Can I raise a mini zebu without pasture?

[manybirds]

u dont want to keep just one cow. get 2 goat doe's

 

[Truscifi]

Hubby has decided he wants to build a barn, so I guess shelter is settled whether we got a cow or 2 goats. Why wouldn't I want one cow though?

 

[carolinagirl]

Excuse me if I am showing my ignorance.
What differentiates Zebu from Brahman?

Zebu are miniaturized Brahman cattle, but they lack the droopy ears.

Brahman are a breed of Zebu cattle, but not all zebu are Brahman. Zebu cattle are all the hump-backed breeds. There are 75 known breeds of Zebu. Miniature zebu seem to just one of the many zebu breeds and have been around for thousands of years.

http://www.minicattlepros.com/zebu.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebu

 

[77Herford]

They are only Zebu if they are miniature?
So, why aren't they just called miniature Brahman?
And I see references all over the place referring to 'miniature Zebu', which implies (to me anyway) that there is also a full size version. Not so?

Zebu is a seperate cattle breed from Brahman's. They are somewhat smaller is size. Mini Zebu are just the same as all the other mini breeds and hopefully a fad.

 

[manybirds]

Hubby has decided he wants to build a barn, so I guess shelter is settled whether we got a cow or 2 goats. Why wouldn't I want one cow though?

well a cow or goat or horse etc has a very strong herding instinct. They become unhappy and more skiddish without a companian. Animals with a herding instinct rely on each other. the groom eachother, warn each other, if there's danger stick togeather, eat and sleep togeather, they establish a dominance system and play. Also it's alot funner to view animals interacting with each other than it is to watch them alone.

 

[Truscifi]

I see. We experienced this with our pig this year, and decided from now on we will get 2 pigs so they won't be lonely.

 

[CLSranch]

Late response but anyway. Zebu are getting more common, pigs also eat more as they compete for the feed when there is 2. Most herd animals horses, Zebu, whatever does pretty good with a goat as a companion animal. I had a horse run off my other goats from my old nanny after I got more to defend her little buddy with another horse in the pasture.