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Author Topic: MINI CATTLE  (Read 8922 times)

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
MINI CATTLE
« on: October 01, 2015, 09:47:50 pm »
I'm currently playing at a small holding site where the owners had ditched the bigger cattle and moved over to Welsh Blacks
 A few days ago they showed me their latest home chest freezer sized cattle .
 They are about the same body size as an almost  fully grown St Bernard  & stand about a metre tall at the top of their heads when they are heads up.
 
I've never seen such small compact cattle as these before but can see that this may be the way forward for meat eating small holders who want to grow their own .

Evidently there is a membership interest group thing for these mini cattle ..

Has anyone else considered growing them or do any of you know  the in's & out's about these small cattle  ?
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2015, 08:33:22 am »
Confused. Welsh Blacks are normal-sized native cattle. What is it these folks have?
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2015, 08:38:39 am »
Lowline, maybe? Very small derivations of AA bred in Australia http://wessexlowlines.com/

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2015, 08:43:54 am »
My neighbours have lowlines and the nextdoor have longhorns.  At the moment they are all running together and this springs longhorn calf is bigger than the lowline yearlings.  I am awaiting the taste test but apparently they are too expensive to eat.  He does have one of this years bull calves to sell.

Buffy the eggs layer

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2015, 08:56:48 am »
I know miniature / babydoll breeds are very popular in the states but I think they are kept more as cute pets.


 I think one of the main issues for smallholders regarding cattle though is to do with the breeds temperament, ease of handling, infrastructure requirements etc. Some small animals have big attitudes like terriers or shetland ponies. Bigger breeds can often be more docile and biddable.


My Sisters Fleckveihs are much nicer than my short little Dexters were. But hey I think different strokes for different folks so I would be interested to see how the breed develops.

fsmnutter

  • Joined Oct 2012
  • Fettercairn, Aberdeenshire
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #5 on: October 02, 2015, 09:01:43 am »
Sounds like the micro pig fad - breed small individuals from small breeds and you will mostly get small animals, but not guaranteed and especially uncertain when buying youngstock.
I would think best steered clear of!

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #6 on: October 02, 2015, 09:23:42 am »
Mydaughter worked on a small breeds farm last summer.  The miniature Zebu were vicious!

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #7 on: October 02, 2015, 09:58:06 am »
http://toplinelowlines.com/lowline-cattle-information.htm

Been bred for quite a while in Australia and now in US. Maybe a focus on the "investment opportunity" at the moment - the pyramid selling? But they might suit some folk - especially if the temperament is good. Wonder if you can market as pure AA?

Talana

  • Joined Mar 2014
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #8 on: October 02, 2015, 01:19:14 pm »
If you look at old pictures you see small herefords / angus they were bred small  as once slaughtered  there was enough room too hang them up on ships so they were ready when arrived at destination weeks later. Also a number of these small breeding stock exported all over the world where they still breed them small, while uk market has gone for bigger and high growth rate cattle.

landroverroy

  • Joined Oct 2010
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #9 on: October 02, 2015, 01:27:07 pm »
 There recently was (and maybe still is) someone on preloved selling miniature Herefords. They are apparently bred from standard Herefords, registered with the Hereford Society, and allegedly breed true to size, and have the laid back character of the traditional Hereford. So, on the face of it, a pleasant animal to keep, that will not overface you with meat when slaughtered. However, there was no price which suggests "expensive". And no matter how rare and exclusive they are, you can still get a run of bulls for which you will get very little in a commercial market.
However, you can achieve something similar by crossing a short legged dexter with a Hereford bull. Maybe not quite as small. But then you're not paying inflated prices for getting in (as mentioned) at the top of a pyramid selling scheme. 
Rules are made:
  for the guidance of wise men
  and the obedience of fools.

Buffy the eggs layer

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2015, 01:46:30 pm »
Talana,


  in my Dexter book their were old photos of very tiny cows with children leading them and when I worked on a rare breeds farm some years ago all the old livestock buildings, milking parlours etc were clearly built for shorter bodied animals.


 I guess we are so used to the american mass production influence that Bigger is Better. We have forgotten that , that wasn't always seen as the case. I think that there are lots of smallholding advantages to smaller breeds but LLR is right that there would be little interest in the stock at commercial markets.

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #11 on: October 02, 2015, 04:22:55 pm »
I worked on a dairy farm 35 years ago and we had an AA bull to use on the heifers and I'd guess he was the size of the Lowline. THis was before the influence of Canadian and American bloodlines and the huge AA of today.

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2015, 01:04:09 pm »
On  YOUTUBE          MUD SWEAT AND TRACTORS THE STORY OF AGRICULTURE     BEEF   about 27mins in, the vern herd dispersal , enjoy

turtle

  • Joined Sep 2015
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2015, 08:44:09 pm »

Cowgirl

  • Joined Aug 2013
Re: MINI CATTLE
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2015, 08:59:34 am »
Were they Miniature Herefords? What colour were they? Would love to see some in the flesh. I think they are good natured from what I've heard but there are not many in the UK. Would be ideal for many people I would think.
Oh and by the way re the "Mud Sweat and Tractors" programme - good programme and very interesting BUT although the Traditional Hereford is not as tall as the modern commercial Hereford, they are not miniature by any means. They are quite large cattle - they simply have shorter legs. We have a yearling heifer whose sire was born in 1973 and whose grandsire was Vern Sulkey - she is not tall but she is very wide. She weighed 254 kg at 205 days and we just weighed her again, she was 440 kg and we expect her to be over 600 kg at maturity, on nothing but milk, grass and hay. Not small!

 

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