The Dexter
History
The Dexter originated in the South Western region of Ireland where they were originally kept by small landholders and known as the “poor man’s cow”. Like the Kerry, they are descended from the predominately black cattle of the early Celts.
The frequently heard theory that the Dexter are a comparatively new breed is a complete fallacy; the breed is fully described and mentioned by its proper name in a report on Irish cattle; written in 1845, by Mr David Low. From this publication it is noted that the breed owes its modern appearance, name, and probably qualities to a Mr. Dexter, agent to a Lord Howarden, who came to Ireland in 1750 and made his home in County Tipperary. David Low stated that a Mr. Dexter had produced his curious breed by selection from the best of the hardy mountain cattle of the area – and to have succeeded to a very high degree.
At the turn of the 20th century, Dexters became the show cattle of the English gentry. As the 20th century progressed, Dexter numbers declined. In the 1970s, they were designated as rare and endangered. More recently, their attractiveness to small landholders has seen a significant increase in their numbers globally. As a result, the Dexter is the best example of a domestic cattle breed saved from extinction.
Characteristics
The Dexter breed is a small breed of cattle. It is a dual-purpose breed, with the average weight of a cow being some 300 – 350 Kg’s and standing 92cm – 107cm at the shoulder. There are two recognized types, short legged and non-short, both of which have their equal merits.
The breed comes in three colours, predominately black, but also red and dun. Most are horned although a very few naturally polled animals are becoming available.
Dexter cows are extremely maternal and because of their dual purpose qualities will milk well. Calving problems are rare and newly born calves are up on their feet very quickly with calves weighing 25-35 pounds at birth.
Heifers mature young and can be put to the bull at 15 – 18 months of age. Dexters are noted for their longevity and can live up to 25 years and should breed regularly for 14 years or more.
The breed is early maturing. Beef of excellent quality and flavour, with good marbling, can be produced economically. Dexter steers can finish on grass at 20 -24 months of age without supplementary feeding, with average carcase weights of between 145 – 220 Kg’s. Because their good meat to bone ratio, a killing-out percentage of over 56% can be achieved.
Milk yields vary as to whether the cows are kept for dairy cows, sucklers or house cows. For instance, the average daily milk yield for a house cow will be some 8 – 10 litres (2450 – 3050 litres per 305 day lactation). A cow kept as a suckler will raise its own calf as well as a larger commercial calf and do them both well. Dexters kept as dairy cows will yield on average, 10 – 12 litres daily (3050 – 3660 litres per 305 day lactation), with some individuals yielding 14 litres or more (4080 litres per 305 day lactation).
The milk is of very good quality with high butterfat and protein levels; average BF % is well over 4% and protein 3.51%.
Mature cows can be successfully crossed with most native beef breeds, and will produce excellent fast growing progeny. Care must be taken if a continental bull is to be used. Ensure the bull has an easy calving record, and that cows are ‘fit’ and not overweight at calving.
The breed’s ability to adapt to varying and extreme climatic conditions and to different systems of management is a typical characteristic.
Not only can a Dexter be the ideal family cow/pet, but, pound for pound, they are far more economical than their larger counterparts. More Dexters can be grazed on less acreage; they produce high percent dressed carcass of lean, tender, fine-grained beef with excellent flavor. as dairy cattle, their milk is easily digested and high in butterfat – yielding 1.5-2 gallons of 4% butterfat milk per day – with smaller-sized fat globules making the milk more digestible.
Statistics
Dexters are:
- Small
- Hardy – Dexters are good browsers and were sometimes used to rid pastures of pest plants. They were specialized to live on low-quality vegetation and to forage for their food.
- Efficient
- Versatile
- Intelligent
- Full of personality – Dexters are also kept for pets too
- Multi-purpose breed
- Great milk and beef
- Easy calving – can also raise two calves at a time
- Plus, they are smaller, gentler, and easier on your pastures and fences
Distribution
Dexters have established themselves well in many parts of the world. They have been exported to Australia, New Zealand, America, Britain, Cuba, Argentina, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Germany. Several of these countries have their own breed societies, which only goes to show how well the breed has become established worldwide.
The above information was referenced from the following sites:
- http://dextercattle.co.uk
- http://dex-info.net
- http://freedomfarmdexters.com
- http://sweet-dream-farm.com
The Aberdeen Angus
History
The Aberdeen Angus breed (or Angus as it is known internationally) was developed in the early part of the 19th Century from the polled and predominantly black cattle of North east Scotland known locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”. As with other breeds of cattle and sheep in Britain, establishment followed improvements in husbandry and transport. The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century but it was much later that the Herd Book (1862) and the Society (1879) were founded. The early history of the breed is the history of its breeders, progressive lairds and farmers, of whom three were outstanding.
Hugh Watson became tenant of Keillor in Angus in 1808. He gathered stock widely and produced cattle of outstanding quality and character. Hugh Watson could be considered the founder of the breed, and was instrumental in selecting the best black, polled animals for his herd. His favourite bull was Old Jock, who was born 1842 and sired by Grey-Breasted Jock. Old Jock was given the number “1″ in the Scotch Herd Book when it was founded. Another of Watson’s notable animals was a cow: Old Granny who was born in 1824 and said to have lived to be 35 years old and produced 29 calves. A vast majority of Angus cattle alive today can trace their pedigrees back to these two animals.
William McCombie came of a family of graziers and in early life was dealing in large numbers of cattle. He took the farm of Tillyfour in Aberdeenshire in 1824 and founded a herd of Keillor blood. His well documented close breeding produced outstanding cattle that he showed in England and France to establish the reputation of the breed.
Sir George Macpherson-Grant returned to his inherited estate at Ballindalloch, on the River Spey, from Oxford in 1861 and took up the refining of our breed that was to be his life’s work for almost 50 years. Both McCombie and Macpherson-Grant became Members of Parliament.
By line breeding and selection for type, the early pioneers established in Angus, Aberdeenshire, Speyside and the Laigh of Moray, the greatest of beef breeds. Stock from this area continued to lead the breed well into the 20th century while Aberdeen-Angus cattle became spread throughout Scotland, England and Ireland.
Black Angus are now the most popular beef breed of cattle in the United States with 324,266 animals registered in 2005.
Characteristics
Aberdeen Angus cattle are naturally polled and can be black or red in colour although black is the dominant colour, white may occasionally appear on the udder.
They are resistant to harsh weather, undemanding, adaptable, good natured, mature extremely early and have a high carcass yield with nicely marbled meat. Angus are renowned as a carcass breed. They are used widely in crossbreeding to improve carcass quality and milking ability. Angus females calve easily and have good calf rearing ability. They are also used as a genetic de-horner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant characteristic.
Statistics
- Calving ease and vigorous, live calves – the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required. The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf’s instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
- Superb mothers with superior milking ability – The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight. An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.
- Early maturity, fertility and stayability – The Angus cow does her job well, whether it’s her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow’s continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus – it’s not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
- Naturally polled – No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene. Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
- No cancer eye or sunburned udders – The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
- Adaptable to all weather conditions – Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance.
- Superior feed conversion – A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
- Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef – The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef.
- Preferred carcass size and quality – Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth – and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
Comparative
Trials in northern and southern Australia have shown that Angus cattle are early finishing with good growth, eye muscle and yield. CRC crossbreeding research in northern Australia over Brahman cows shows that Angus have more marbling and the highest MSA eating quality results when compared to other breed crosses.
In the Southern Crossbreeding Project conducted by South Australian and Victorian researchers, Angus cross calves had the lowest birth weights, similar growth to weaning and in the feedlot, finished earliest and produced the most marbling.
Distribution
Angus are a truly international breed, they are the dominant breed in the USA, Canada, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia. In Australia one in four cattle registered are Angus plus at bull sales, 30% of cattle sold are Angus. Angus have also spread to South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Germany and of course they still remain popular in Britain.
The above information was referenced from the following sites:
