Gave up an opportunity

[Faye]

to buy a dexter today. I am not giving up though, I just decided I need to learn a lot more about their care and get better prepared before I get one. The one I talked to the breeder about was bred and I really wanted to go see her(and buy her if I had thought she was worth the $800 price tag. I am disappointed not to try to get her but I prayed about it and I feel like I need to put that money toward our debt and plan to get one next spring. Deberosa, I sure am going to need to ask a lot of questions of you and anyone else with experience with dexters or other cattle. This breeder is about 45 miles from me but when I get the chance I am going to visit him and try to learn from him.

[Deberosa]

Another one will come along for sure. Did she have horns? How old was she? Had she had a calf before? Was she halter broke and friendly? (probably the most important question in my opinion) I am so glad Daisy was a tame cow - the breeder meant for her to go to beginners like us. I wish she didn't have horns, not that she is mean but she gets them hooked on fences and really trashes trees with them!

Daisy knew commands like Stand, Back, Come. Very helpful!

Other than that we are just learning as we go also! Dexters have been very easy to learn with though. They don't try to break down fences and are very friendly.

[Faye]

I don't know any details about her except she is bred for the first time and I think she had horns although I did not go see her. The breeder told me yesterday he is trying to breed polled so maybe next spring I can get one that is polled and bred for the first time. I plan to visit this breeder and get to know him so maybe he will help me with a lot of the things I need to know. In the meantime I will be reading a lot even though I learn better with hands-on training. One problem I have is not enough space that is suitable so I am trying to find at least 5 acres of land to buy and sell my house so I can move and also have a few pygmy goats and a miniature mule for DH. I sure have a lot to learn though.

[Drawbar]

I don't think you gave up an opportunity at all. In fact I think you did what more people should do and that is wait until they are ready for the animal. This means a place of shelter, fencing, food and water and that is a minimalist list, having meds and booster shots would also be good along with even more knowledge.

I don't see that you missed an opportunity at all. Dexter are quite common and others will come along.

Its interesting that you bring this up because I am kind of in the same boat. My Aunt has a huge Jersey Calf that is just a monster considering it sprang from a first year heifer this past Sunday. She is giving it tome for a song, but I am questioning if I should even take it yet. My pasture is not fenced yet, nor do I have milk-replacer or some other vital stuff. I know if I bring it home it will kick me in the butt to get all this stuff done, but it would not hurt to wait either.

Now a good friend of mine is looking for a Jersey Calf. I might sell it to him, but I am undecided. Either way I got until Sunday to make a decision, my Aunt's barn is getting overloaded with calfs so these calfs have to go.

[Faye]

Question- if the cow gives birth why would I need milk replacer? Do I have to take the calf away from her or can we share? Told you I was not ready.

[Deberosa]

I have been told with Dexters that you can share with the calf if you don't need alot of milk. I plan on trying it this time around to see how it goes. That is if Daisy doesn't have twins again. In that case it will probably all go to raising the calves.

I couldn't emphasize enough the importance of getting a gentle cow the first time around or a calf that you can raise your own way. We got really lucky in finding the cow we did find. She is pretty forgiving of the novice cow owner. ;-) The woman who sold us Daisy let us lead her around her place to make sure we could handle the cow, I bet alot of breeders don't bother.

[Drawbar]

You can do that, just make sure you have plenty of Bag Balm on hand in case the calf suckling makes her teats chapped and sore...too sore for you to milk. Bag balm will help a lot in this regard.

I am a firm believer in milk replacer (but still whine about the 65 dollar price), but only because I will be separating a calf from its mother at a very early age. You will be in a different position altogether.

Debrosa also hit on a good point regarding managability. My Aunts farm is small, only 40 milkers and she does much of the work herself while my Uncle trucks wood. A small woman, she MUST be able to handle the cows. Last week a first time heifer gave her fits with the milking machine for the first time. She's a great cow, but it took 3 of us to get her milked. Amy just cannot deal with that alone so that cow will be sold...not for hamburg of course, but to another farm where managibility is not such an issue. I highly recommend you get a tame cow. I am not familiar with Dexter's, but that sounds like the right fit. I would recommend staying away from jersey's though. They are a small cow, but very jumpy...and the bulls...watch out. They may be small but they are mean!

[Drawbar]

I almost forgot....if you milk your cow and plan on sharing it with the calf, be extra cautious of Milk Fever. Cows, especially ones with their first offspring tend to get that. Its a calcium depletion that comes from the pregnancy and birth taking all their nutrients and dragging them down.

I am not a VET so take this where it comes from, but we found that over-milking a first time heifer right after its born can cause milk fever. We only partially milk a cow with milk fever so that the cow does not further deplete her calcium requirements by putting it into milk production. Keep in mind too the calf may be drawing down her milk, maybe when you are not around, so you want to keep that in mind too.

Preventing milk fever is the best approach as giving cows IV's in the middle of the barn is kind of touchy sometimes. I cannot remember the name of the meds we use for milk fever off the top of my head, but I guess it does not matter as I doubt you would give your first cow an IV. I would suggest a vet the first time around because its kind of tricky.

One trick I have used over the years to detect a sick cow is the ear check. Cows typically have cold ears, so grip both ears and see if they are warm. If they are, they are running a temp. This works for any sickness really and if a cow has a temp something is wrong. If you do do a temperature check just keep in mind that most cows (at least the two I am familiar with which are Holsteins and Jersey's) normally run at 100º unlike humans 98.6º.

Just a little FYI...but as I said I am not a vet, just play one in the barn :)

[Faye]

Thanks guys. That is useful info and I hope to visit this breeder and hope he will let me get to know the cow before I buy. I am going to print out all the info I get so I won't lose it.