[John O]

They are long-legged, black. Our Dexters are smart and good-natured. They are not as docile as some breeds certainly but I like them quite a lot. Most of my herd comes from older-type Dexters because I breed artificially. I have two older cows I would sell. Maggie and Connie– they are long-legged and have done quite well for us. They are nine and ten years old– I expect them to have several years of productivity left. I believe they are both bred to Ace of Clove Brook for next spring. Although their milk production has slowed ( our main business is dairy), they would be a good way to start/add to a herd of Dexters. Connie has had seven heifer calves in a row. They have horns and are tame– I’ve milked them both for the last seven years. $1200 each

[John O]

I’ll put some pictures up–

John

[John O]

I saw an Amish fellow nearby here had converted a horsedrawn mower into a sort of forecart for a PTO Grimm tedder, since ground driven tedders are locally scarce. He had a PTO shaft rigged up to attach to the gears on the converted mower– it looked clever– I haven’t done it myself. (I have a ground driven kicker/ teddder which I use with oxen). He said he hadn’t used it yet but was hopeful.

John O’Meara
New Sweden, ME

[John O]

I’ve fed a lot of root crops over the years– mostly to cows. Pigs like the tops of turnips and rutabagas more than the actual root, from my experience. I think that root crops make a lot of sense for livestock– the major stumbling block is harvesting large quantities without spending a lot on equipment or labor– any suggestions?

For now, I’ll be growing roots on a small scale– I have a pound of mangel seed for this year and some turnips and rutabagas.

I’ve experimented with adding potatoes to my homebrew beer– they do add a cheap punch and don’t negatively affect flavor. I had thought of making some turnip beer for fun but maybe it wouldn’t be fun to drink.

John O’Meara
New Sweden, ME

[John O]

The terrier seems like a great solution to the rat problem. Does your terrier also live with poultry?– does it bother poultry?

[John O]

R.H. Shumway, Randolph WI. They can be found on the internet.

John O’Meara

[John O]

Thanks for the replies– This gives me some ideas for next year. We’ve had over 60 inches so far here.

John O’Meara
New Sweden, ME

[John O]

The economic viabilty of animal power seems like an essential topic, though I don’t mean to imply that everything comes down to money. For my farm, oxen seem to make some financial sense. I have a small herd of cows so have extra bull calves– steers are fairly easy to train, easy keepers, hardy, and taste good if things come to that.

Today I spent some time training my newest team, a small pair of Dexter calves. They’re nine months old and do well moving small square bales around the farm on a small sled– it saves me time, trains them, and doesn’t use fuel.

In the summer, I make my hay (5,000 bales this year) with two Farmall H’s but I’m trying to devise more ways to farm with animal power.

I like these Dexters– I’ve had more than a few teams of various breeds but the thrift of the Dexters makes sense. They don’t eat much and seem to be proportionately stronger than other breeds. They’re not docile but fiesty enough to get the job done. I’ve done mostly logging with them– they do well on the snow. The question is how much farming can get done with a team that weighs about a ton as mature animals, as do Dexter steers.

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