Beefy little milkers

The Dexters have arrived !!

New arrivals - China and Tina

We are now the proud owners of 6 Dexter cows, of varying ages.  Here they are in pecking order:

Yellow - about 5yo, currently pregnant and should calve in the next few weeks
China - about 5yo, currently pregnant and should also calve in the next few weeks
Who - about 3yo, we suspect pregnant but not sure
Young - about 3yo, calved at our property just two days after she arrived (see below for little Rosie)
Wonder - about 1yo, heifer
Tina - about 1yo, heifer
Rosie - newest addition, exactly 4weeks old at the time of writing, born at Seven Springs.

Dexter delivery - the farm we purchased them from is only 15 mins drive.

We have put some effort into getting to know them, and having them get to know us.  They will come up the hill to the yards at the house when Michelle calls them, generally China and Yellow first, Young is always last.  All will eat Lucerne from our hands - Yellow and China particularly like to be hand fed.

Little Rosie arrived without us even realising Young was in labour.  We went to Lismore that morning, and when we returned home at approx. 2.30pm there was little Rosie, not more than a few hours old and very wobbly on her feet.  She had been cleaned up by Young, but the placenta was still evident on the ground.  At this stage they were being kept in the yards only, prior to being let out to range the property, as they had only been with us for 2 days.


Wobbly legs.  Young and Rosie, getting to know each other.

Time for a rest.

Young was initially very protective of her calf, meaning we couldn't get within 5 metres of Young for fear of being butted / gored.  She headed Ian off a couple of times (some swift fence climbing was in order).  Understandable really since she had barely been introduced to us before she calved.  Young's behaviour improved only marginally over the first 3 weeks, until we nearly lost Rosie last week.

Rosie was acting 'slow' and not her usual active and curious self on the Wednesday afternoon.  Michelle noted this change in behaviour, but did not dare approach Rosie with Young nearby.  On Thursday morning the need to check on Rosie was quite strong so Michelle set out in the Polaris Ranger.  Although not visible from the house the cows were quite close by, but Rosie was nowhere to be seen.  Michelle waited, hoping to spot Rosie hiding in the grass (it is common for cows to hide their calves while they graze nearby).  Eventually Young bellowed several times then set off on a determined march, the cows followed, Michelle too.  Young went straight to Rosie and it was immediately obvious something was very wrong.  Rosie was lying in the sun and would not / could not get up despite prodding from Young and the other cows.  Young moved from Rosie to Michelle (still wary of Young and in the Polaris) twice, mooing each time.  Then for no apparent reason Young walked off, and the other cows followed.  Michelle took her chance, picked up Rosie, and headed straight for the house.

We found the paralysis tick almost immediately and then rushed Rosie to the vet in Kyogle (about 45mins drive) in the back seat of the Hilux.  We returned home after the ministration of anti-serum, apparently designed for canines, not bovines.  Poor little Rosie got worse before she got better - upsetting for both Young and Michelle.  We really didn't think she would make it through the night.


Off to the vet.



Young and Rosie after returning from the vet.  Tina in background.

Ian went out the next morning at 4am to see if Rosie had survived the night. Young (her mum) was standing where we left Rosie but she was nowhere to be seen in the torch light. Our worst fear was that a wild dog had taken her during the night! Young called out into the darkness and a faint reply came from about 30 metres away...and lo and behold it was little Rosie standing up.  A few minutes later and she was having breakfast from Young.

We are relieved to report that Rosie has made a full recovery - it took a couple of days - and she is now back to being a normal active and curious calf.  Michelle is convinced that Young led her to Rosie and wanted her to help.  And since the 'near miss' Young is much more relaxed about Rosie.  Maybe it was just that Rosie smelled so much of Michelle by the time the ordeal was over, but Michelle likes to think that Young and she have come to an understanding - they will each look after Rosie as best they can.


Rosie - back to normal.

You might be wondering about the subject line - it is the slogan used by Dexter Cattle Australia.  The Dexter breed originates from Ireland and is a naturally small breed, about 1/3 the size of 'regular' cattle.  And, they are good producers of both milk and beef.  We obtained them with milk production in mind, but we should say now that any boy calves are eventually destined for the freezer.  For more info about Dexters follow this link:  http://dexter.une.edu.au/

We haven't started milking yet - that is for a future blog post.  But in the meantime they are an absolute joy, and daily we anticipate another new calf or two.

Grazing on the hill