Post by wvdexters on Aug 8, 2016 21:34:47 GMT -6
We were spending time with the Dexters last eve and took the opportunity to do a little measuring while everyone was munching on a few corn stalks I tossed in. Our goal here is to breed according to the Breed Description and to breed Traditional Dexters as close as we can to those you would have seen many yrs ago.
It is very rewarding and Macklynn's first calves have been such a delight. Little "Wee Faethe" is adding up to her name. The smallest of the 3, she measures about 28" at 6 mos. Such a sweet little heifer. She'd be ideal for someone with children wanting to show or someone just looking for thick shorties to add to their herd . Cora Lynn came next and is the largest of the heifers at around 31" at the shoulder. She was a little harder to measure than Wee because she was so busy checking out the ruler. Judith comes in somewhere in between. I'm guessing probably around 29-30" because she was too busy helping mom with the stalks.
Triu Inion is growing into such a beautiful cow. Not a Shorty (Chondro) but still only 39" approx. and with such great depth. Even on sparse pasture/hay she's maintained her condition while nursing her own as well as the other calves. No extra feed, just minerals. I'm just so pleased with her and am excited about the future calves she will be producing here.
While Macklynn didn't get measured, he's in another field away from the heifers for a while (just in case) he looks to be following along his grandsire's Brenn's lines. Long and thick with great conformation. No where near the height of Triu and much closer to that of his mother who is more in the 36" range. We'll have to get him tomorrow if I can get him somewhere where the ground is a bit flatter. Hard to do on the side of a hill.
Until we can get them down to the even area I'll have to settle for the carpenter's rule even with the foot method. Not precise but with 2 people pretty close.