I am hatching a plan. You know I have been thinking of buying a bull. Now don’t go getting all upset again. Just listen for a minute. Without a bull I am dependent on OTHER people to breed my cows, using AI, this is not sustainable. These people work, they are far away, it is always a panic and NOT always successful. And I am not breeding for a pedigree I am breeding for beef and milk. AI is so fraught with difficulty when you live so far out. I always have trouble – every year. So – as I am not afraid of taking risks – (or heights) –
How about a Little Bull.
“Oh come now Cecilia”, I hear you say, “they don’t stay little for long, you know.”
Maybe they do. How about a bull who will not grow any bigger than the kitchen table. A gentle and very small giant. What do you know about Irish Dexter cattle? They are a small old Irish breed. Really small. There are not many of them but they are grown for both milk and meat and all my research points to the reassuring fact that a mature Dexter bull could cover my Dutch-Belted/Holstein cross Lady Astor and Aunty Del (the Ayrshire) if necessary. (Though Naomi will still endure the AI treatments in the hopes of producing a belted Dutch Belted calf.) Dexters are half the size of a regular cow but eat half as much and are such good mothers that they will readily adopt another calf. The pure breds will grow to be about as tall as a kitchen bench – up to 42 inches (110 cm) . My crossed animals will be a bit taller. A cross with a full Dairy cow will give me a beefier bull calf for beef or a good heifer for milking and more chance of an easy calving. AND an animal who is easier on my pastures, gentle and small.
So TA DAAA I have bought a 6 month old Dexter bull calf – he is coming next week PLUS a bred Dexter heifer. YES! When he is Two he will be big enough to breed my girls (and his own girl even earlier than that). I am excited.
I will keep and milk my big house cows (Lady Astor and Aunty Del and Naomi) but will be breeding smaller animals, saleable easy to manage house cows. I will also milk Alex (the new heifer) she is bred to a miniature Angus/Hereford cross bull so we will be the United Nations of cow herds. And on the side we will be breed a few pure bred Dexters to sell as well.
There is one hiccup with this breed if it is pure. The breed itself was created by selective breeding for smaller and smaller animals and this has caused some mutations in the gene which can cause miscarriages of abnormal fetus’s. The people I am working with have not seen this problem occur in recent years because this is more likely in the short legged Dexters. Both of my new animals are the Long Legged variety. I don’t particularly need a mini animal I just want a bull of a manageable size. Our new heifer (her name is Alex) is a bonus. The wee bull will be called Carlos IV. (Carlos the Fourth).
The milk is wonderful, they say, plus the meat is lean and we will not be producing huge mammoth amounts of beef. I just don’t need that much meat.
So how about THAT for a plan! And I know of a woman who has one of these little guys and he breeds Holsteins for a dairy farm. Though surely he must carry his own bull stool! (Maybe Ton can carry the stool for our new boy.)
Remember that my plan is to grow enough food to keep my families fed. And to be sustainable I will not overload my land. So from now on any extra female animals will be grown with lots of handling, then sold to other little farms to be house cows (I have had enquiries already) – small scale farming is a growth industry in this country. And if you have two acres you can run a Dexter and her calf!
I am still in training but I am making my own breeding decisions now and it feels good!
The other day we went Climbing. I love Climbing Walls and can get myself up to the top gently and carefully without much effort as long as the wall is not too hard but Hugo just soared up and down like a monkey. He literally walked up the walls.
We had a great day yesterday with out hostess with the mostest Kristy from Family Food Adventures.
She is a tough little climber herself!
Lots of love,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
70 responses to “A most exciting plan”
Yay! A bull! I LOVE bulls! Perhaps they remind me of myself. But yes, a bull stool might be necessary.
I’m so happy and excited for you regarding your purchase of a bull – a ‘smaller than usual’ bull who can still ‘do all that’s required of him’!! ; o ) Sounds like you have quite a plan for breeding your cows – and we’re all looking forward to hearing all about it!! About climbing – I’m so impressed. I think I could’ve done it…. maybe…. perhaps… when I was younger, more agile and ‘less heavy’. It must be fun!!
It is fun – I love wall climbing! c
You’re hilarious! That’s not a plan, Ms C. Once action is seen, then you have gone beyond ‘plan’….. heh heh Wiki has a small article about Dexter cows. I looked because I’ve not heard of them before, but seems they’re becoming more and more popular, particularly with smaller sustainable farms. And it appears you’re better off with the long-legged variety, as the short-legged ones are the result of some form of dwarfism. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, except they seem to have other problems associated with that as well. All said, though, a bull does weighs in at about 1,000 lbs., so still a force to be reckoned with. What fun… a new focus on the farmy — Best Wishes! ~ Mame 🙂
Yes, this is why I found long legged ones. It will be fun to see what the genetic draw sends us with calves though most will be crosses.
Good morning,
When I looked at the header picture with my bleary early morning eyes, I could have sworn that Hugo was placing the climbing rocks on the floor of the garage as the ceiling of the climbing place looks kind of like the interior of the garage doors. I thought you were making your own climbing wall, but then why would it be on the floor? I was confused…ha The Dexter sounds good. Question: If they are shorter, will he be able to “reach” Aunty Del and Lady Astor for breeding? Or is that why you mention a stool? Still confused, I guess. ha You’re going to need another milking machine! Happy Friday/Saturday to the Fellowship.
I have investigated the short boy, tall girl thing and it seems that once he is mature he will get the job done one way or the other. And speaking of the machine because they have small teats (Like Lady Astor) it is easier to milk them with a machine so that is good.. c
I was going to ask the same question! I suppose a bull will always find a way 🙂
hopefully
Ton will love having more cows to stare down and herd. I can hear him thinking “I need a stick”.
Interestingly Ton is useless with herding cows, he always runs across in front of them to get to the other side, and has been actually trodden on by cows in the past – slow learner – so I leave him inside and use Boo for those jobs.. Boo is much better even in the last month or so. c
We had a very handsome Dexter bull visitor our farm a year ago. He was a gentleman and took care of all our needs (well, all our cows needs) but to his dismay, he couldn’t quite reach our Jersey. He was diligent in his attempts but just coudn’t muster enough height. He was great with the other cows and they produced wonderful meaty calves. But we ended up having to AI our Jersey.
Interesting, I would have thought the Jersey would have been smaller – what were the other cows? Aunty Del is a tall girl – she is the one I wonder about.. c
The others are actually Dexters! But our Maisy seems big for a Jersey. And she throws nice large meaty calves!
Ah – well we will see then!
Irmi, read Kim’s comment and you will understand Carlos’ need for a stool! Hah! And excellent plan C. I love those little Dexter cows!
I did. Thank you, Kim. Now I’m all tought of wonderful new things about cows with different heights and so forth. It seems to get magic… 😉
Wanted to say “Thank you, Chris”. Sorry – but you mentioned Kim, so both is well.
You are such a darling .. c
Sounds exciting. The prodigy will be a pretty picture I bet. I hope all goes as imagined. One handhold at a time.
Yes! One handhold at a time – that is how I like to work! c
We had a Dexter cow at our zoo for several years. I know exactly the breed of which you speak. Miniature and adorable.
It will be fun to see what happens next! c
Dummy here asks if the depression in the soil and the stool are related. Also, I noticed you said feed your families…not family. Are you planning to feed several families?
All I know is you are truly an amazing person to take on so much! Now I’m going to have to Investigate Dexters. Seems like they are a darling breed from the comments.
Oh yes, there is more than one household who benefits from our milk and meat and vegetables. Plus I have a LOT of visitors over the summer.
and yes, (the stool was a joke) but moving a cows back legs into a depression pr gutter will help a shorter bull reach her for mating.
I just can’t see Lady A being that accommodating. 😀
when they are in heat they are very accommodating!
I have been reading a site about Dexter cattle for awhile now. I’m not sure they are as miniature as you think. There seem to be lots of links and the owner researches everything.
http://zephyrhillfarm.blogspot.co.za
There are some recent pictures of her steers and bull.
Laura
Thanks for the link Laura, what a pretty farm. Those Dexters are stocky cattle, and the owners don’t seem worried about their small grandchildren being up close with them…..think I’d be petrified that big bull would suddenly run at us!
The ones out here average between 34 and 42 inches high.. that is pretty small compared to Daisy! c
Though they are beef cows so hopefully they should be BEEFY!! c
Exciting to hear about your new venture Celi, can’t wait to meet the new cast members and get to know them. I’ve enjoyed all the conversations about stools and depressions…very enlightening 🙂
Yes – we just keep on learning! c
How very exciting. You have done lots of research & it sounds a great plan. Hope you’ll be able to handle him OK. I grew up learning to keep well away from bulls!
There will definitely be a learning curve!
I’m a sucker for anything that is titled “a most exciting plan” 🙂 I love conversations, ideas and plans that lead to new. What is that saying? There is no try. There is only do.
Love this thought!
I think the saying comes from Yoda in Star Wars – `there is no try, there is only do or do not“
This, more recently from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
Well, citygirl has learned a bit more about country/farm living. As for Carlos, I had hoped he would have been named “Carlos, Intra Venous” heheh. Lots of love to you and the Fellowship! Gayle