Starting a herd of Dexters
This is supposed to be a basic fact sheet on how to start up a herd of Dexters (with beef in mind). Please feel free to email me with any suggestions of topics that I should add to the list.The basics…
Dexters are either non-short (longer legs and generally bigger) or short (short being much smaller!)
Colours – Red, Dun, Black
'Dual purpose' – bred for milk and beef
Very hardy and can live outside all year if necessary
Originally from
How to start:
1) Does your farm have a ‘holding number’? (if you have ever had livestock on your land before then it should already have a number). If not then you need to register your farm with DEFRA to get a holding number – they will want a grid reference etc of farm and a little map or similar of your land.
2) Contact DEFRA and tell them you intend to purchase cattle – they will send you a pile of paperwork to flick through! – most can be ignored but a couple of things such as a log of cattle on your farm and any drugs you use, must be kept by law. Cattle all have an individual ear tag number and passport which travels with them. All movements between farms are recorded in the passport. It is illegal not to do this. They will also issue you a 'herd number' which will be used by DEFRA to identify any cows that are on your land and will be written on ear tags of any calves that are born on your land.
3) Vet - you need to register your farm/cattle with a local vet.
4) Abattoir – make some enquiries about local abattoirs. You need to consider slaughtering as well as butchering costs. You may also want to ask them to pack up the meat into labelled bags for selling.
5) Grazing, hay, silage and additional winter feeding needs to be thought about. An adult Dexter can eat up to one bale of hay a day in winter.
6) Fences - your field needs to be cow proof! Electric fences are a cheap and quick way of keeping cattle in a field, however you must be aware that Dexters that are not used to electric fencing may push straight through it!
7) Water - your Dexters must have a constant water supply. Leaving them in a field with a bucket of water is not good enough. An adult Dexter can drink up to 6 buckets of water a day!
8) Buying your cows! This is the exciting bit! My advise is always look at someone else's herd of Dexters before buying your own. This way you can ask them questions on how to spot diseases etc. A good website for Dexter cattle is www.dextercattleforsale.co.uk
9) Good luck!!!!