It is no Irish Tale that Dexter Cattle are an original Irish Breed. But like a lot of Irish tales their original heritage has a little mystery to it. Did they originate from the Celtic Cow in the Bronze Age or from the Irish Kerry Cow in the 18th century? We do know that the Dexter Breed was in Australia as early as the late 1800s, disappeared, went on the UK Rare Breeds Endangered List in the 1980s but a surge of interest in the late 1999 / 2000 years has seen it go onto to the Minority Breed list.
Since ADA was formed in 1987 Australia has gone on to have the purest Dexter Herd in the World due to our DNA, Parent Verification and strict registration system.
There are two types of Dexter Cattle:
The Short Legged – Dwarfism or Chondrodysplasia Carriers (can now be identified by DNA testing.) who should never be mated with another carrier.
The long legged – Proportional – None Carriers.
- Dexter’s come in three colours. Black, Red or Dun, and can be either horned or polled.
- Dexter’s are an original breed, and have outstanding ‘dual purpose’ qualities.
- Dexter’s have a breed standard for both minimum and maximum heights.
Dual Purpose – Meat and milk:
Margrita Dexter’s produce beautiful grass feed beef, with lovely sized cuts of meat for families.
Our Dexter cattle have also supplied fresh milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream for up to three families, with the milk having a high butterfat content.
More about Dexter Cattle:
- Dexter cattle are a natural small breed – Not bred down from larger breeds, and not a miniature.
- Easy Maintained – No problems vaccinating, or preparing for shows. Don’t push fences. Wonderful mothers.
- Hardy – Do extremely well in harsh conditions, cold, wet, hot and dry.
- No Calving Problems Due to having a ‘Chondrodysplasic Free Dexter Herd’ we have no calving problems or birth defects.
- Fertility – We achieve a healthy calf every year from 1st calving at between 20 and 24 months of age. Dexter’s have been known to produce a calf up to 17 years of age.
- Quiet Temperament. – The gentlest bovine we’ve come across. Wonderful for our grandchildren to handle.