Are you looking to add an animal to your farm with a joyful attitude while being a hard-working member? Then mini cows could be the choice as they can be the source of milk and meat. People might already know about cows but could possess little knowledge about miniature cows. Mini cows could be formed due to dwarfism or have been bred, so they have a small stature.
Recently, mini cows have been acting as an alternative to commercial cows due to several benefits that are brought about with them. You can find several breeds of mini cows, mostly cute and cuddly. They can also be great family pets while getting along with children especially. If you want to purchase a mini cow, they could be an excellent investment as little space is required to store them. Nevertheless, in this blog, we have gone through a comprehensive overview of mini cows in the USA.
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What do you mean by mini cows?
Miniature cows are smaller versions of large cows often found in farms or similar places. When fully grown, these mini cows range between 36 to 42 inches tall at the shoulder. Such size is half the standard cattle size generally used for breeding or other sources.
Each breed of miniature cows has unique traits and features that can used based on the circumstances required. Even though small miniature cows are well-known for being productive, hard-working, and adaptive compared to their traditional counterparts.
Nonetheless, mini cows are an excellent choice for your farmland or boosting dairy and meat production.
List of Top Miniature Cow breeds
Here are some of the top miniature cow breeds you can choose based on your requirements.
- Dexter
Dexter is the most popular miniature cow breed that people should know about when studying mini cows. It originates from the great meadows of Ireland and is charged heavily because of high-quality meat production.
The Dexter breed is considered the most robust option when finding a miniature cow that supports your butchery requirements. For small-scale beef production houses, the Dexter breed is a profitable option. Moreover, they can also provide enough milk to feed a large family, while the leftovers can be used to produce cheese and butter.
- Zebu
Farmers are looking for miniature cows that can be raised efficiently in harsh conditions. Zebus is ideal for them as it can disperse their blood vessels into a greater area of the skin’s surface area.
Additionally, Zebu miniature cows are disease-resistant, thus saving a lot of maintenance or treatment costs. Typically, mini-Zebus’ lifespan ranges between 15 to 20 years, even after being kept in harsh conditions.
Most importantly, zebu is relatively tiny, with a typical female weighing around 450 pounds and a male 550 pounds.
- Jersey
The miniature jersey cow breed is considered the ideal fit for dairy farms. They produce 2-4 gallons of milk daily if adequately managed. However, its traditional counterparts are known for providing 5-6 gallons of milk each day.
This miniature cow breed is mainly used for dairy production as their milk contains a considerable percentage of butterfat. The Jersey breed of mini cows is a perfect choice to produce cheese and butter for making cheese and butter.
- Hereford
Hereford is another popular breed of miniature cows with all the traits similar to its full-size counterparts. These miniature Herefords are said to originate from an American staple while being sturdy and easy to maintain.
They are also quite adaptable, so miniature Hereford has a lifespan of around 20 years. However, most Herefords are only known to live a short time as they are sold to slaughterhouses due to their high-quality beef.
Hereford is deemed an excellent option for people looking to breed cows to extract meat for them.
- Lowline Angus
Lowline Angus are the smaller versions of standard Angus cows with 40% smaller body size. Even though such a small breed of cow, they produce meat similar to their larger versions.
Most importantly, lowline Angus is a profitable investment for people looking for cattle that offer high-quality beef while taking less space. Moreover, due to the friendly nature of lowline Angus mini cows, they are easier to manage in groups or herds.
Benefits of Mini Cows
There are plenty of reasons behind the surge in popularity of mini cows. Some of them have been discussed briefly in the points below.
- Easy to control
For people who are new to livestock management, handling dairy cows could be a challenging task. Most people are uncomfortable with large animals as they sometimes might not be obedient.
However, the smaller versions of traditional cows are much more efficient to handle while having unique docile characteristics. Even providing regular treatments like injections, worming, milking, and first aid are considerably more manageable.
- Friendly gestures towards children
For children, the commercial cows could be an unsafe place to play if they are not in their right mind. However, miniature cows are much more gentle and friendly towards people around them, including children.
Although young children need supervision when playing near livestock like cows, the miniature ones could be a much safer option. They can also be trained like family pets because of their lighter temperament.
- Low-cost feeding
Commonly, a cow weighing around 1,500 pounds would consume fodder in a much larger quantity. Compared to the ones that weigh less than 500 pounds. Therefore, you can significantly boost your income and profit margins by breeding different mini cow breeds.
- Less troublemaker to nearby pastures and fences
Sometimes, the cattle are known for causing devasting damage to pastures or fences against their body weight. However, mini cows are less of a troublemaker when playing against pastures and fences. Additionally, you might not be required to put up expensive fences when breeding mini cows.
Conclusion
Before investing in a miniature cow, you must thoroughly research them. However, it is easier to maintain mini cows while providing plenty of other benefits. Learning all the related information regarding them would help you pick the breed that suits your requirements.
Source:
https://northernnester.com/miniature-cows/
https://gofarmivore.com/miniature-cows
https://broadwayfamilyfarms.com/why-mini-cows