[Sylvia]

Has anyone any experience or knowledge of Zeebu miniature cattle?

[HappyHippy]

Yes, my wonderful hubby does  He looks after an elderly one at a country park 

What do you want to know ?

Karen 

[Sylvia]

Hi, Karen I have seen some advertised and wanted to know more about them. I understand they have sweet natures?? Can they supply a bit of milk as well as feeding calves? Is AI available as I don't want to keep a bull of any breed!
I was told, by the seller, that one and a half acres would support two cows their calves + a bull   Seems a bit too little land to me. I do have three acres I could give them though, which may be better especially if I don't have the bull. Though would they be unhappy without a bull's presence?
And anything else your dear OH can think of.XX

[HappyHippy]

Yes, wonderful natures Sylvia. Zebs (the old boy who OH looks after) is a sweetheart - thinks of himself as an overgrown labrador  Very calm and easy to handle. As he's a boy we're not sure about the milking/calf rearing side  But most cows are more than able to feed calves and give a wee bit extra milk, so I would hope these were the same.
I think the breeder is right about space (kinda  ) they don't need huge amounts, he's in quite a small pen alongside some sheep and goats (maybe half an acre ? maybe not even as big as that) but three acres sounds better than 1 and a half for a couple of cows with calves 
Zebs gets a bit of alfalfa and some sugar beet, alongside hay and grazing. We're going down to the park later on (going to see my calves  ) so I'll try to get some photo's of him and see if I can find out any more info for you.
Karen 

[littlelugs]

Will be watching this thread with interest as we were thinking of zebu cattle too.

[jinglejoys]

Me!   Zanda was a sweetie and I desperately tried to get some more but Twycross wouldn't get back to me Cotswold Zoo hadn't got any heifers and had sold the bull I liked to Marwell who castrated it and said they didn't sell them so I gave up

[Anke]

Wow, Tas amazes me every day..  
 
From which part of the world do these coos hail from? And why do they have a hump on their back?
 
And I do like the chariot even more  .... one of these days a large wether goat will be trained to pull on of these around these parts... when diesel is 2 quid a litre I magine it will even make financial sense to go back to horse/oxen/goat carts...

[quiltycats]

I remember hearing The Food Program on R4 a couple of years ago commentating that a lot of pubs serving cheap British  beef roast dinners/ cheap British beef steak etc had been found by Trading Standards to be selling Zeebu from Botswanna  (or somewhere similar) there was no question as to the quality of the meat just that it wasn't British as advertised to customers.

[HappyHippy]

A wee bit more info for you 

They're an Indian breed apparently (highly reveered in their home land) and often used as draught animals.
The hump on their back is muscle and fat and can see them through periods of drought and famine (kinda like a camel) so that would fit with the info you got about them not needing much in way of grazing Sylvia - I'd be like you though and give them more than they need to see how they get on 

Zebs is a dwarf zebu (according to his sign at the park) his back is level with my hips (but I'm almost 6ft) and he's a very friendly lad  I was supposed to be looking at and talking to my shetland calves in the next pen and couldn't escape his big eyes and pitifull 'pat me' face 

I think, if I'd the space (and time) I'd be tempted 

[Anke]

Thanks - I learn something new EVERY day! 

[Sylvia]

Is Zebs an entire Karen?

[HappyHippy]

No Sylvia he's castrated and at 17 I think he's quite elderly.
I have to say I don't think I've met a 'tamer' animal though - he even puts my pigs to shame  He's a complete softie, very calm and steady (and obviously being minus the horns he's less intimidating to be around  )

[Marches Farmer]

I think they have quite a few "mini" breeds in the USA - mini Zebus and Herefords, Lowline (mini Aberdeen Angus), etc.  I'm not too keen on the idea, personally.  I think a breed should be "fit for purpose" and this is moving in the direction of the handbag dog, a la Paris Hilton - neither fish, flesh, fowl or good red herring.

[Rosemary]

I think they have quite a few "mini" breeds in the USA - mini Zebus and Herefords, Lowline (mini Aberdeen Angus), etc.  I'm not too keen on the idea, personally.  I think a breed should be "fit for purpose" and this is moving in the direction of the handbag dog, a la Paris Hilton - neither fish, flesh, fowl or good red herring.

Not sure I agree - although I do think there are extremes to be avoided. As far as I have read, the lowlines produce excellent beef from low inputs and have a high meat to bone ratio so KO% is high.

As an owner of Shetland cattle, which are pretty small, I think good things often come in small, cheap to run packages 

[Marches Farmer]

Aren't Shetland cattle/sheep small because natural selection (harsh weather and the absence of good grazing limiting their size) has made them that way?  Man doing the same thing over a much shorter time period often has unintended consequences.