres will be enough t onot suppliment a ton.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Great question! Dexters are a tripurpose cattle; beef, dairy, and oxen. However, not all Dexter raisers use their cattle for all 3. There are not different kinds per se, but certain traits are more desirable for different purposes. If you’ve never milked an animal before, I recommend you start with one that’s already trained for that purpose. It’s a reasonable thing to ask to taste her milk as well. She should have four teats large enough to milk by hand. Some people prefer A2A2 milk, this is genetic and can be tested and selected for. Most important to me is the animal’s temperament. Personally, I’m only excited about milking a cow that is comfortable with my touch and company. Dexter milk should be very similar to Jersey milk and a good Dexter should produce about 2 gallons a day.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

To add to the previous response. There definitely are more "dairy" dexters. Some breeders will breed for nice well conformed udders. While some will breed strictly for beef production. We will hopefully be milking our Dexter Jolleen very soon and will document the process of training her and tasting her milk! We have only been able to milk our Jersey so it will be new to us!

@crystalcharvat9743 Жыл бұрын

How many acres would one Dexter need you think?

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

1-2 per acre depending on quality of pasture and how much hay you want to supplement.

@kushcraft9914 Жыл бұрын

💯👍

@nolliesteers3083 Жыл бұрын

Can you breed polled with polled?

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Yes you can with cattle. Goats you risk hermaphroditism.

@nolliesteers3083 Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Thanks. You guys are so knowledgeable about every part of your farm. Thanks for teaching us. I was an aide for almost 30 years with Special Ed kids. I loved ×Orting with them but I had to retire due to illness. They just required 120% and I just couldn't anymore but enough of me. Thanks for sharing. Love you and many blessings

@AmitUP-tp2kw 9 ай бұрын

Dexter is not the smallest breed of the world. Check out Punganuru cow of India. It is worlds smallest recorded breed of cattle. In india we have 3 major mini cow breeds. 1st punganuru. 2nd is Kasaragod cow. 3rd is vechhur cow.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan 9 ай бұрын

Are they pure bred?

@AmitUP-tp2kw 9 ай бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan milk is A2 type always.

@user-cw7rq3xq7f 8 ай бұрын

Jolene jolene jolene

@richardrose9943 Жыл бұрын

Mr president feels judged don’t think he likes it lol

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

He didn’t want people to know how tall he was😄

@tombradley2263 Жыл бұрын

They are so big!! Lol

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Who is us or the cows?? Lol

@tombradley2263 Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan you're too funny😂♥️

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

@@tombradley2263 😂

@jayrich71 Жыл бұрын

I have a dexter/highland cross bull. I'm 5ft 10in and he comes up to just above my waist.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

Is it a chondro carrier? I have seen those crosses they are cool cows

@jayrich71 Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan I'm not sure. The people I bought him from only told me he's a dexter/highland cross. I could email you pictures if you like.

@SweetBriarFarmMichigan Жыл бұрын

@@jayrich71 sure would love to see him. Sweetbriarfarmllc@gmail.com

@jayrich71 Жыл бұрын

@@SweetBriarFarmMichigan just sent a few pictures.