The Dexter Cattle Breed

Our Dexter cattle are of an ancient Irish breed. It is a little cow, which is only about a meter high at the shoulders and which in build and height resembles the cattle kept by Iron Age and Viking Age peasants for up to 2000 years ago. It has survived in remote regions of Ireland where its ability to make do with very little and its good nature have been highly valued. It is a robust animal not requiring much winter feed and at the same time producing a lot of milk. These small cows were the "poor man's cow" and the bones of this small breed are often found as offerings in the Viking graves in Denmark.

Domestic Animals at the Lejre Experimental Centre