Quatre Saisons Pure Bred Stud

Dexter Cattle

The hardy and manageable Dexters are one of the ancient British breeds. Once listed as rare, their resurgence in many areas of the globe is more than coincidence.

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Dexter and Kerry cattle originated from the same ancestral stock. Through the early nineteenth century both Kerry and Dexter cattle were produced from the same herds, and were registered in the same herd book. The taller, heavier animals were registered as Kerry, while the shorter stockier animals were registered as Dexter. Blood-typing has established that the two breeds are now genetically distinct. Some historians assert that Dexters evolved as an improved Devon/Kerry Cross, but there is an equally strong case that the Dexter is a direct descendant of the original Celtic Cattle with genetic markers that date back to the Bronze Age. Both breeds of cattle descends from the ancient, fine-boned, black Celtic cattle that occupied this area at the time of Caesar’s invasion of Britain.

Early writers on livestock history in the United Kingdom tell of the Kerry/Dexter and regular Irish exports in the 18th century. These little cattle were kept largely in England by the gentry as "Park" cattle on the show estates of that era. Nevertheless, in Ireland the Dexter animal was not for the gentry but the small landholder to milk and eat, or sell.

Japanese gardeners, brought to Britain to tend the new garden estates in the 18th and 19th century, are reputed to have taken Dexters back to Japan in the late 1800's. A line of Dexters was purchased and travelled on sailing ships as a source of fresh milk and meat. Some of these intermingled with Japanese cattle and the Wagyu strain evolved. There are tales of Dexters on the coastline of Africa in the 18th Century. There is some myth and romance in the Dexter legend too. An Irish legend says that Kerrie's, who grazed on the coast's seaweed, mated with sea lions to produce the original Dexters.

The Dexter breed is probably descended from the Celtic Shorthorn, brought to Ireland as early as 2000 BC. They were developed as a dual purpose breed suited to small subsistence farms of the impoverished south-western regions of Ireland, where the breed’s ability to thrive and grow on meagre forage under harsh conditions made it an important asset to poor farmers. The Dexters smaller size caused less damage to soils in high rainfall areas than larger breeds.

Dexters are classified as a dual-purpose breed; used for milk and beef. However, they are often listed as a triple-purpose breed, since they are also used for oxen. Individual herd owners often concentrate on growing either a beef or a milk animal.

An adult Dexter Cow will weigh about 300 kgs and delight you with at least seven litres of milk most days. Considering their small size, the body is wide and deep with a well-rounded hindquarter. Although usually black, a dark-red or dun Dexter is sometimes found, all animals are always solid, with only very minor white marking on the udder or behind the navel. The cattle are fine boned with delicate heads and upswept, lyre-shaped white horns with black tips. They are active grazers and browsers, hardy and long-lived, often continuing to be productive milking cattle into their teens. . Dexter meat provides smaller cuts of delicious beef and these hardy little animals will breed more easily under difficult environmental conditions. The average carcass dress out is 50 to 60 percent with small cuts of high quality lean meat, graded choice, with little waste. The beef produced by Dexters is well marbled and tends to be darker.

Dexters produce a rich milk, relatively high in butterfat (4%) and the quality of the milk overall is similar to that of the Jersey. The globules of butterfat in the milk are smaller than those from most dairy breeds, making the milk more easily digestible by people and also particularly well suited for cheese production.

The cows are exceptionally good mothers, hiding their calves almost from birth if there is any shrub or tree cover. They are known for easy calving and will produce enough milk to feed 2-3 calves, and often will willingly nurse calves from other cows.

This trait, along with the small size of the calf, has produced a small but growing market for Dexter bulls to breed to first calf heifers among the larger beef breeds to eliminate problems at parturition.

Dexter’s come in two different types: short-legged and long-legged. Short-legged animals are carriers of the chondrodysplasia, or "bulldog" mutation and should not be bred with another short-legged Dexter. Long-legged Dexter do not carry the mutation. Dexter’s are typically horned; however, a polled strain was developed in the 1990's.

The popularity of Dexters has been fuelled by a desire for organic food, health concerns over factory farming, and soaring food prices. Dexters have an inheritance of centuries of neglect, running semi-wild in the hills of Ireland, and offer a low maintenance disease resistant option for the small landholder. There are less than one thousand purebred Dexters in Australia.

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Dorper Sheep

TThe breed was developed in South Africa in the 1930's by crossing Blackhead Persian ewes with a Dorset Horn ram. They were bred to produce a high quality carcass under harsh sub-Saharan conditions. The Blackhead Persian was selected for its non-selective grazing, coat shedding, hardiness and good mothering abilities. The Dorset Horn was selected for its rapid growth rates and carcass attributes. Together they produced the Dorper- a fixed breed type, giving a reliable reproduction of features and characteristics.

The breed was introduced into Australia in 1996 and has the potential to be developed for domestic and export meat markets.

Dorper Sheep are barrel shaped with short, dullish black or white hair on the head. A short, loose light covering of hair and wool (wool predominating on the forequarter) with a naturally clean kempt underline, is a typical breed standard. An even distribution of a thin layer of fat compliments the breed.

Dorpers can adapt to most grazing conditions. Purebred lambs will start to graze in the first few days after birth. F1 lambs after about two weeks. The ability to manage solely on pasture (even without hay) varies with breed, but Dorper sheep not only survive they thrive. They grow rapidly and can attain a high weaning weight.

Dorpers fast growth rates allow for early marketing, with the potential to fill market supply shortfalls.

The Dorper are an economical breed saving costs associated with handling. The breed sheds its fleece avoiding the need for mustering for shearing, crutching and fly control.

The Dorper can breed continually, with no defined season. Their breeding intervals can be as short as 8 months or 3 times in 2 years. Running rams with ewes continuously is one option that may stimulate reproduction; however, it is also likely that ewes will adjust their fertility according to conditions.

Full blood registered stud rams and ewes are available direct from the property.

Quatre Saisons offers private selection of quality stud stock by appointment.

All full blood animals sold are presented unshorn so clients can fully asses the fleece shedding ability of the stock.

Our current ram ‘Piri’ is progeny sired by ‘Big Al’ Supreme Champion Exhibit at the National Dorper Championships at Dubbo in NSW in May 2007.

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East Friesian

The East Friesian is a breed of dairy sheep and is the second most milk productive sheep in the world, producing in average 300-600 litres per 200 to 300 day lactation. The tail is thin and free of wool. High fertility produces litters of lambs-usually 3 or 4-each season. Most of their energy goes into producing milk to feed their lambs so they have a lean carcass.

Fleece production ranges from 4-5 kilograms and is used for weaving with an average 35-37 microns and a staple length of 120-160mm.

So far, the East Friesians have proven a challenge to establish in our extreme climate, and milk production has been limited to feeding the lamb drop this spring. While the ewes are happy enough, it looks like it will take a few seasons for milk production and our infrastructure to develop enough to allow sheep’s milk cheese making to reach a commercial level.

Jersey

Jerseys are well known as curious and gentle cattle. The Jersey was bred on the British Channel Island of Jersey and is descended from cattle stock brought over from the nearby Norman mainland, and was first recorded as a separate breed around 1700.

The Jersey cow is quite small, ranging from only 360 to 540 kg. Bulls are also small, ranging from 540 to 820 kg, and are notoriously aggressive-however we do not keep Jersey bulls on Quatre Saisons, preferring to source our genetics from Silhouette Farm in Echuca, where the Worboys family, today headed by Anne and Richard have been breeding award winning Jersey cattle since 1960.

Anne and Richard have helped us to appreciate the Jerseys ability to thrive on natural pasture providing magnificent milking capacity in proportion to lower maintenance requirements. Their rich creamy milk produces fantastic ice cream, cheese and other dairy products. Our cows are hand raised from day old calves and are very easy to handle. Indeed they push the boundaries of the term ‘house cow’ to a whole new level and will follow family around the paddocks walking miles alongside, just for the company, and will visit inside the house kitchen if given the chance.

Jerseys have a lighter band around their muzzle, a dark switch (long hair on the end of the tail), and black hooves. In the past decade, importation of semen and embryo material from Europe and the US has become much easier and breed colour regulations have been relaxed to allow a broadening of the gene pool of jersey cattle in Australia.

Their small size, docile and inquisitive character, attractive physical features and high milk production rates make Jersey cattle the perfect house cow.

Poultry

Domestic poultry can be traced back to when people gave up the nomadic life and settled in small villages. They gathered around them all the animals that could supply their daily needs and these included the chicken.

One reason many people decide to keep their own poultry at home is that they know the treatment of their birds will be to higher standards than those of the commercial operations and of course the eggs. The quality and freshness of eggs produced by your own hens cannot be compared to anything you will buy in a supermarket.

I was just like most beginners to domestic poultry keeping. I started with home egg production as my main motive and chose the readily available commercial hybrids. Then I started to read a little more and visit country shows and discovered there were so many different purebred birds-beautiful birds with amazing feather patterns and body styles. I discovered they all had distinct and attractive eggshell colours,

It was at this point I realised just how rare some breeds are. I might read about a certain variety, decide to buy some and then discover that there are very few specimens in the country and even fewer available for sale. I recommend the Rare Breed Trust of Australia as a good starting resource for anyone who wants to learn more about rare poultry and other traditional domesticated animals in Australia. All modern production poultry used in farming today originate from carefully selected old heritage breeds and keeping a diverse national gene bank is important, in the event that new characteristics are needed in the future.

Chooks, ducks, and others at Quatre Saisons-the simple life that grew……

We have day old chicks and pullet poultry available for sale during the breeding season from October to Christmas, and more mature birds available in the autumn, usually after Easter each year. Orders are welcome.

Livestock Guardians

Livestock guardians are animals that are used to defend farm stock against predators. On Quatre Saisons, we have several kilometres between pastures separated by large tracts of forest and we are in close proximity to a rural lifestyle zone so domestic dogs are a reality. The front paddocks are open and less attractive to foxes than the heavily timbered areas at the rear of our property, which share boundaries with the neighbouring Mundoonen ranges. This boundary terrain at the back of our property harbours foxes but is also home to eagles, goanna’s and other predators of new lambs. These risks to our stud animals have forced us to re-evaluate some of the assumptions we may have had when we first started to keep farm stock.

Today, we use a mix of Maremma dogs and Alpaca as livestock guardians.

Maremma Dogs

Maremma are often referred to as Italian sheepdogs, where for centuries they have been the traditional companion of herdsmen protecting flocks of sheep, especially in the mountainous northern regions of Italy. Every European country has it ‘native’ breed of livestock guardian dog, with small differences in appearance or temperament that have developed over centuries in particular regions to suit local conditions. Maremma, while not your average ‘trainable’ companion dog, excel in caring for ewes and their lambs, but are also adept guarding most other species of livestock.

Unlike a herding dog such as the Kelpie or Border collie, a livestock guardian dog does not control the movement of the flock with aggressive or predatory actions causing bunching. Instead, these dogs will blend into the flock and generally ignore the individual animals in favour of keeping an eye out for potential threats in a broader arc. These qualities make them particularly useful in guarding East Friesian sheep who tend to graze away from their offspring and whose lambs are quite helpless when new.

The Maremma has a solid, muscular build, thick white coat, large head, and black nose. Their double thick coat is very effective in keeping them warm in our bitter winters and they happily live outdoors all year. Maremma typically weigh between 30–50 kg and stand from 60–75 cm - though some dogs can grow to massive proportions. These dogs take about two years to fully develop into adults, but most of them become capable protectors long before that. They are similar in appearance and purpose to other European bred livestock guardian dogs, such as Anatolian Shepherds or Pyrenees Mountain Dogs, but are not territorial or aggressive towards people.

Maremma are introduced to livestock as puppies so they imprint on “their” animals. A maremma dog raised with sheep or goats will generally not be an effective guardian of cattle and one raised with cattle will not be an effective guardian of goats or sheep.

Imprinting is critical because Maremma behave in a non-predatory and protective way only toward animal species they have been raised with. Bonding maremma dogs to cattle is more difficult than bonding them to the smaller livestock species.

Maremma are working animals and are not generally suited to domestic life. Proper socialisation and instinct, not training, are key to rearing maremma as an effective livestock guardian dog. They are faithful to (usually) a single human master and do not take directions from anyone. This can be very frustrating, but is a natural response that allows these dogs to independently care for their flock and protect them against many dangers.

Livestock guardian dogs seldom kill predators; in most cases predator attacks are prevented by a display of aggressiveness and the dogs regular presence tend to condition predators to seek unguarded non-farm animal prey. Livestock guardian dogs are known to drive off predators that physically they would be no match for, such as eagles or wild dogs.

Environmentalists have come to appreciate livestock guardian dogs such as Maremma because they allow sheep and cattle farming to coexist with predators in the same or nearby habitats. While foxes are not considered ‘valuable’, like wolf populations or cheetah on other continents, ways of separating them from farm stock without the use of traps, firearms or poison are important both for the environment and for the safety of farm families.

We find that Maremma are proactive in patrolling ‘their’ paddocks and are very effective in deterring most predators before they are close to the flock. Unfortunately, we have also come to rely on Maremma in protecting our stock against stray domestic dogs.

Huacaya Alpacas: (pronounced wah-KI-ya)

There are a number of different types of alpaca. In Australia, the Suri and the Huacaya are the most commonly seen.

Young alpaca are used on Quatre Saisons as livestock guardians with our rare breed poultry and newly separated calves and lambs close in to the house. Mature alpaca are also used as flock management on other parts of the property, especially during lambing.

With their smaller size and quizzical faces, it’s easy to understand why many people raise alpacas for companionship and as a part of enjoying a rural lifestyle. Indeed, they are so beautiful to look at and a great deal of fun to live with.

Alpacas are clean, safe, quiet, intelligent, and disease resistant. Clean up is easy since alpacas deposit droppings in only one or two places -- very tidy and very convenient for the veggie garden! They have a charismatic manner, do very well on small acreage, and produce a luxury fibre that is in high demand.

Alpacas are originally from South America where the Incas bred them for thousands of years. They are a small and relatively easy livestock to maintain standing about 90 to 100cms tall and weigh between 70-90 kilos fully grown.

Having evolved in incredibly harsh conditions, Alpaca require only basic shelter and protection from heat and foul weather.

Alpaca graze and do well on pasture grass and having three stomachs enables alpaca to utilise their food more efficiently than other domesticated stock and to get all available nutrition from what they eat.

Alpacas do not have hooves so will not cause compaction of the soil to the same degree as other types of livestock. They have two toes, with hard toenails on the top of their feet and a soft pad on the bottom, much like a dog's foot.

Huacaya are prized for its thick, soft fleece which features a short, dense, crimpy fibre and the lovely fleece is a bonus for us.

Alpaca fibre has been known for centuries as "The Fibre of The Gods" and offers quality, versatility and rarity.

In the fashion world, it is considered to be one of the most exclusive fibres, competing with wool, cashmere and mohair, and can be used as a sheer in the finest silks, or be woven thick and chunky to mix in with tweeds and wool. It dyes easily, makes the warmest batting, the softest felt, spins like a dream, and can be mixed with other fibres to combine textures and beauty. You can buy alpaca fleece directly from us. Huacaya are intelligent, intensely interested in the world around them, and somewhat aloof. Baby Alpaca, called cria should never be separated from their dams too soon, as they will fret. Alpaca mamas do not lick their young in the manner of cats and dogs (and wolves and tigers...), so touch is not imprinted as a pleasurable sensation on the cria. Tolerating and accepting touch later on must be learned. This trait also gives alpaca an inbuilt capacity to enjoy the seemingly solitary life with sheep or other farmstock. They have a highly developed sense of self-protection, and their unique vision and awareness of prey animals make non breeding or neutered male alpaca ideal flock guardians. Alpaca feed and care requirements are very similar to sheep, so they are easy to pasture together. We only use wethered males as guardians.

Contact us for more information, or to buy a livestock guardian for your animals.

Pomeranian Dogs

The Pomeranian, a favourite of royalty, is a descendant of the Spitz sled dogs. Spitz are a very ancient dog type, many smaller types of Spitz resemble each other and today's tiny Pomeranian has an unexpected canine lineage. This fluffy member of the toy group has ancestors who were sturdy members of the working group – the Spitz sled dogs of Lapland and Greenland. Early cousins of the Spitz also worked herding sheep in the early 19th century. In fact, it's easier to imagine today's Pomeranian yapping around the edges of a herd of sheep than pulling a sled through snow. Still, traces of the Spitz can be seen in the Pomeranian's colours and winter-textured coat.

Pomeranians get their name from a region on the southern Baltic coast known as Pomerania, where the dogs were imported into Europe and bred down to size. In 1870, the Kennel Club in England recognized the Pomeranian breed, calling it the "spitz” dog.

Queen Victoria of England, who once had 35 Pomeranians, made the dog popular in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was introduced to the breed by her mother, Queen Charlotte. Queen Victoria’s work with the breed is credited with having reduced the size of this breed, and it must have taken many generations of breeding to reduce the thirty pound Spitz to a much-reduced size much closer to the size of today's Pomeranian. In 1891, Queen Victoria showed six of her dogs: Fluffy, Nino, Mino, Beppo, Gilda and Lulu, and at least two of the dogs won championships.

Pomeranians are small dogs, but they are not afraid to stand up to dogs much bigger than they in size. The Pomeranian has a double coat: a soft and fluffy undercoat with harsher guard hairs. Because of their long double-coat, they tend to seek out cooler environments, and it is common to find them lying down on a cold floor, in the shade out of the sun when outside or on an isolated hard surface. The Pomeranian Breed standard calls for the Pomeranian females to be slightly larger than the male. A Pomeranian can be many colors, but the most common color is solid with lighter shadings on the ruff, tail and breechings.

Our poms are solid black, solid white, sable and champagne. Any colour of pup is possible!!

Healthy Poms often live 12-19 years. Pomeranians are typically very friendly, playful and active. They are very intelligent and are easily housebroken and trained. They rank 23rd in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of excellent working/obedience intelligence. Pomeranians are extroverted and socialize well with other dogs, animals, and people.

Although many people believe the Pomeranian to be a lap dog, the breed typically does not like to be held or sit on a person's lap for long periods.

They are extremely loyal and will sit or lay content at an owner's feet, but normally prefer not to be over handled. They tend to usually be good with kids from the age of 3+ if raised with them from the start. Because of their size, Pomeranians do well in apartments, but they are able to adapt to most any situation or environment. Our dogs love the outdoor farm life.

Bright and intelligent pups from excellent purebred registered parents that are VET checked, vaccinated, wormed and ready for new homes are available.

Contact us for details.

Welsh Black Cattle

The Welsh Black breed of cattle is one of the oldest in Britain, having inhabited the hills of Wales since pre-Roman and pre-Christian times and it has been suggested that the breed is based on cattle from the Iberian Peninsula.

They were the Ancient Britons' most prized possessions when they retreated westwards from the invading Saxons. Certainly black cattle have been bred in Wales for well over 1,000 years and, as in Scotland and many other parts of Britain, were often used as currency. This gave rise to the description of the Welsh Black as "the black gold from the Welsh hills". Drovers would herd the cattle for weeks to sell them at English markets, and return to Wales with large amounts of money which unfortunately made them the target of bandits and highwaymen. But this constant threat of robbery prompted the formation of the first bank – the Bank of the Black Ox, which evolved into Lloyds Bank.

A tremendously hardy breed, with the ability to withstand extremes of temperature and terrain, it is officially classified as a dual-purpose breed, producing both milk and beef.

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Wessex Saddle Back Pigs