Elderberry Ranch Dexter Cattle

05/27/2026

Catching up on baby photos. We had two born on Saturday. Their mama's had them hidden in the woods so didn't get a chance to take photos. Kala is the black horned cow. This is Kala's first calf. Heart is the red polled. They both had bull calves.

05/21/2026

Brenda had her calf last night. This is Brenda's ninth calf for us. This is only her second bull calf. This calf is late enough I think it belongs to Kade. Her AI due date was the 5th. She was turned out with Kade two weeks after AI.

05/17/2026

Katniss had a bull calf last night. Three more to go from this breeding to O-6.

05/15/2026

I just missed seeing Fiona have her calf this morning. She was still lying down with the calf behind her. This is a heifer.

I need Disney names starting with P.

05/15/2026

Out of curiosity I decided to run Neogen Breed Seek on one of my Dexter calves. It's only a $5 add-on; so why not? I realize Dexters are not one of the 20 tested breeds. It's still interesting to see what DNA is shared between breeds.

The calf selected has full Dexter G5 pedigree verified by PV. The results are interesting. The primary breed is Red Angus 18%, second is Hereford 17%, and 67% other. It is not surprising that Dexters share DNA with other British breeds. Kerry and Devon are not included in Neogen comparison.

If you look at the literature, Timothy C Bray ran a detailed analysis of Dexter genetics for his Phd Thesis (2013). Dr Bray's results show the primary genetic contributions came from Kerry, Devon and Aberdeen Angus.

BreedSeek delivers breed verification results by identifying primary and secondary majority breeds and percentages represented in an animal for 20 breeds.

05/13/2026

First time mama Kida had her calf this morning. She let me inspect it, a little bull calf. Bulls get beef names so he is Prime Rib unless he tests well for Calpain316 C tenderness.

05/12/2026

Yesterday was Elsa 's turn to have her baby yesterday morning. This is a heifer. She had me worried there, when I walked up to inspect her she just laid there. She even let me roll her on her side to s*x. When I was back in the afternoon she was still laying down in the same spot. This morning when I fed she didn't come in with mama. Worried I searched the field. I still couldn't find her. Finally after finishing breakfast mama walked over to the fence line. Mama gave me the "my calf isn't in the bushes" look and I found her. This time she jumped up and ran to mama's side. Alls good 😊

We need a Disney name starting with P. Pansy, Petunia, and Pocahontas are taken.

05/05/2026

Today was Rosie's turn. She had the calf this morning but had him well stashed in the woods. It was hard to get a good look but I think this is a Bull. We are expecting more calves this week from the AI breeding to O-6.

05/04/2026

Our herd matriarch Ursula age 17 had her 13th calf for us, 14th overall. Ursula is such a great mother. This looks like a heifer, only Ursula's 2nd heifer.

03/09/2026

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