what about Miniature cows!

[M00]

i would like any info yo have on mini cows! I want the pros and cons please!

a little info about me
i live on a 40 acr. ranch in pa and breed Herefords ,mini donkeys,and pigs and my daughter wants a mini jersey (or any mini cow) for her b-day in September we would keep it in a smaller pen about 1 acr. (maybe start with one female and gradually get a herd of 3) and we would like to milk it
any info would help thanks
M00

P.S. wold it be okay to keep the mini cows with our small herd of mini donkeys (1 2 1/2 yr old jack + mom and foal who like anyone and anything other then our large cows and pigs (they love the calves tho.) and our dane (cause she thinks its fun the chase them and shes bigger then they are)

 

[greybeard]

I've known several local people that have run into problems with a jack in pasture with any female bovine. To put it nicely, they tend to want to breed anything they can and aren't particular about breed or species.

 

[farrier]

I saw a jack pick up and kill goat kids. I wouldn't take a chance with one.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

I'm not really qualified to give you any expert advice about mini cattle, but if your daughter wants a mini milk cow or a Dexter or similar . . . why not? Might be less expensive for you to AI rather than try to keep a mini bull around all the time, though. I agree with the other comments about keeping them with a jack.

 

[regolith]

How big an animal do you want this 'mini' to be at maturity?

Personally, if I wanted a waist-high critter to milk I'd get a sheep or goat. If you're happy with 800 - 900 lb I think there'd be quite a few breeds to choose from that look and behave like a cow. Including Jersey.
Thus avoiding the main 'con' of a miniature animal that has been selected for one trait only (size), and the other 'con' of not being able to sell her if needed.

 

[shortybreeder]

How big an animal do you want this 'mini' to be at maturity?

Personally, if I wanted a waist-high critter to milk I'd get a sheep or goat. If you're happy with 800 - 900 lb I think there'd be quite a few breeds to choose from that look and behave like a cow. Including Jersey.
Thus avoiding the main 'con' of a miniature animal that has been selected for one trait only (size), and the other 'con' of not being able to sell her if needed.

That's a big issue with the mini's, you won't get anything at the sales barn. Buying privately you'll be paying $2500+ for a good one, but if your daughter gets bored with her and she has issues (like not breeding) you will lose a TON of money at the sales barn. I've heard they typically only bring $200-$300 at the sales barn. But if you see a mini at the sales barn and you only have to pay a few hundred bucks for her, I wouldn't have a problem bringing her home to give it a try.

I looked into mini herefords and lowline angus a few weeks ago, you might be able to find the thread if you look back a couple pages on this forum. I don't know that you would be able to steal much milk from them, but they seem like they make very nice show projects! And the steer calves make nice sized carcasses for direct-marketing to friends and family. I would say if you are serious about having a miniature mini herd I would recommend getting a mini hereford (size 000-0000) and breeding to lowline angus (if you have a size 000-0000 heifer then you won't have to worry about selecting primarily for size, but you can focus on other traits instead). Should make nice beef out of the steers and good heifers for growing the herd. Definitely would go with A.I. for a small herd of 1-3, you'll never be able to justify the bull no matter how "cute" he is, and he will still hurt you if you bother him at the wrong time.

 

[Engler]

As the guy sitting on the fence giving advice to my brother-in-law about his Lowlines I can share my insights. They have 5 pb cows that they are running a pb bull on and there are 3 %(75% ish) cows that are running with the commercials, they were AIed to a LBW Angus then cleaned up with Simi bull.

The %'s had AI calves out of an Angus bull last year that sold right with the commercial calves, light but looked okay. I'd guess they'll finish at 1100 on the steers. Cows are going to weigh 900 at the absolute top end.

The pures he feeds the steers for locker beef. Really, really good eating. Heifers have either been retained or sold as breeders so far. So far this is going good, but we're dealing with 5 cows. Had one cow two years ago that was falling apart after calving that we rolled to the sale barn as a pair to get some value out of them. Normal pairs would be bringing 1300-1500, she brings 600 or so. The moral of the story is they have a place but you had better make dang sure that you have somewhere to go with them. If you take them to the conventional market they will make an example out of you.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

I was told, minature horses were for people that didn't know what real ones were for.

Not sure about cattle, but if my daughter wanted one and she was UP on everything else I'd probaly get her one.

From experience, I wouldn't keep it with a Jack. FWIW

 

[Son of Butch]

Hi Moo
I don't blame you for considering all options, but my advice is stick with the standard Jersey cow.
I already know you :heart: them, plus you'll be money ahead in the long run.

As for your daughter wanting a mini... perfect set up to use one of my favorite lines..."She's young she'll get over it."
Even got to use it once with an Aunt that lived to be 102. When she was in her mid-90s she mentioned to my Mom that when walking into church she preferred holding on to my arm rather than using her cane, in her words...
"Because using a cane makes you Look so old."

But I digress...
Mini genetic base is very narrow, and like any breed with small genetic pool to select from, long term health problems
within the breed become a real concern down the line.
I have no doubt both you and your daughter will fall in love with a white face calf from a Jersey cow, it's almost impossible not to.