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Dexter

Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk DAD-IS (2022, Ireland): at risk/critical DAD-IS (2022, transboundary): not at risk RBST (2023): native breeds
Country of origin	Ireland
Distribution	world-wide
Use	dual-purpose, meat and milk
Traits
Weight	Female: average 325 kg (700 lb)
Height	Male: 102–112 cm (40–44 in) Female: 97–107 cm (38–42 in)
Coat	usually black, also red or dun
Horn status	usually horned, sometimes polled
Cattle Bos primigenius

The Dexter is an Irish breed of small cattle. It originated in the eighteenth century in County Kerry, in south-western Ireland, and appears to be named after a man named Dexter, who was factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Island. Until the second half of the nineteenth century it was considered a type within the Kerry breed.

History

The Dexter originated in the eighteenth century in County Kerry, in south-western Ireland, and was apparently named after a man named Dexter, who was factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Island. Rotund short-legged Kerry cattle are documented from the late eighteenth century; the Scottish agriculturalist David Low, writing in 1842, describes them as the "Dexter Breed", and writes "When any individual of a Kerry drove appears remarkably round and short legged, it is common for the country people to call it a Dexter". Until the second half of the nineteenth century the Dexter was considered a type within the Kerry breed; from 1863 it was shown in a separate class at the agricultural shows of the Royal Dublin Society. A joint herd-book, The Kerry and Dexter Herd Book, was established in 1890, and a breed society, the Kerry and Dexter Cattle Society of Ireland, was started in 1917; the name was shortened to the Kerry Cattle Society of Ireland in 1919.

It was brought to England in 1882. The breed virtually disappeared in Ireland, but was still maintained as a pure breed in a number of small herds in England and the United States.

In 2023 it was reported to DAD-IS by sixteen countries in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania; the largest populations were in Denmark and the United Kingdom. Its conservation status worldwide is listed as 'not at risk', while for Ireland it is listed as 'at risk/critical'.

Characteristics

The cattle are small; heights at the withers for bulls are usually in the range 102–112 cm, for cows about 5 cm less; the average weight of a cow is approximately 325 kg.. The coat is usually solid black, but may also be red or dun. The cattle were formerly always horned; in the twenty-first century some polled examples are seen, but the mechanism of introduction of this characteristic has not been identified.

Some Dexter cattle carry a gene for chondrodysplasia (a semilethal gene), which is a form of dwarfism that results in shorter legs than unaffected cattle. Chondrodysplasia-affected Dexters are typically 6–8 in shorter in height than unaffected ones. Breeding two chondrodysplasia-affected Dexters together results in a 25% chance that the foetus can abort prematurely. A DNA test is available to test for the chondrodysplasia gene, using tail hairs from the animal.

The aborted foetus is commonly called a bulldog, a stillborn calf that has a bulging head, compressed nose, protruding lower jaw, and swollen tongue, as well as extremely short limbs. The occurrence of bulldog foetuses is higher in calves born with a black coat than a red coat, because black coat colour is more common. Short-legged Dexter cattle are considered to be heterozygous, while bulldog foetuses are homozygous for chondrodysplasia genes.

Dexters can also be affected with pulmonary hypoplasia with anasarca (PHA), which is an incomplete formation of the lungs with accumulation of a serum fluid in various parts of the tissue of the foetus. Unlike chondrodysplasia, which has many physical signs, PHA shows no outward signs and is only detectable through DNA testing. As with Chondrodysplasia, PHA-affected Dexters should not be bred together.

Dexter cattle have short legs compared to other breeds; increased shortness is displayed from the knee to the fetlock.

Dexter cattle are very hardy, efficient grazers and are able to thrive on poor land.

Use

The Dexter is dual-purpose breed, reared for both milk and beef. Milk yields average about 2250 kg per lactation, although some farms may reach an average of 3000 kg. In flavour and texture the meat is often not as good as that of other breeds, especially if it is from a very short-legged animal.

References

1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
2. ^ Breed data sheet: Dexter / Ireland (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
3. ^ Transboundary breed: Cattle: Dexter. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
4. Watchlist overview: Watchlist 2023–2024. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed June 2023.
5. ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
6. "American Livestock Breeds Conservancy Priority Watch List". Retrieved 14 September 2008.
7. David Low (1842). The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands, volume I. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans.
8. Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. ISBN 9789054390176.
9. Davidson, Carol. "American Dexter Cattle Association". dextercattle.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
10. ^ Crew, F. A. E. (1 January 1923). "The Significance of an Achondroplasia-Like Condition Met with in Cattle". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character. 95 (667): 228–255. Bibcode:1923RSPSB..95..228C. doi:10.1098/rspb.1923.0035. hdl:1842/32808. JSTOR 81039.
11. ^ Crew, F. A. E. (1 January 1924). "The Bull-dog Calf: A Contribution to the Study of Achondroplasia". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 17 (Sect Comp Med): 39–58. doi:10.1177/003591572401701511. ISSN 0035-9157. PMC 2201457. PMID 19983950.
12. Harper, Paw; Latter, Mr; Nicholas, Fw; Cook, Rw; Gill, Pa (1 March 1998). "Chondrodysplasia in Australian Dexter cattle". Australian Veterinary Journal. 76 (3): 199–202. doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1998.tb10129.x. ISSN 1751-0813. PMID 9578757. S2CID 20074662.
13. "PHA (Pulmonary Hypoplasia with Anasarca) Fact Sheet". dextercattle.org. American Dexter Cattle Association. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

• Cattle breeds
• Cattle breeds originating in Ireland
• Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy