Author Topic: Dexter heifer,good to eat? (Read 3652 times)

Berkshire Boy · « **on:** April 11, 2012, 04:05:40 pm »

My boar is going to stay with a couple of ladies and the owner has 2, 9 month Dexter heifer calves she is looking to sell. My only experience of cattle is a Dexter steer we had before Christmas that is now in the freezer.
Will heifers give as good meat as a steer and at what sort of age?
What would be the best thing to do with them, grow on and sell, grow on and breed from one and eat or sell the other.
I was thinking originally of just having one but I presume that like the pigs they want company of their own kind.
Any advice gratefully received.

tizaala · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2012, 06:17:28 pm »

Agricultural animals must have a companion animal of the same species, and yes, good eating on one of them.

Sylvia · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2012, 09:16:23 am »

I think I would rear then on then sell them in-calf.

landroverroy · « **Reply #3 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:42:27 pm »

Dexters make exceedingly good eating and have the advantage that you can fit half a beast in the average family freezer.
Heifer meat is meant to be more tender and succulent than steer or bull. Many family butchers only buy heifers for that reason.

smithycraft · « **Reply #4 on:** May 09, 2012, 10:18:13 am »

We have a huge chest freezer full of Dexter meat. We decided to downsize our herd and sent two away at once. They were both girls, mother and daughter - one was about 8 and the other 2 years old. The meat is the best I've ever eaten and was far more tender, with a better flavour than the 18 month old Dexter boy we sent before that. It may have been because they were hung for around 28 days whereas he only hung for a week.