We got our Dexter heifer from a breeder. He had milked her mother, but found it to
be difficult because she was so "close to the ground", though she was about 46" high.
He could only use a bowl to milk into, had to empty that into a bucket. The other issue
was his height, over 6ft, all legs, so he had to really fold down to get her milked.
He crossed this pure Dexter cow to a Jersey bull (for smaller calving, big milk production) and
now uses the crossbred cow for his milker for the family. She produces more milk than the Dexter
did, done once a day, calf on the rest of the time. She is leggier, so easier to milk, can use a bucket
under her, more comfortable for him to work on. She stands a bit taller, maybe 48", slightly different
body style than the Dexter, higher udder. He said she gave plenty of milk for their family, with wife
making cheese, yogurts, other milk products and supplying children with drinking milk.
He said the Dexter cow did OK as a milker, but just a lesser quantity and more work for him to
get that milk because she was so short. Dexters do seem to keep a very nice udder, no sagging or
teats on the ground like older dairy breeds can get. I saw a 15 year old Dexter cow, calf every year, with
a lovely udder, equal to a 3yr old Dexter cow standing near her.
Looking at our heifer, if I would think of milking her, we would need a platform so I was not seated
on the floor! If I had small, milking cows, a platform for milking like goats use would be a
necessity. You have to see the udder to know you got it clean, see what you are doing with bucket,
and you don't want a hoof in the face if she gets mad while you are sitting on the floor! Much easier
to milk if not all bent over.
Back to the crossbred Dexter/Jersey cow, she produces EXCELLENT calves, all bulls so far. So they had
gone into meat and were quite tasty according to him. He showed me one of her calves who was
ready to go, looked like the local Grand Champ Steer at the Fair. Just a lovely animal, well
muscled, but only about 700 pounds on the hoof. HOWEVER he was ready at about 16 months,
on mostly pasture and hay. Smaller amount of corn fed for fat in the meat to give flavor and tenderize.
Owner breeds her back Dexter to keep calves small, doesn't need another milk cow.
Our pure Dexter heifer was even smaller than the two animals above, about 42", at about 18 months. I
never planned to milk her, just raise calves. My mother thought I MUST milk her, she is a COW, all that
FRESH milk!! So my looking at the milking platform and other obstacles in my height, cow height,
got brought up as reason I didn't WANT to be milking. Also didn't want to be tied down to the cow, since
we attend horse shows fairly often. I KNOW about milking, how to do it right, after working at that job
during High School. It is work!
So if OP can find a crossbred Dexter/Jersey cow or heifer to raise, you could be real happy with it! Around here any
young heifers bred that way sell well FAST and fetch good money. Seems to be a golden cross for the hand
milkers, Amish folks that don't do commercial production.
I totally agree, you want the horns OFF your dairy cows you work with daily. Horns can do a LOT of
damage to things. Dehorn early, less messy. Dexters do come polled, hornless, if you look for them.
be difficult because she was so "close to the ground", though she was about 46" high.
He could only use a bowl to milk into, had to empty that into a bucket. The other issue
was his height, over 6ft, all legs, so he had to really fold down to get her milked.
He crossed this pure Dexter cow to a Jersey bull (for smaller calving, big milk production) and
now uses the crossbred cow for his milker for the family. She produces more milk than the Dexter
did, done once a day, calf on the rest of the time. She is leggier, so easier to milk, can use a bucket
under her, more comfortable for him to work on. She stands a bit taller, maybe 48", slightly different
body style than the Dexter, higher udder. He said she gave plenty of milk for their family, with wife
making cheese, yogurts, other milk products and supplying children with drinking milk.
He said the Dexter cow did OK as a milker, but just a lesser quantity and more work for him to
get that milk because she was so short. Dexters do seem to keep a very nice udder, no sagging or
teats on the ground like older dairy breeds can get. I saw a 15 year old Dexter cow, calf every year, with
a lovely udder, equal to a 3yr old Dexter cow standing near her.
Looking at our heifer, if I would think of milking her, we would need a platform so I was not seated
on the floor! If I had small, milking cows, a platform for milking like goats use would be a
necessity. You have to see the udder to know you got it clean, see what you are doing with bucket,
and you don't want a hoof in the face if she gets mad while you are sitting on the floor! Much easier
to milk if not all bent over.
Back to the crossbred Dexter/Jersey cow, she produces EXCELLENT calves, all bulls so far. So they had
gone into meat and were quite tasty according to him. He showed me one of her calves who was
ready to go, looked like the local Grand Champ Steer at the Fair. Just a lovely animal, well
muscled, but only about 700 pounds on the hoof. HOWEVER he was ready at about 16 months,
on mostly pasture and hay. Smaller amount of corn fed for fat in the meat to give flavor and tenderize.
Owner breeds her back Dexter to keep calves small, doesn't need another milk cow.
Our pure Dexter heifer was even smaller than the two animals above, about 42", at about 18 months. I
never planned to milk her, just raise calves. My mother thought I MUST milk her, she is a COW, all that
FRESH milk!! So my looking at the milking platform and other obstacles in my height, cow height,
got brought up as reason I didn't WANT to be milking. Also didn't want to be tied down to the cow, since
we attend horse shows fairly often. I KNOW about milking, how to do it right, after working at that job
during High School. It is work!
So if OP can find a crossbred Dexter/Jersey cow or heifer to raise, you could be real happy with it! Around here any
young heifers bred that way sell well FAST and fetch good money. Seems to be a golden cross for the hand
milkers, Amish folks that don't do commercial production.
I totally agree, you want the horns OFF your dairy cows you work with daily. Horns can do a LOT of
damage to things. Dehorn early, less messy. Dexters do come polled, hornless, if you look for them.
