Articles

How to order semen, for U.S. buyers.

May 16, 2017

How to order semen, for United States buyers. Prices below Buyers in other countries please contact bellefourche@aol.com for information. This information is specific to purchasing semen from our website, but the process is pretty much the same all over the United States. In most cases, U.S. Dexter breeders ship semen orders directly to their A.I. technician or [...]

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How many acres per cow?

January 8, 2015

This particular question is asked almost more than any other. I beg all Dexter breeders to please, stop answering it! Why? There is no right answer, and your answers are causing more harm than good. The number of cows you can maintain per acre depends on the following: 1. Your climate and microclimate. 2. Your [...]

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How do you price your cows/select a bull?

January 6, 2015

Belle Fourche cattle are selected and priced by their conformation, and our estimate of reliability. For example; say we have two heifers of similar conformation: Heifer #1 has generations of excellent conformation, we know the line and have owned it for maybe 8 generations, and have not had any bad udder surprises, bad dispositions, or [...]

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Heat Detection

November 20, 2013

It is an important tool to know the signs of estrous (heat) in cattle. For people who artificially inseminate (A.I.) their cows, or take their cows to be bred, this information is invaluable. However, it may also be useful to those who keep their cows with a bull, as it allows you to establish a [...]

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Evelyn Anderson

July 11, 2013

July 11, 2013: Evelyn passed away yesterday at 102 years of age. I visited her about two weeks ago, and while I was there we devoted at least an hour to examining pictures on my laptop. Most of the pictures were of her cows and their progeny and descendants sent to me by their current [...]

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Cows have four teats, right?

June 29, 2013

SOME COWS HAVE EXTRA TEATS: Literature sources state as many as 50% of domestic cattle have more than four teats, known as supernumerary teats.  Extra teats may be part of a very small milk gland, or have no milk gland underneath. This is not unique to cattle, and is one of the mysteries of the development of [...]

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Neonatal Diarrhea in Calves

May 19, 2013

Neonatal diarrhea in cattle can have a number of infectious causes.  Many of them are self limited and will resolve on their own, BUT may kill a calf in the interim by causing severe dehydration.  We are posting this because we get a lot of emails about calves with diarrhea,  and know that we may not check our email [...]

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Girl Scout Camp for Heifers

May 10, 2013

Here is how we manage heifer calves in our operation: We designate a pasture or pen as Girl Scout Camp. Girl Scout Camp is only for young heifers; no young bulls to make “teenage pregnancies,” and no adult cows to bully the Girl Scouts.  All the heifers go into Girl Scout Camp at weaning (6 months) and stay there [...]

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Selecting Dexters for Milking – The Common Myths

December 22, 2012
Thumbnail image for Selecting Dexters for Milking – The Common Myths

Dexters are supposed to be a dual purpose breed. Yet, unlike commercial diary breeds, there is almost no information available within Dexter literature on udder conformation. Furthermore, few Dexter breeders actually milk their Dexters. This has led to a number of theoretical substitutions for actual selection for milking ability. Basically, people have tried to use [...]

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What is a throwback?

December 11, 2012

“Throwback” is not a genetic term, because it biochemically does not exist. An animal is either heterozygous or homozygous at any location in its genetic code.  Some traits are single-gene-traits (influenced by one gene,)  and some are influenced my multiple genes. Before genetic inheritance was understood, the term “throwback” was used in Dexters to describe a [...]

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