Anyone keep Dexter cattle for milking?

I have looked into getting cattle too. My problem is land, or lack thereof. The major reason for getting miniature cattle is they take less acreage to sustain them. For instance, a full size cow, needs a full acre to live and thrive, a mini, only needs half that. So I could have a sizeable herd of minis in comparison to just a few full size cattle on this land. Actually, I could have 2 minis for breeders, or just one full size beef because I only have an acre and a half at the moment, but am looking into getting more. You get the gist of what I'm saying though. That is about the only true advantage of minis other than slight ease of handling smaller animals. With 11 acres like you have, I'd be getting into the bigger beef without a doubt. Like cowgirl said, it does just make more sense, especially if you have the space.

Quote:
I have heard of people using Jersey steers as draft animals too. As far as breeding back the milk cow every year, we've actually found you don't need to. Our original milk cow, Buttercup, we bought in July 2007 with her two week old bull calf. It took us awhile to get her bred, and she finally had her first calf for us December 2009. She kept on producing milk through November 2009. We have found that with our three current milk cows that they will give about six gallons a day for about three months after calving, and then gradually drop down to about three gallons of milk a day, and then will keep this almost indefinitely if well fed. As soon as they hit second stage of pregnancy, their production will drop by half. By third stage they're down to about one or two quarts of milk a day, at which point we dry them off so that their body can have a rest before calving. Moral of the story is that you don't have to breed the cow every year. The only reason you would is to get a calf to sell or keep for a replacement.

I know what you mean about choosing chicken breeds, LOL! It is SO hard!!! I am very much into "breeds." When we wanted to get a dog, I had to thoroughly research the different breeds. With our beef cattle, I again thoroughly researched the different breeds. And then with dairy breeds I did the same.

Mini's are not really mini's. Its more like back to normal. If you dig in to history it shows that cows were small till we started breeding for bigger. Whats better is debatable.

The more I think about it, I think you guys are probably right. We'll probably just end up with a smallish standard Jersey. I could always do AI with semen from mini breeds if we wanted to downsize. We're planning on doing alot with our 11 acres, not just having it all as pasture, and hopefully doing some rotational grazing so we can cut our own hay as well.

Rebelcowboysnb, I'm aaware that the mini breeds that I'm looking into are not novelty breeds. With the Jerseys, its an attempt to bring them back to original after all the upbreeding that was done, and I think Dexters have always been a small breed.

We have a smallhobby farm. We keep dexters for meat and milk. We had a baby girl born this morning. We raise nigerian goats for our milk and only want the cow milk so wecan make butte. After having the dexters I wouldnt want anything else.

I have a 2 year old Dexter cow and calf that I milk once a day in the morning and let her loose with her calf Duke during the day. I am getting 2 quarts a day at that one milking. There is not a lot of cream in it or it is naturally homogenized. I am not young or really fit so a sweet 300 pound cow suits my need. Her calf is 3 months old and a real beast the way he rams into her udder. She is pregnant and I am not sure when I will wean him. I am wondering if there is anything I can feed her, like extra grain that will make her produce more cream. Once we got used to each other and I keep things quiet and calm in the barn, she lets down her milk right away and she is super easy to handle. It is just my husband and I here so once I wean the calf, I should be getting at least a gallon a day. It's enough.

With 11 acres you have plenty of space for a Jersey milk cow. Cost of 'entry' is low, milk qualty is good and, you can sell it on if you need to reclaim the space/acreage.

Hobby breeds carry a price premium I find hard to accept unless you have real space constraints. When peoples lives depended on their farm animals, they were optimized over centuries to increase the chances of survival and a better quality of life.

I'm bumping this old thread because our family is looking at a 5 acre property that would easily allow for a 1 acre enclosure and we'd really like to have a family milk cow. When I first began looking into dairy cows I immediately saw the amount of milk that a Holstein, etc...produces and decided that it would not be feasible to manage that much milk (we are a family of four, soon to be five), but I recently discovered Dexters. I've read a few accounts of the flexibility of Dexters to only be milked a few times per week, especially when sharing with a calf. This would be an ideal situation for us. Would a single acre be adequate for two Dexters?

The answer is; it depends. You have to have good grass, rain, and do rotational grazing, or buy a lot more hay. I like the good Dexters, but educate yourself about their genetic issues, and visit the farm to see about temperament before you buy. The same is true about any critter, really. Jerseys can be another choice, but Dexter calves should bring in more income, and be easier keepers. I do feel that cattle need other cattle; one will be very lonely. Mary