Dexters can be excellent family milk cows! Here's why most Dexter owners think their milk cows are so special:
Their small size makes them easy to handle.
Their thrifty nature means that they eat less than commercial dairy breeds while still producing 1-3 gallons of milk a day.
Their moderate milk production means that they can typically be milked only once a day.
They usually accept a calf-sharing routine quite well, allowing the dam to raise her own calf while still providing rich milk for the farmer's table. No need to bottle feed babies!
Their innate intelligence and docile nature usually mean they are quite agreeable for even new owners to train.
From small packages come great things!
When you own a Dexter milk cow, you own a piece of history. Dexters have been milked, on family homesteads and in family dairies for more than 100 years. They have been valued for their unique hardiness and loved for their endearing personalities. Our Dexter milk cows are some of the most treasured animals at Kirkhaven.
Dexter milk is a special kind of milk. Here's why:
Dexter milk is typically easy to digest. Some people find it easier to digest than commercial milk because it is usually consumed raw, without the commercial processing that strips milk of vital probiotics and shatter the structure of its fat molecules. But the most likely reason for its digestibility is the smaller size of its fat globules. These smaller globules fit more agreeably through the digestive system than the larger ones in commercial milk. Some people that can only drink goat's milk comfortably often find that they can also drink Dexter milk without discomfort.
Dexter milk is rich in cream, often with a 4% butter fat content. Rich butter, smooth yogurt, special homemade ice cream, and tasty cheeses are some of the dairy products we craft from our own Dexter milk.
Even if you let the cream rise to the top of your milk container, there is still plenty of cream in the rest of the milk to keep it sweet. Dexter milk is partially naturally homogenized: some of that cream stays suspended in the milk. Yum!
