American Dexter Cattle Association

The native home of the Dexter is in the Kerry region of southwestern Ireland where they were owned by small land holders. These early Dexters roamed the shelter-less, mountainous, Irish landscape in sparse living conditions, developing the hardy, thrifty characteristics that we value in the breed today.

The first recorded importation of Dexters to America lists more than two hundred cattle arriving between 1905 and 1915. These original Dexter herds have grown to include Dexters in nearly every state in America. As one of the last tri-purpose cattle breeds in the world, Dexters continue to produce excellent beef, milk, and draft animals for American farms and ranches today.

As breeding animals, Dexters have a high fertility rate with a low rate of calving difficulties. Dexter bulls are known for their even temperament and ease of handling. Dexter cows are typically excellent mothers, displaying the type of nurturing instincts that make them highly prized in seed stock operations.

Dexters come in 3 colors: black, red, and dun. Solid colors, with occasional white on udders and/or behind the umbilicus, are the norm. Excessive white on the body, pervasive spotting, or brindling are not considered optimal. Dexters are originally a horned breed, with beautiful, sweeping, mid-sized horns that are white with black tips. Some owners of horned Dexters choose to leave the horns intact while others choose to dehorn them. Dexters can also be polled, passing-on this hornless characteristic to their offspring.