| Timberside Farms Dexter Cattle |
On this page I will tell you how we got started with the cow side of the farm.
Our goats ate a lot of the weeds and multi floral rose growing in the pasture, but they left a lot
of good grass behind that was going to waste.
I started looking for another type of farm animal to eat all of the grass. I found out about miniature
cattle and just had to have one.
Well one has turned into a fold of Highlands, a small herd of Dexter Cattle, a Black Baldy, a
Hereford and two Yaks!
I really enjoy the Dexter breed. They are a dual purpose cow that can be used for milk or meat.
They are naturally small with cows ranging in height from around 36 to 42 inches at three years of
age.
There are long legged Dexters and short legged Dexters. We prefer the shorter legged variety.
Dexters originally came from Southern Ireland. If someone is wanting a nice even tempered cow
that is a very easy keeper I would tell them to look into the Dexter breed.
Our goats ate a lot of the weeds and multi floral rose growing in the pasture, but they left a lot
of good grass behind that was going to waste.
I started looking for another type of farm animal to eat all of the grass. I found out about miniature
cattle and just had to have one.
Well one has turned into a fold of Highlands, a small herd of Dexter Cattle, a Black Baldy, a
Hereford and two Yaks!
I really enjoy the Dexter breed. They are a dual purpose cow that can be used for milk or meat.
They are naturally small with cows ranging in height from around 36 to 42 inches at three years of
age.
There are long legged Dexters and short legged Dexters. We prefer the shorter legged variety.
Dexters originally came from Southern Ireland. If someone is wanting a nice even tempered cow
that is a very easy keeper I would tell them to look into the Dexter breed.
| This is Squirt. She is 3 months old in this picture. She is a registered Dexter. She is also a short legged Dexter. |
| One of our daughters petting our newest farm animals, Muscovy Ducklings. |
| This is Smurf, Elmo, Bunny and Terra posing for a picture in front of their new barn. |
| Just for Fun |
| Betcha didn't know that goats also make really good chicken perches. |
| Fanny the Pygmy goat riding Garth. (My brother said that the goat looked photo shopped in. She wasn't. The goat is standing on a big tire in the background.) |
| This is Bunny. She is 5 months old in this picture. She is a registered Dun Dexter. She is a short legged Dexter. |
| This is Senora. She is a 2008 heifer calf from Smurf and a small red registered Dexter bull named Tighe. |
| This old elevator makes an excellent feeder for the goats and cattle. Plus it doubles as a toy! |
We feed mostly big bales of hay. I use cattle
panels, goat panels and T-Posts to make a V
shape to hold the hay in the feeder. It's a lot
less waste and I just unroll the big bale and
throw the hay in with a pitch fork. Don't use
cattle panels on the feeder side, otherwise, if
the goats have horns,they will get their heads
stuck in the feeder! I made it big enough on
the inside to hold 2 big bales at a time.
panels, goat panels and T-Posts to make a V
shape to hold the hay in the feeder. It's a lot
less waste and I just unroll the big bale and
throw the hay in with a pitch fork. Don't use
cattle panels on the feeder side, otherwise, if
the goats have horns,they will get their heads
stuck in the feeder! I made it big enough on
the inside to hold 2 big bales at a time.
This is our newest Dexter named Sophie. She is also registered. This photo shows the strong mothering instincts of the Dexter, she is babysitting while Squirt is eating. |
| This is Crush, Squirts 2010 heifer calf. This is our first heifer out of Chip, she will become part of the herd. |