# Miniature Cattle Info. Please



## babyboy1_mom (Feb 3, 2009)

I am doing research on Mini Cows.  I am interested in the smaller breeds because the larger breeds are intimidating to my small self.  I am only 5'1" tall.  

I am lookiing for a breed that will produce good milk and that I will be able to eat/freezer the extra males.  

I have read up on the Mini Jerseys and know that they produce very good milk, but they do grow slower.  

The Dexters, from what I have read, are larger than the Mini Jerseys and are actually more of a medium sized cow. (Correct me if I am wrong.) 

The Zebus are more of a Brangus looking breed and don't seem to be for milk. 

What is the "Banded (?)" breed?  The ones that are black in front and back, but with the white band around the middle. Are these for meat, milk or both? 

I have read that I can keep 2-3 miniatures in the same space as 1 full sized cow, so that helps alot. I have the land to do so, but not the fencing yet. 

Any and all info. on the miniature milk/beef breeds that you are able to provide will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,
Dorothy


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 3, 2009)

babyboy1_mom said:
			
		

> What is the "Banded (?)" breed?  The ones that are black in front and back, but with the white band around the middle. Are these for meat, milk or both?


Are you thinking of the Belted Galloway and/or Dutch Belted (or Lakenvelder)?

Some info found in the article, _Stock Answeres for Small Farms _by Andrea Curry in *The Old Farmer's 2009 Almanac.*

*MINI MOOS*
-Modern mni-bovines are descendants of 18th and 19th century stock, but with many breeds averaging under 600 pounds and standing less than 42 inches tall at the hip, these cows are bred to be smaller than their nacestors.
-For a mini-milker, figure on at least half an acre. She will need a small barn or shed for milking, feeding, and shelter. 
-Expect to give her about 25 pounds of hay, 2 pounds of grain, and 6 gallons of water on average per day while milking.
-A mini-moo requires as much work as a standard-breed cow.

*Awesome Oxen*
-Dexter, Hereford, Longhorn, Jersey, Lowline (mini-Angus), and Zebu are the most popular breeds. A mini-Zebu weighs 200-500 pounds while mini-Dexters and -Herefords come in at about 1,000 pounds.
-A mature ox requires about an acre of pasture in the growing seasons and about 30 pounds of hay per day in winter, plus 3 pounds of mixed feed per working day. Provide a dry shelter for sleep and relief from the cold.
-A team can haul hay, water, firewood, manure, cleared brush, or gathered leaves.

Hope this answers some of your questions.


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## wynedot55 (Feb 3, 2009)

as said your thinking of the dutch belted cattle.for milk you can get a mini jersey if you can find 1.they do have mini hereford cattle.an they produce smaller cuts of beef.


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## captchris (Feb 3, 2009)

i to am looking into mini cattle but more for meat than milk have you found any good web sites that can assest? also i dont have very much pasture and was woundering if highlands would be a better idea


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 3, 2009)

I'm thinking the Highlands will need the about the same as a full size breed? We have some Highland owners here and hopefully they can help you with that. 

Have you looked at the breeds in my above post under Awesome oxen? Those would be meat breeds.


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## wynedot55 (Feb 3, 2009)

a highland cow requires an acre of land.but they are like longhorns.in that they can survive on brushy rough pastures.


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## babyboy1_mom (Feb 3, 2009)

*FarmerKitty *- I don't know if the ones that I saw were the Belted Gateway and/or Dutch Belted. I will go see if I can find the website that I saw them on yesterday.  I don't mind the work load that is required. I am just intimidated by the larger breeds.  I know that I have a calf that will eventually be a large boy, but I am hoping that I will overcome my fear if I have raised him from a calf.  I also have my DH here to help, as little as that may be.  He knows less about cows than I do....lol  

I am wanting milk more and then have enough meat to put in my freezer whenever I have a little bull calf.  I think that it would be nice to have the fresh milk on a daily basis and then have the fresh meat to eat.  I do not plan on having more than 2 or 3 cows at one time. We are only a family of 3, so I think that the smaller breed would fit in our family better than the larger breeds. 

I am very interested in the Jersey, but an not sure yet on which breed that I will get. 

*captchris *- I have done more browsing right now. I did find some of the websited informative. One even offered to help me get started with a full sized cow and then breeding down. I want to start with the smaller breed, because the bigger is too scary to me..lol

I have not found any that are very close to me. I did find what seemed to be a pretty good deal, but they were in Oregon and that is wayyyyy toooo far for me, being here is south Louisiana...lol

More advice and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Dorothy


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 4, 2009)

With being intimidated by their size, I can understand the miniature version for a milk cow. The little guy you have now will grow into a big guy but, you won't have to get right in next to him and work with him as you will have to a milk cow. Please, let that help comfort you on his size.

I'm not familar with any of the minature breeds but, had run across the article and kept it in mind as I know many here are interested in minatures.


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## kstaven (Feb 5, 2009)

http://www.minicattle.com/index.cfm Here is a great resource for mini information.


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## pokacow (Feb 5, 2009)

I too wanted both milk & meat but not the size.  I chose the Dexter as it is one of the older natural type breeds & like Highland, will browse & eat almost anything.  They were bred for the small landowner as the "family" cow.  They give around 2 gallons of milk a day, some more, some less @ around 4% butterfat.  They finish out at around 60% after butchering, comparable to some of the larger breeds.  Like anything to do with animals, there are no "exact" #'s, variables are genetics, feed, enviornment.  There are lines that are more beefy & some are more milk.  I love mine, she is adorable!  Very gentle for not being handled much prior to getting her.  She is a fast learner & coming around nicely to haltering & me running my hands all over her, picking up her feet yada yada. You can google the ADCA or PDCA websites for more info.  Hope this helps a bit! J


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## m.holloway (Feb 9, 2009)

can't help on what breed to get. my 2 cents is that i got lucky on mine. they are not mini's and not milking either but pets for sure. they are 1yr and 3 month weight is 435 and 460 in good health, not over 4 feet if that.they are cross bred. one is char-lay / angus and the other is beefmaster/hereford. i sent pics in to farmer kitty and got some feed back on it. they said they look small too, but not sick looking. we have a cattle camp again on feb 14 i plan to weight them again to see if they have gain weight. since the advice was to feed them more. they eat 8 pd of grain each and 3 times of hay a day,and 10 oranges each a day for now, our grass is gone for now. just 2 cents??i want a milking cow too. but that is in the future wayyyyyyy in the future. hahaha hubby is not one to say yes to another cow or now.


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## hollybird (Feb 9, 2009)

dexter's corner farm has great info on the mini jersey or guinea jersey.


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## amyquilt (Feb 22, 2009)

wynedot55 said:
			
		

> a highland cow requires an acre of land.but they are like longhorns.in that they can survive on brushy rough pastures.


I've been reading some on Highlands.  Living here in the Texas Panhandle, with the terrain and prairie grasses, sounds like they would do well here. 

Do they really work well for dual purpose or mainly just for meat?


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## wynedot55 (Feb 22, 2009)

you could milk them but i dont know how much milk  they give.


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 22, 2009)

A friend of my DH's family had one. At the time we were there, she was springing. They said that all she had to produce for milk was enough for the calf and were not hopeful of milking her at all. I don't know how she did but, I got the impression that they really don't give a lot of milk. I know we have a couple highland owners on the board here and they just have them for beef animals.


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## amyquilt (Feb 25, 2009)

I've read that...after I posted. lol


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## j.luetkemeyer (Feb 26, 2009)

I own a Dexter and I am looking at getting a Mini-Jersey or at least a smaller Jersey depending on the price of the Mini.  My Dexter is fairly small.  I don't think she will get over 650lbs but I haven't weighed her lately to see where she is at.  I plan on weighing her in April when she turns 1 year old.

I'm also thinking of breeding my Dexter to a Mini Jersey Bull.  This cross is known as a Belfair.  The cow resembles a dexter; however, it usually results in a polled animal and the cows will produce more milk than a purebread Dexter. 

My reasoning for having both breeds is the milk of the Dexter has smaller fat globules making it easier for human digestion.  I want the Jersey for the higher butterfat to make other dairy products.

Is anyone aware of the pricing of Mini-Jerseys in the Midwest?


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## Biddieacres (Feb 26, 2009)

So glad to find this.  I was just about to post the same question.  :bun


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## promiselandfarm (Mar 15, 2009)

I am so glad someone on I think it was Beekissed posted this sister site on one of the other sister sites. My son and daughter went in together last summer and purchased a Jersey with calf who died only days after arriving on our farm(*terrible long story...not our fault other than they purchased a very malnourished cow). Anyway all the meds and vet care could not save mom but we did manage to save the calf who happened to be a bull calf. He however is looking to be a mini not a full size boy. This is possible because the place were we got them from raised minis. So now my Daughter bought out her brother who after the vet bills just was so sick of it all wanted out. Long story we had to have the calf tubed daily as he refused to suck from a bottle or a goat or anything other than his mother. Anyway.... She wants to find him a mate and we have time as he is slow in growing so we have time.


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## Farmer Kitty (Mar 16, 2009)




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## wynedot55 (Mar 16, 2009)




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## sparkles2307 (Mar 25, 2009)

The belted ones are Beulingo.


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## Little Cow (May 22, 2009)

Here's a link that may help you if you are still considering a Dexter:

http://www.dextercattle.org/


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## no nonsense (Oct 22, 2009)

Farmer Kitty said:
			
		

> babyboy1_mom said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm sorry, but the woman who wrote that article does not know oxen. Dexters, Longhorns and Jerseys are sometimes used as oxen, but they are far from the most popular breeds. Devons, Milking Shorthorns, Holsteins, Chianinas and even Dutch Belts are more popular as oxen.  Horned Herefords are popular as oxen in Canada, especially the Atlantic provinces, but not much anywhere else. Many different zebu breeds are used in Africa and Asia, but very few in the US, and Angus are almost never used, anywhere. First off, you'd need too much pasture or feed for such a large framed beef animal, they heat up too much in hot weather for the same reason, when working, and above all, they're polled. You cannot use polled animals for oxen, unles you use a britchen. The horns hold back the yoke, keeping it from slipping off over the animal's head. A yoke can be kept on with a britchen, but seldom is, except when using a single ox. Three pounds of feed per day? Not on most adult oxen, without getting them too fat. Most are fed on pasture or hay only. Relief from the cold? Who does that with any cattle? A place to get out of the elements, maybe, if they'll even use it, but cold? Never.


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## Cheepsunglasses (Nov 28, 2009)

On the Mini-Jersey question: Ours produce between 2 and 3 gallons per day. We have a new bull calf that is foundation pure and registerable with the AMJA. If anyone's interested, we have a pic on our blog at: triskelionfarm.blogspot.com.


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## Little Cow (Mar 12, 2010)

I raise Dexters so I might be able to help explain the author's list there.

Dexters aren't very common so I agree about them not being commonly seen in oxen teams.  However, many people, especially up in the Northeast, have Dexter draft animals.  I think the relative numbers of oxen compared to relative numbers of Dexters are higher than most breeds and that is why the author mentions them.  Dexters are very tractable, smart, and easy to train.  Once our son is off the elementary school I'm going to put together an oxen team from our Dexters.


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## BDial (Aug 1, 2010)

I am looking into different breeds of cattle and keep coming back to the Piney woods cattle. Some strains are larger but the majority are smaller. I have talked with a breeder that has had the cows in the family for generations and he says they get about a gallon a day when milking and leaving mom nurse the calf. They are a tri purpose breed that is very hardy and easy to keep. Plus I really like the look. I don't know how hard it will be to find them but here is the website and they have a breeders list that you could look at.


http://www.pcrba.org/


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