Just remember that this time of the year is bad for low minerals in your cattle as the grass is growing fast and full of water but not a lot of nutrition. Make sure they have a good mineral lick. If you are on the coastal strip a good lick is on my health and nutrition page. Firestone my bull suffered low Magnesium last year at this time as I had slipped up feeding lick and stressed him by taking him to displays and transporting him but happily recovered very fast on the lick I recommend. Happy Dextering! Gillian
Well I was so surprised that the rain we received at Easter has been followed up by good regular rains. So we have nice green grass popping up everywhere this year. It is shaping up to be a good season so fingers crossed! Our lovely grade 3 Ebony has calved giving us a handsome red bull calf. From the shading in his calf coat we think he carries dun as well. He is polled and could be double polled as both his parents are polled. ( all these things can be tested for at additional cost) Reluctantly he and his mother are for sale as we have Ebony's mother daughter and granddaughter staying in the herd. If you are interested look at our for sale page. It is hard to part with our nice cows but the older ones are so well trained that we know when they go to new homes that their new owners will have an easy time with them and they may even teach them a thing or two. Also they are wonderful at showing young ones how to behave. Still waiting for our very fat shortleg Celtic Honour to calve. I thought she would beat Ebony but still waiting!! She is a first timer so keeping a close eye and the little red boy is waiting for a playmate! There are a couple more coming up in May so always something happening.
Just remember that this time of the year is bad for low minerals in your cattle as the grass is growing fast and full of water but not a lot of nutrition. Make sure they have a good mineral lick. If you are on the coastal strip a good lick is on my health and nutrition page. Firestone my bull suffered low Magnesium last year at this time as I had slipped up feeding lick and stressed him by taking him to displays and transporting him but happily recovered very fast on the lick I recommend. Happy Dextering! Gillian
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I just got my Weebly page back! I haven't been able to blog for ages and I have missed it! My page was removed for having inappropriate content but on review has been restored....Thankyou Weebly!!
I hope everyone had a lovely Easter ...it was early this year and so was the rain that came with it here in Western Australia. We got 43 mls over the Easter period and I know to my Tasmanian friends that doesn't sound a lot, but is at least twice the average for March for us that often doesn't even contain a drop. Now the wait begins for follow up rains as our sandy soils can't hang onto the moisture for long and needs regular top ups to keep that germinating grass going. Fingers and toes crossed. The green blush does look attractive but its useless to the cows that are locked up and being hand fed in the laneways until the grass can stand grazing pressure. At about the three leaf stage we let them have the first graze which increases the thickness of the pasture . It doesn't have much nutritional value but they sure enjoy it! Over the last few years we have been adding Bentonite clay to our pastures to aid in breaking water repellence and increase water retention. It is a slow job but we started around the homestead and are working outwards. The house (pregnant cow grazing) lawns have stayed greener this year so I think it is working! Bentonite is best known as kitty litter and can be bought in small amounts for cats or in larger amounts for agriculture. We buy the big bags and use it for our two house cats too....double the savings. I should do a blog on how to live on less than 20K a year lol. I have some weaning to get on to and some testing for polling and A2 to do then I can sort out which cattle are for sale. We had some lovely red heifers this year but I can't keep them all so question is which ones are for sale. On the outside there is nothing to pick from so maybe the tests will throw a light on which ones don't fit the brief for the studs future? Anyway best get outside, the sun is shining on that green grass and the cows are waiting for me to pop out that front door and bring them some treats. The door has a cow bell on it and they watch the door as well ...if they hear or see movement they are instantly hopeful for something to relieve the boredom of being in the long paddock. Sooo glad to be back! Gillian In my post yesterday where I said we had a good day at Balingup on Saturday I promised to upload a photograph when I had time. Not the best photo but then I was talking to the very interested people not taking the photos! Someone else in our group will have better photos I am sure. I certainly doesn't show how good our bull was looking on the day but you can see our two with the others in the background and our official DCAI sign for our stud DAMOLOCK, all good! The Balingup photographer spent along time taking photos of our bull so maybe there are better ones on their website. If there is I will post a copy later. Have a great day I am enjoying this lovely Autumn weather but a little rain overnight would be nice.... Cheers Gillian.
Once again we took cows to Balingup to display at the Promotion group of South West Western Australia's site. We have the same spot every year just inside the main gate and as usual lots and lots of people visited our site. There were three southwest studs with cattle on display and a few other studs helping man (and woman) the information bay. The cattle on display showed the full range of colour (Black, Red and Dun) and long and short leg (dwarf) Dexters. We also had a red bull on display, from us, and some cattle were polled and some dehorned. The other two studs had three young calves on display a treat for young and old!
We discovered our bull is very scared of babies and toddlers as he has never has never seen any before -like and elephant with a mouse he was backing off with his eyes out on stalks. The children over twoish he was ok with and those under two if their parents picked them up he was OK wit but he got more relaxed about them as the day went on and did very well we thought for his first display experience. We also took Jess who has been to the Bull n barrel and also this is her second time to Balingup as she was there last year as a youngster. Princess Jess as we call her lapped up the pats and the adoring of the public like a professional. Jess is owned by Rise View stud, Nilgen and has been visiting our stud to be mated to the red bull (Firestone). Thankyou to our friends for letting us take Jess along to keep Firestone company. I will try to upload a photo when my computer/ internet behaves enough to let me!!!! cheers for now Gillian Looking out of the big bay window that is my view from my kitchen and dining area all around is lush and green. The rains came late this year but when they at last arrived the place was once again transformed. Our winters in WA are mild and wettish and we have many lovely sunny winter days so the grass grows most of the time except for the coldest times around mid year when the days are at their shortest. We sold the two cows that were due to calve in March/April and they both calved out bull calves for their new owner. We had two other cows due, we thought, around the end of June but we are still waiting ! Daily they progress towards calving and we wait. They are probably bull calves too as they are often born later. Our two cows that are holidaying up Lancelin way are due to calve from mid July and we are looking forward to seeing what Ebony produces as she is a black polled girl that carries red and dun genes mated to a polled Dun sire. We know Fiesta will have a polled calf as she is double polled and probably black as there is no known colour in her line. The rest of the mated girls are due in September/October so Spring this year will be a busy time. We have had some lovely drives in the country as our search for the perfect investment/add on block continues. We have seen some really magnificent pieces of land but some have been very steep. It seems the steeper they have been the more lush the pasture has been. Several of the blocks I know our cattle would have enjoyed, but resale? I don't think they would have been ideal as an investment so we are still looking. Sadly we have also seen some terrific pieces of land that have been badly let go and infested with tenacious weeds and we really don't need to work that hard even though they have been drastically reduced in price. Lately we have been thinking of getting some more sheep as our two fine wool Merinos are getting very long in the tooth. After looking at all the breeds available in WA we think we may go for Wiltshires although I am still quite partial to Suffolks but their wool is worth very little and barely covers the cost of shearing so maybe the self shearing Wilties may be the best option. Well best go and get some more wood in for the fire we have plenty of it cut so no need to be cold at night! Till next time Gillian.
I have just got some test results back from USA for our bull calf Javelin who was born early December 2013. We are pleased to say he is double polled (homozygous) and carries the Red gene also but not Dun. We also tested for A2 protein and he is A1/A2. The picture shows him having his first taste of hay and even though mum seems to like it he looks like he doesn't know what she sees in it.!! Javelin also has another genetic feature you can see quite clearly in the photo, it is called crop ear where the very tips of his ears are missing (cropped). Looking at his mother now I see she has it too but I had not noticed as it is less noticeable as they grow older. Its purely cosmetic and is something you see from time to time in Celtic breeds of cattle. I have seen a lot of it in Highland cattle and also a lot around the 1990's in Dexters here that were bred from imported semen especially particular Dun bulls. At least two of the bulls we used around then had crop ear and my foundation Jersey/Angus/ Dexter cow that I graded up a good portion of my herd from, also had it. It is not considered a fault unless it severely deforms the ear altering its function. Anyway the good news for Javelin is that we will be growing him up as a replacement bull now that Gimlet and Friday have been sold and will be interested to see how he grows out. Already he is looking to be a very solid fellow much chunkier than this photo taken in December. Happy Dextering Gillian. In mid January we delivered Gimlet to his new home along with another heifer called Hollyday. They went to the same organic farm as Fruitie and Healie went to mid December. They all joined up again along with two Guernsey heifers and made a nice little herd. This time we had a look around the farm and were impressed by the amount of still green feed they had around. A very nice spot indeed, I know they will all be happy there.
To our surprise in early February we had an enquiry from someone looking for a black, longleg, polled, Dexter bull. This time we are happy to say the enquiry came from an internet search that found our website. As it just so happens the only animal we currently had for sale was just that! Damolock Friday is such a lovely character we enjoyed having him around but he was not a lot of use to us being too closely related to much of our herd. He was a little bit under used as we had him with only four girls. Earlier last year he had visited Shanoah Park Stud where he was busy and we had just had reports that his progeny were arriving! Mostly girls, polled and looking nice. He has also been to Mystique Charm Stud since then so they have some calves to look forward to as well. Lucky for us and Friday it turns out he fitted the bill for the people enquiring and within a few days he had been sold and collected and has a new home in Clackline. Last reports were he found their lovely Dexter heifers to his liking and got straight to work!! We have had an even drier summer than usual this year so even the couch and kikuyu are struggling. I heard on the radio the other day that we are heading for the driest summer on record in our area. Fortunately for us our stock numbers are lower than usual due to our recent sales so that makes things a little easier and the revenue from the sales means we can buy in more hay if the season stretches out. Meanwhile the new calves are growing like mad and are a joy to watch, playing around and running like racehorses. They all have names now. We have Javelin the bull calf and Janellie rose a lovely heifer from one of my oldest and favourite cows and lastly Jiamon a steer calf. Auntie Jessemine keeps an eye on them all when their mothers are out of sight with her being seven and a half months old she is king of the kids. Soon in March/April they will be joined by the "K" calves but that is a story for another day. Enjoy the sun for soon we will be complaining about the rain! Cheers Gillian Well the two calves due Christmas eve and New Years eve arrived 19th and 20th of December so we had no worries about going to Perth for Christmas day to party with the relatives. My old favourite cow Grand Winn was first and had a lovely polled girl. Next Diamond had a polled boy that is destined to be a steer as Diamond is a grade three only her female calves can be registered. Altogether with the bull calf "Javelin" born earlier the three calves are having such fun running and playing together.
We have had another new addition to the herd with six month old Rise View Jessamine coming to live with us. Jess is the daughter of Damolock Destiny who we affectionately call Daisy. Daisy was sold to Rise View stud about twenty months ago and it was a sad parting as Daisy was a special girl who was born very premature and stole our hearts as we struggled to keep her alive ( the whole story is attached to my very first blog). However we had checked out that where she was going to was a good place and she would be well loved and time has proved that we were right. Not only has Daisy been happy and well looked after the owners of Rise View have become good friends of ours. As Jess is the daughter of Kooringal Ironstone the resident Dun shortleg bull at Rise View we have swapped her for one of our double polled longleg cows "Fiesta" so Rise View has a different line and Jess is away from her sire and can be mated to one of our bulls when the time comes. She is a chunky little shortleg girl with an attitude but loves a cuddle. We call her princess Jess as she lets you know if you are not paying her enough attention! Most of all I am glad to have Daisy's line back in the Damolock herd again as we lost that line that came down from Damolock Wisteria when we sold Daisy. I will post a pic of Jess on my calf page along with the three newly arrived calves soon. All four of them are polled and we hope Javelin and the newborn little girl are double polled but wont know for sure until the tests come back from the USA in a couple of weeks. Hope the New Year will be a good one for you, cheers, Gillian Well we are on the down hill slide to Christmas and doesn't time go so quickly! We have sold our Double polled bull Gimlet and he is to be delivered in the new year. We are so pleased he is going to an organic farm along with two nice in calf heifers and the potential milking cow Fruitie. Last weekend we delivered Fruitie and a heifer called Healie to the organic farm because it is not long before Fruitie will calve so we wanted to get her settled in. Healie (Austinas calf) is due in May. When we dropped them off they did not even stick around to say goodbye they put their heads down and went off to explore the grass in the orchard with their mouths. We have reports the ladies have settled in well.
That leaves only Friday, the outcross South African breeding bull with the outstanding temperament, as the last one for sale this year. Our first born calf this summer is a boy and is likely to be double polled we are thinking of calling him Javelin. We will test him for polling and A2 in the new year. We still have two cows to calve before the end of the year so we will test them all together. So have a lovely Christmas and stay safe, enjoy your friends and family and try not to get wound up with the pressure of it all, remember it is the season of good will and count to ten!! Catch you in 2014. Cheers Gillian. Well my last blog I was wondering if we would have enough winter rain and right after that it started! We still had a nice winter with plenty of sunshine but also had the best rainfall we have had for years. Touring around the South West of WA there is water lying around in lakes and swamps that haven't seen water for years. The pastures are great and farmers are generally happy. The grain growers have a bumper harvest and hay is plentiful so that is a good sign for us cattle people.
On our place our Spring calving is just starting, the first one is a couple of days overdue and tomorrow Summer starts. Calving is a bit late this year but the five cows are looking good and sporting nice shiny new summer coats. The first one is due to our old favourite bull Usurper and the rest are due to our RED polled bull Firestone. We are hoping for at least one coloured calf but strong healthy (girls) would be good. Our first calves from Gimlet our double polled bull are not due until April/May 2014, looking forward to them. Meanwhile we have done another round of testing for polling and A2 milk. We have identified another two double polled girls which was just confirmation really as I always knew they were. One of the double polled girls has also tested A2/A2 for milk. She was one of a pigeon pair that I had to decide which one to sell so that made it an easy decision and the other has found a new home with a registered breeder friend of mine because she was double polled and A1/A2. We still have the 2012 heifers to test for A2 yet to help in deciding who we are selling and which ones we are keeping for breeding. My calf pictures on this site are a bit out of date as it is those heifers that are shown as Autumn calves. We are keeping Henna the red one and Honey crème the Dun and they are doing lawn mowing duty at the moment. They are lovely girls and even quieter after we took them down to a Dexter display at the Bull and Barrel in Dardanup in October. They are from a very small line and most people thought they were calves and the kids just loved them. There even was a goat in the next door display that was bigger than them!! Anyway must go and check on the "preggy girls" so maybe I will have some new calf photos soon. Happy Dextering Gillian. |
AuthorGillian is a Dexter breeder of more than 27years living on 36 acres. Previously been employed in the medical laboratory and veterinary fields. Was self employed in own small business with her husband. Now retired and still very busy with the Dexters. Interested in Dexters, health and nutrition with emphasis on prevention and an interest in alternative medicine for animals and people. Archives
December 2022
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