Miniature Hereford Born Yesterday

[Arnold Ziffle]

Welcome to the boards Jeb. Not disputing you, but that 70% figure sounds way too high to me; however, I know next to nothing about minis of any breed. I think the mini folks claim to have higher weaning ratio, higher REA per 100 lbs of weight, etc. For a bit of mini Hereford "propaganda" some of you might find the following site interesting and/or amusing (it is about Point of Rocks Ranch, a pretty big mini operation out in the Davis Mountains of W. Texas, and apparently their minis are not cheap!) :

http://www.miniature-hereford.com

 

[SF]

Jeb;
The amount of meat you will get will depend upon which breed of miniature you are raising. Our Miniature Hereford steers package up 220 to 250 pounds of meat for the freezer. Our finished steers will weigh about 600 plus pounds. Some a little heavier. Heavier steers = more packaged meat.

 

[Plowboy_TX]

How is that calf doing now?

 

[KATHYWEEKS]

Still haven't caught him. But each evening I see him in the pasture running and playing. Seems he lets me a little closer each day. Got close enough to see that my horse set the pecking order straigt though. He took a good nip of hair off his back. Didn't break the skin, but gave him a nice hair cut! I think by this weekend he'll let us touch him. I didn't realize he would start eating grass & hay so quickly. I thought he'd just nurse off momma , but he's already grazing with the rest of them(and nursing). My other cow looks like she wants to drop soon. She has a clear mucos stringing off her back side. Looks like things are progressing well here.

 

[dun]

Still haven't caught him. But each evening I see him in the pasture running and playing. Seems he lets me a little closer each day. Got close enough to see that my horse set the pecking order straigt though. He took a good nip of hair off his back. Didn't break the skin, but gave him a nice hair cut! I think by this weekend he'll let us touch him. I didn't realize he would start eating grass & hay so quickly. I thought he'd just nurse off momma , but he's already grazing with the rest of them(and nursing). My other cow looks like she wants to drop soon. She has a clear mucos stringing off her back side. Looks like things are progressing well here.

If they have decent feed, typically they're chewing ther cud by 10 days to 2 weeks. They may not know why or be able to get much nutrition from it, but they'll be doing it.

dun

 

[cowspider]

Anold Z. posted
For a bit of mini Hereford "propaganda" some of you might find the following site interesting and/or amusing (it is about Point of Rocks Ranch, a pretty big mini operation out in the Davis Mountains of W. Texas, and apparently their minis are not cheap!) :

http://www.miniature-hereford.com

I saw mini's Here in Washington in the early 70's, doubt they came from texas as per that web site

 

[Caustic Burno]

All right what do you do with mini herefords and the little dexters, walk on a leash, take em to pet groomers. What purpose do they serve other that using good oxygen it certainly ain't for pounds of beef,
P.T. Barnum had it right..

 

[Thurliss]

I was looking into minis for ease of direct marketing. When we direct marketed out of the barn it always took two families to each buy a half of a freezer steer. Not everyone wanted buy at the same time. Was thinking it might be easier to sell one small steer to one family than waiting for two buyers for a big steer.

 

[SF]

I was looking into minis for ease of direct marketing. When we direct marketed out of the barn it always took two families to each buy a half of a freezer steer. Not everyone wanted buy at the same time. Was thinking it might be easier to sell one small steer to one family than waiting for two buyers for a big steer.

You hit it right on. One mini-hereford steer will be about the right amount of meat for a family.

 

[SF]

All right what do you do with mini herefords and the little dexters, walk on a leash, take em to pet groomers. What purpose do they serve other that using good oxygen it certainly ain't for pounds of beef,
P.T. Barnum had it right..

It is a niche market. Not for everyone. For some it is a hobby, some in the breeders market do it for a business. Very profitable for some, not for others, kind of like the cattle business in general.

Everyone can't raise the same thing. Different tastes for different folks. That's why we have vanilla and chocolate.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Nothing wrong with Dexters or other small cattle...they may not be for everyone, but they do have a place on many farms, including ours! You might be surprised at the number of people who purchase a steer so they can finish it their way. Here's a photo of a Dexter steer we butchered last fall.

Caustic, you certainly do a good job of living up to your name!

 

[SF]

Gale;
I don't have any personal experience with Dexters. How'd he dress out? Looks good in the photo.
We have found a huge market for the mini's in our area.

 

[ctlbaron]

That's a fine looking little fellow.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Thank you. Hanging weight was 465#...unfortunately we were unable to get a live weight (have to go to scales at the landfill to weigh loaded and unloaded and we transported him on a Sunday and they were closed). We guessed live weight to be about 750# or so. Will try to get live weight on the next one though. Nice to have our own beef, no additives, etc., and we've been really pleased with it. Another steer that we sold to someone ended up 560# at 17 mo. with a hanging weight of 310# (yield 265#).

 

[bigbull338]

unless my math is rong at 465lb hotweight that means 800 to 850lb on the hoof scott

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

From the 6/3/05 issue of the TFB's "Texas Agriculture " newspaper that came in today's mail -- Something below for you lowliners and mini fanciers (please don't shoot me, Caustic :lol: )

http://www.txfb.org/TexasAgriculture/20 ... seeley.htm

 

[Caustic Burno]

From the 6/3/05 issue of the TFB's "Texas Agriculture " newspaper that came in today's mail -- Something below for you lowliners and mini fanciers (please don't shoot me, Caustic :lol: )

http://www.txfb.org/TexasAgriculture/20 ... seeley.htm

Well I guess there are some advantages you can buy play trucks,tractors,trailers, and think of the hay conservation.
Other advantages take less time to kill and more of them to feed maurading dogs/coyotes. Everythig has its positives.

 

[SF]

From the 6/3/05 issue of the TFB's "Texas Agriculture " newspaper that came in today's mail -- Something below for you lowliners and mini fanciers (please don't shoot me, Caustic :lol: )

http://www.txfb.org/TexasAgriculture/20 ... seeley.htm

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Thurliss]

Thanks for sharing that article. I gave a lot of positives for the mini, not much about negatives though.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

I might add that I am absolutely not trying to convince people to get into minis. I've never seen a live mini bovine in my life and I don't intend to go looking for any! Just came across the Point of Rocks mini Hereford site, and the Texas Ag. article on lowlines, sort of by accident and I thought they might be fun or useful reading for the folks that are already interested in, or even own, mini cattle. I'll not criticize anybody that wants to raise them, whatever their reasons are. To each his own, and spend your $$ and energies accordingly.