Selection depends on country of destination, but generally, the following bulls are available for export:

Belle Fourche Clay

Belle Fourche Lasair

Belle Fourche Macintosh

Belle Fourche Mr. Right

Mrald Absolutely Perfect

Mrald Overture

Please email bellefourche@aol.com for more information.

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 veterinarian. If they have their own liquid nitrogen tank, they usually ship directly to their farm. The semen is frozen and comes in individual doses, called straws.

Semen is purchased from the seller.  Once the order/payment is made, the seller will release the straws into your name at the lab.  You will then contact the lab to arrange shipping.

The lab will charge a fee for filling a shipping tank with liquid nitrogen, and renting you the tank. Most charge $35.

The lab will arrange shipping, typically with UPS. The shipping charges include delivery to your destination, pick-up of the tank from your doorstep, and return of the tank back to the lab. Normally, the UPS charge for this entire service is around $130 for any zip code, except HI and AK.  If you choose to ship another method, want insurance, or need rush delivery, the shipping cost may be higher.

If you ship from one lab to another lab, like Genex or Hawkeye, and you are not in a hurry, you can sometimes avoid the UPS charge, because labs have tanks going back and forth between them and you might be able to wait for your straws to hitch a ride.  If your A.I. technician works through one of these big labs, this may be an option.  (In Canada, this is very common; in the U.S., we do not have the same network of technicians.)

We do not have a minimum order, but nobody ever ships just one straw. You do not want to repeat the time and expense of shipping semen, if your cow doesn’t conceive the first time. As a general rule, people ship 2 straws per cow; or even try to create a little library of straws , especially if there is a selection of bulls available in the same shipment. Storage with an A.I. technician is typically free, or just pennies per straw, so extra straws can be saved for subsequent years.

Here are our prices, per straw.  There is no minimum, but there is a 10% discount on ten or more straws, and you can mix bulls to make the ten straw package.  

Belle Fourche Guido (Sexed straws, sorted for female calves) $160

Mrald Amadeus (Sexed straws, sorted for female calves)  $160

Belle Fourche Mr. Right $150

Mrald Absolutely Perfect $90

Belle Fourche Rousseau $90

Belle Fourche Mon Coco $80

Mrald Overture $80

Hillview Red Wing $65

Serenity Oak Farm Taco $100. Very low quantity, contact us before making the order.

The number of cows you can maintain per acre depends on the following:

1. Your climate and microclimate.

2. Your soil.

3. The amount of rainfall and how evenly it was distributed throughout the year.

4. Your amount of maintenance of the pasture (THIS IS HUGE).

5. Your amount of fencing, do you rotate your cattle? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

6. What have you seeded? What kind of grass do you have?

7. Only the best situations of perfect pasture, perfect maintenance, and perfect climates, can allow you to graze your cattle year-round. Everyone else will need to feed hay during their off season(s) when it is too hot/cold/dry to grow grass. New buyers will not know this and experienced breeders forget to tell them!

8. Consider the movement towards suburban farming: Someone who has 30 acres and 20 Dexters has very different pasture dynamics than someone who has 3 acres and 2 Dexters. This is because the person with more land can rotate pastures more effectively, giving the pastures more  time to rest between grazing periods.

For a climate example, areas of Colorado that are technically “perfect for cattle” may require 25 acres per cow, or more. Areas of coastal Washington State may be able to maintain 5 cows per acre during the warm summer months, but everything will turn to mud when the sunshine disappears and the cows will need to be fed hay throughout half the year.

As far as maintenance, most people don’t start to maintain their pasture until they get a few cows, so there is always the adjustment period of several years as they fiddle with different varieties of seed, getting the pH adjusted with lime, fertilizing, building more cross-fencing, or even overcoming noxious weeds.

The biggest problem is Dexter breeders are much too willing to answer this question, based on the experience they have from their own pasture. Your personal head count, after several years of maintenance, will almost never apply to the person on the phone calling about getting his first cows. The result is an epidemic of half-starved Dexters; as a result of buyers that were not only given incomplete information about pasture management, but were also told “Dexters will thrive on poor pasture.” There are too many Dexters out there that are not “thriving.” Please, direct these questions to the buyer’s local agriculture extension office, or somewhere the buyer can find local knowledge and continuing support to help them through several years of learning and adjusting.

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 surprise hoof, leg, or hip weaknesses.

Heifer #2 is a out of a decent cow from outside bloodlines, and sired by one of our best bulls. The dam had some weaknesses which appear to be corrected by the sire, as they are not apparent in this heifer. We have not seen the maternal grandparents.

In this case, we will always price Heifer #1 higher. We do not care if Heifer #2 is homozygous red, homozygous dun, homozygous polled and homozygous for A2, A3, A4 milk, or whatever other test has recently come on the market. We simply do not know as much about this animal as we know about Heifer #1.

How do we decide what bulls to keep intact?

As far as deciding which bulls will be breeding bulls, here is our process.

1. Select bull calves from the very best cows. These cows are “Queen Mums.” They must be excellent and consistent producers, and have the best udders in the herd. This means certain cows are designated as being potential bull producers and other ones are not. Since this process has been used for many generations, our herd sires are from the best udder lines; so udder selection for the sire’s side has already been done. (For this reason, we seldom keep bull calves from outside A.I. bulls, and only when there is a documented udder history, or we have experience with a number of freshened heifers from this bull. We do not rely on the phrase “Good udder bull” as it could mean anything.*)

2. Look at soundness, and the traits that go with it. Typically, feet and legs are where most bull calves fail this cut, (i.e. cow hocked, sickle hocked, toed out, lacking heel, poor hoof angle, long or splayed toes, improper wear, back at the knee, or too much hip slope). We have also bred-out bloodlines where recessed tail heads and/or “early” tail sets are common. (We consider this type of tail set to be a structural defect as it creates an unhygienic slope between the anus and the vulva in a cow.)

3. Finally, we look at production characteristics. Examples are: length of hip, hook to pin length, body length, depth, rib spring, etc. We like width between the hind legs as it gives the animal more substance, a wider stance, and the females will have a wider rear udder attachment and also be easier to milk. A lot of herd selection practices jump to our Step 3 without looking at our Step 1 and Step 2, which is why the breed has so many A.I. bulls who consistently throw bad udders, bad feet, or sloping back end. A bull with bad feet shouldn’t have been a bull. It should not matter how “big and beefy” he is!

So, in our herd, a bull qualifies to be a bull in 3 steps, one by virtue of his dam, and the other two by virtue of his soundness and production characteristics. We have not ignored the sire of the calf; but, because all our bulls have gone through this process for many generations, the sire has already gone through this same selection, as has the sire’s sire, etc. . . .

A footnote:
*Remember, this is a dual purpose breed; most Dexter registries interpret that to mean 50% of selection should be on dairy characteristics, don’t forget the udder history when selecting an A.I. bull!

The average estrous cycle is 21 days, meaning a cow will exhibit signs of heat and be receptive to a bull about every 21 days. This cycle length will vary between animals and between seasons, with winter cycle lengths being longer, and summer being shorter. The range is about 18-23 days.

Since Dexters are often not as demonstrative as some other breeds, their signs of estrous may be more subtle, and the classic “bellowing at the gate” that all the old-timers tell you to look for, may simply not occur.

Here are some other signs to look for:

Signs a cow is coming into heat:

An early sign may be that the cow is restless, and is standing up and twitching her tail, while her herdmates are lying down.

As the cycle progresses, she will try to mount other cows, but will not stand to let them mount her, and will turn around and butt them. Her vulva may appear somewhat swollen

She may act differently than she does normally. Perhaps snorty or spooky, perhaps extra friendly and clingy or just very playful. This can be towards you or other cows.

Standing Heat:

Standing heat is the receptive period of heat, when the cow would stand to be bred by a bull. This lasts for up to 18 hours.

At this point, a cow now stands to be mounted by another cow. She may slowly walk away, but she will not turn and butt the other cow. She will be mounted several times an hour.

You may see clear, watery mucus discharge from the vulva.

Some cows will eat less or produce less milk, but this is variable

Signs a cow is coming out of heat:

Cow no longer stands to be ridden. Although you may see her mounting another cow that has come into heat.

Hair on the tail head may be worn from other cows mounting her.

You may see smudges of dried mucus on her tail or thighs

2-3 days later you may notice a slight bloody discharge. This is normal and appears regardless of if the cow conceived during the cycle.

Now, here is the tricky part. Most mounting activity occurs at night (See Table 1). So, you really need to observe your animals morning and evening, to get an idea what they were up to under the cover of darkness. (Or you can get yourself some infarred glasses and set up camp.)

When cattle are being bred A.I., it is common for breeders to desire a predictable estrous cycle, and to have several animals experience synchronized cycles. There are injections and implants that, used according to a system, will make most of your animals cycle at nearly the same time. These systems should be used under the supervision of an A.I. technician or veterinarian. However, this does not completely relieve you of heat detection duty.

There are some great products that are designed to help us catch cows in heat. One is the heat detection patch, which is applied on to the top of the tail head. This patch will be damaged when the cow mounted, and it will change color indicating you’ve missed some action. http://www.jefferspet.com/kamar-heatmount-detectors/camid/LIV/cp/16361/  There is also chalk or a grease pen that can be obtained through catalogs or at some feed stores. Apply a solid stripe down the tail head and if it’s rubbed off you missed some action. http://www.jefferspet.com/all-weather-twist-stick-livestock-marker/camid/LIV/cp/L2-M5/ You can also use florescent spray paint from your local hardware store.

There is also electronic heat detection. An electronic heat detector is placed in a special pouch and glued to the cow’s back. Information about the duration and frequency of mounting activity is registered, giving the technician an accurate assessment of when the cow was in the peak of her estrous cycle. Although the cost of this system makes it impractical for most small Dexter herds, it is available at many A.I. centers. For a nominal fee, your cows can be taken to the A.I. center and enrolled in the heat detection system. The technician will gather the information on their cycles and they will be artificially inseminated at exactly the right time.

Timing is critical for artificial insemination. Many Dexter breeders actually drop their cows off at an A.I. center or the veterinarian’s office for proper heat detection, just to insure the highest success rate. This is something to consider, if you are not home enough for proper heat detection, as you don’t want to waste time and straws. The problem with this may be if the cows lose weight at the center because of changes in feed.  A cow should be gaining weight, (not losing) to maximize conception rate.  You can reduce this risk by bringing your own feed, or discussing your cow’s feed routine with the person who will be caring for her.

For those who have a veterinarian or A.I. tech come to the farm, he or she will give you the specifics for the system or protocol they are using. They will generally want to A.I. the cow 12-24 hours after the first instance of standing heat  (which is approximately when she ovulates). If you are using sexed semen, you might want to provide this link to your vet or tech, as they may not know that sexed semen is supposed to be used on the later end of the breeding window.  https://beefrepro.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Sexed-Semen-Protocols-for-Sire-Directories-2021.pdf

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 mammals; in fact, many humans have more than two nipples, but do not realize it, thinking they have a little brown mole on their chest or abdomen.

Normal teats and extra teats follow the same “milk line.” The milk line is two imaginary rows along which teats can form on the developing fetus. This is why the extra teats on cattle typically form in a line behind the primary four teats, in the same row formation.

Dairy cattle are selected for easy machine-milking, and “show cattle” are selected for a clean appearance. Both goals usually result in the removal of extra teats, preferably in a very young calf. Since most commercial dairy cattle are dehorned as calves, dairymen simply check for extra teats at the time of dehorning, and, if present, snip them off.

HOW ARE EXTRA TEATS INHERITED? This has never been determined. It is clear extra teats are not a single-gene trait that can be easily “bred out” like, say, PHA. Some articles refer to an expansion of genes that occurred when cattle began to be selected for milk long ago. Others have documented an increased frequency of extra teats in calves born to older cows, and proposed that exposure of the developing fetus to varying hormone levels may increase or decrease the likelihood of extra teats. Since it is unknown how the trait is inherited, how many genes contribute, or what other factors are involved; it is very difficult to select against.

This dry cow still shows a poor rear udder attachment, causing the udder to tip forward. Funnel teats are wedge shaped on a dry cow, and balloon out during the first couple weeks of each lactation.

DO EXTRA TEATS MEAN THE ANIMAL HAS A POOR UDDER? A poor rear udder attachment causes the cow’s udder to tip forward. Weak median suspension causes the teats to point out to the sides. A poor front udder attachment reduces capacity. Funnel teats make it difficult for a newborn calf to nurse and receive adequate colostrum. All these defects become increasingly worse with each lactation, making an udder prone to injury and difficult to milk or nurse. These defects are virtually unknown in commercial dairy cattle, but plague our Dexters. Extra teats, on the other hand, are largely a cosmetic issue and can be snipped off, if desired. They cause no actual harm to the animal.

DO EXTRA TEATS MEAN THE ANIMAL IS MORE LIKELY TO PRODUCE TWINS? No.

SOME COWS HAVE MISSING TEATS:

The opposite situation is when an animal has less than four teats. This is a much rarer occurrence, and has several causes.

In some cases of a congenitally “three-teated-cow,” the gland is present but has no corresponding teat, due to a problem that occurred within the developing fetus. It is usually a front teat that is missing. The lack of a teat will result in a quarter that will engorge with milk when the cow freshens, but since there is no exit point for the milk, the milk will be resorbed and the quarter will cease to be active. This cycle will usually repeat for each lactation.

Occasionally, a teat is bitten-off by another calf sucking on a young heifer in groups of bottle-fed calves. This is different than a congenitally absent teat.

Another cause of a missing teat is actually a severe case of poor teat spacing. If you look at an affected animal closely, two teats from the same side of the udder are so close together, they have actually fused.  Sometimes there is evidence of the fusion: There may be two orifices in the “super-teat,” or there may even be a vertical cleft. Although this is still an issue with fetal development, it is not nearly as random as an absent teat. Typically, the fused teat occurs in bloodlines that have obvious issues with teat spacing, and the cow often has closely spaced teats on the opposite side.

It is important to note that teats may also be amputated in an adult animal due to poor udder conformation (pendulous udders can be stepped on when the animal is getting up) and also may be lost as a result of extreme frost bite.

NOTES: Udder conformation is of great importance in both beef and dairy cattle, as proper udder conformation allows the animal to serve a long productive life.

Extra teats are common in cattle, can be easily removed, and have very little impact on the animal if they are not removed. Udder selection in Dexters has been lacking through the years and there are very few Dexters who have extra teats as their only udder imperfection.

Missing teats are much rarer, but probably more serious.  Sometimes missing teats represent a fused teat due to poor teat spacing in the bloodline. Poor teat spacing makes it difficult to milk the animal by hand or machine; and in severe cases, the calves must suck two teats at once.

Udder attachments must be strong in order to keep an animal productive for the long productive lifespan we expect from Dexters. Without proper udder support a cow’s udder will fall below her hocks; risking injury, limiting movement, and making it difficult for her to be milked or nurse a calf.

Electrolytes:

A dehydrated calf needs oral electrolytes, (a severely dehydrated calf may need I.V. fluids). We have found Sav-A-Caf Electrolytes Plus to be the best oral electrolyte supplement around. It is the most palatable and many (but not all) calves will drink it willingly and gratefully. It works by both replenishing electrolytes and supplementing the calf with beneficial bacteria.   It can be fed in a bucket or bottle fed, (or tube fed, if you know how to do that).  No  matter what, it is good to always have it on hand; if you don’t need it for one of your calves, someone else may need it for one of theirs, and you will have it to give to them.  It is best to purchase a number of packs, because if you have a calf that needs it, it will probably need it for several days, or it might be a large calf or adult cow that is sick and will consume a lot of Sav-A-Caf. http://www.jefferspet.com/electrolytes-plus/camid/LIV/cp/16584/

Colostrum Supplements:

The most common cause of diarrhea in the first few days of life is E. coli.  There are many varieties of E. coli and this is not the same “Killer E. coli” that seems to prefer patrons of fast food restaurants, and causes hemorrhage and  kidney failure.  This one mainly causes diarrhea and dehydration.

If you are having trouble with scours in the calves’ first few days of life, there is a bolus that may help. (They call it a colostrum supplement but it is more like an instant vaccine for E. coli and Coronavirus). You have to get a small balling gun to get it down the newborn calf, since it is like a really big pill.  Since you are taking advantage of the permeability of the calf’s G.I. tract to colostrum, you must give it within about 12 hours of birth, which is usually a couple days before they would have gotten sick from these organisms.  Remember, when the calf is born, it is too late to order it . . . so order in advance.
http://www.jefferspet.com/first-defense/camid/LIV/cp/WV-F1/
http://www.jefferspet.com/plastic-calf-balling-guns/camid/LIV/cp/0026253/

Vaccines:

Another way to hopefully wipe out scours in your herd is to vaccinate the pregnant cows about 2-4 months before they calve.  This will provide the calf with antibodies to some of the most common causes of scours, including the organisms that cause diarrhea very early in life.  One of the most popular vaccines used for this purpose is Scour Bos.
http://www.jefferspet.com/scour-bos-9/camid/LIV/cp/0027699/

Herd Management:

It will also help to increase nutrition to your cows before they calve, particularly first calf heifers.  Protein tubs are an easy way to provide supplementation without a lot of work.  A mixture of grain and calf manna, or high quality hay, pasture, or alfalfa, will also help.  Increasing the level of nutrition to the mother cow will increase the quality of the colostrum she produces, and the calf will be better protected by the antibodies he receives through this first milk.

If you have had an outbreak of neonatal scours, you should also consider moving your “calvey cows” (those soon to calve) to another pasture so the calves are not born in an area that has been contaminated by the infected calves.

You can find a lot of information online about neonatal scours in cattle, and we recommend you read all the literature. Since these sources are not able to recommend particular products, we have provided this article so you can find quick links to products that are commonly in use and give good results.

If you have had a problem with scours in your herd, you may want to discuss herd management with your veterinarian, agriculture extension agent, or university veterinary science department.  A series of tests and/or a detailed herd history may help reveal a combination of management practice and likely infectious causes of scours in your herd, which will give you a plan for how to eliminate the problem in future calving seasons.

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 until 14 months of age. If they are small for their age, they stay in Girl Scout Camp a few extra months. Girl Scouts get the best hay we can find in the winter, the best pasture we have in the summer, always have a protein tub, and typically get grain at least a few times a week, preferably every day. We keep a grain feeder there and pour in a mixture of horse pellets and Calf Manna, figuring between 1/4 to 1/2 of a 1.5 gallon bucket per Girl Scout.

If a heifer is not getting tame, one of us will lure her to the bucket and hold the bucket while she eats. After a couple feedings we start to pet her face while she eats, etc.  If we want to halter break, we put a halter on them and tie them for each grain feeding, so they associate being tied with their favorite time of the day.

The separation makes sure the herd bull does not breed them too young. The grain helps socialize them and get them to grow at a steady rate that first year. This system virtually eliminates calving problems and other health issues with their first calf, when they are statistically the most likely to have a problem.

Disclaimers: This system has worked well, for us, for over 20 years.  1) Our heifers are getting the best feed we can find.  They have achieved a high percentage of their adult size at time of breeding.  If you don’t feed them well, they will be much smaller at the same age. They will also produce poorer quality colostrum when they freshen.  2) We have heard of heifers being bred by the herd bull at less than 6 months of age.  We had this experience once, 15 years ago, out of a daughter of a foreign A.I. bull.  Since then, we do not see any evidence of such precocious puberty in our herd. 2) Our animals are not very large boned, and our herd is very uniform.  If you have large boned, heavy shouldered cattle, your heifers will need to be older than ours at the time you expose them to the bull, to avoid calving problems.