The History of Dexter Cattle

hi I'm P and welcome to just a few acres farm today I'm going to talk about the history of Dexter cattle who would have known that this tough little breeds been around for a couple thousand years when I started this research I had no idea so I've drawn information from a lot of different web sources and I'll put them all in a bibliography down at the bottom in the video description before I get started on their history please subscribe to our Channel we're just a small Channel we're growing we'd really appreciate it if you subscribed please like and comment on this video it all helps us out thank you the oldest evidence of a breed like Dexter cattle has been found at excavations near Stonehenge and it appears that iron age people in Britain and Ireland favored a small breed of cattle very much like the Dexter's coming forward from Stonehenge a couple thousand years when the Romans invaded Britain they described cattle roaming the hills that was very similar to the Dexter and it's close cousin the carry in description Dexter history is intertwined with that of the carry breed which was named after Kerry County and Southern Ireland and most recorded accounts explained that the Dexter breed was brought out of the carry breed the carry breed was favored by small stock owners in Ireland and it was the first dairy focused breed as opposed to general-purpose breed for both meat and milk and the carry is also a small breed but it's a little bit larger than the Dexter they were Hardy on rough terrain and a harsh climate in Ireland they could thrive on meager resources and so they were a successful breed in the early 1800s Cary breeders began to select the smaller stockier cattle for beef characteristics and this seems to be the origin of the Dexter breed although Dexter's have made a comeback in recent years and their population has really exploded Kerry's never experienced that regrowth and there are very few caries left today 1845 marks the first recorded description of Dexter cattle as being distinct from carry cattle and that description was written by mr. David Lowe on Valencia Island in County Kerry Lord warden's estate manager 1 miss Dexter had developed a breed based on the mountain top cattle of Southern Ireland and subsequent to his breeding work the breed became well known throughout Southern Ireland in 1882 Dexter cattle were brought to England when they were brought to England the Dexter breed was believed to be a smaller version of the carry breed and there is some doubt as to that now but back then the herd books for the two breeds were combined as one and the Dexter and the carry remained intertwined Dexter's became the show cattle of English Gentry and they wouldn't have separate registries from the carry until 1919 in Ireland by 1925 in Britain there were about eleven hundred registered Dexter cows and seventy herds in 1900 the Dexter cattle Society in English published the first Dexter breed standards and it's interesting to note that in height and proportions it describes the Dexter with Kandra dysplasia or orphism this is something that sums the breed shows but with modern genetic testing we've learned how to identify it and breed it out of our herds if we wish the breed standard reads as follows the Dexter is essentially both a milk producing and a beef making breed and both these points should judging be taken into consideration number one call it bulls whole black or whole red the two colors being of equal merit a little white on organs of generation not to disqualify an animal which answers all other essentials of this standard description two cows pull black or whole red the two colours being of equal merit black with white on the utter or red with white on bag the extension of the white of the utters slightly along the inside of flank or underside of the belly or a little white on the end of the tail should not be held to disqualify an animal which answers all other essentials of this standard description three head and neck head short and broad with great width between the eyes and tapering gracefully towards the muzzle which should be large with wide distended nostrils eyes bright prominent and a kind of gentle and Placid expression next short deep and thick and well set into the shoulders which when viewed in front should be wide showing thickness through the heart the breasts coming well forward horns these should be short and moderately thick springing well from the head with an inward and slightly upward curve for body shoulders of medium thickness full and well filled in behind hips wide quarters thick and deep and well sprung flat and wide across loins well ribbed up straight under line utter well forward and broad behind with well placed heats of moderate sized legs short especially from knee to fetlock strong and well placed under body which should be as close v skin the skin should be soft and mellow and handle well not too thin hair fine plentiful and silky six Dexter bulls should not exceed nine hundred pounds live way when in breeding condition Dexter cows should not exceed 800 pounds live weight when in breeding condition the first recorded importation to America of Dexter cattle occurred between 1905 and 1915 that's not to say that they didn't serve aboard seagoing vessels before then because they were the perfect small milk cow to use fresh milk from on an ocean voyage three large herds were set up in America in New York Minnesota and Kentucky and Dexter's in America became popular with homesteaders and settlers moving west they were the perfect small homestead cow they provided mill they provided beef they provided draught power April 19-21 marked the formation of the first formal Dexter Society in America and that was the American Kari and Dexter cattle club their first heard book included both Dexter's and carries but the two were separated in the book and given different breed descriptions because it was recognized that they were two distinct breeds at this point in 1957 the name of the cattle club was changed to the American Dexter cattle Association or a DCA as many know it today a lot of the association's early meetings and shows were held right here in New York in Albany Cooperstown and Hamburg the 20th century and especially the period after World War two marked great changes in the way that people regarded cattle breeds began to specialize beef cattle got bigger they grew faster they were adapted to finish on more grain and dairy cattle did sort of the same thing they got bigger their udders got huge and they sacrificed some of their body condition to milk production so here was a Dexter caught in the middle and it didn't really satisfy either purpose as efficiently as industrial agriculture wanted it to so the breed numbers began to diminish and their numbers dwindled until they were classified as an endangered breed in the 1970s in the last few decades Dexter's have made an incredible comeback they've become popular now just as they were in the late 1800s and early 1900s with homesteaders and small landholders and the reason is the same they're good beef animals they're good milk animals and they make good draft power after all an ox is just a steer with an education the multiple registration organizations for Dexter's that exist now can be a little bit confusing the largest is the ad CA or American Dexter cattle Association which was formed in 1921 and 2004 a separate organization was formed the PDCA or the purebred Dexter cattle Association and this was formed by some of the leadership of the 80s who became disillusioned or dissatisfied with the way that the original organization was being run the legacy Dexter cattle registry a third organization formed in 2005 and their mission is to preserve the original American bloodlines of Dexter cattle they discovered that the original American bloodlines were becoming rarer as the breed was out crossed with other breeds mainly from the importation of semen from British Bulls this outcrossing they felt was changing the essential characteristics of the Dexter from that breed description that went way back into the 1800s pol varieties were being brought in which means no horns and also colors were being experimented with as well sighs there's such a thing as a white Dexter which is nowhere to be found in the original breed description if you look into the relationship of these three organizations you'll find there's a fair amount of discord between the organization's and I think that's just the nature of people who love their animals so much the Dexter is an old breed that survived a lot through history and almost became extinct just recently and is now experiencing a great resurgence because of farms like ours direct-to-consumer marketing small homesteads and people that are looking for just a few cows to supply their own needs for milk and for beef thanks for joining me I hope you have a great day and I'll see you next time you

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Keywords: just a few acres farm, Dexter cattle, Dexter cattle homestead, raising dexter cattle, raising dexter cattle for meat, dexter cattle breeding, small livestock farm, dexter cattle breeds, dexter cattle pros & cons, dexter cows for meat, dexter cows for beef, irish dexter cattle, irish dexter cows, dexter cattle history, dexter cattle ireland, dexter cattle for milk, american dexter cattle association, american dexter cattle, legacy dexter cattle registry

Id: AQb3cgHOOWA

Length: 10min 15sec (615 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 08 2019