BREEDS of Homestead & Miniature Cattle

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1. What are Homestead Cattle? Homestead Cattle can be defined as gentle, hardy, efficient cattle with grassfed genetics, that do well with low input, on small acreage. Miniature Cattle are often the first breeds of homestead cattle considered for small acreages, but there are other breeds that also work well.

2. What are Miniature Cattle? Miniature Cattle are small homestead cattle that range from one third to one half the size of standard breeds. The term Miniature Cattle does not refer to its breed -- it refers to its height; specifically, its Frame Score (FS) classification. There is no one single authority or definition, but in general, across the whole cattle industry, miniature cattle are those that measure from a frame score FS1 down to FS(-6) or "6-aught" or (FS000000).  Some miniature registries only qualify cattle as miniature when cows measure up to 43 or 44 inches over the hip, at 36 months of age. Bulls of the same frame score will be a bit taller. Including FS1 (as done by the largest, longest established Lowline and miniature Hereford registries), miniatures are cows that reach up to 46" in height at maturity.

3. Are Homestead & Miniature Cattle Just Frivolous Fads? Some, Yes. Most, NO. Although still relatively rare, the numbers and popularity of homestead & miniature cattle have been steadily on the rise for years. With the steady growth in small homesteads, that should not change in the foreseeable future. Small family farms and homesteads are likely to increase in numbers as long as more people elect to produce their own home-grown food to ensure their family's health, safety and self-sufficiency.

4. What Should I Consider When Choosing a Breed? How do I decide what breed to buy? What traits should I compare?

FIRST, regardless of the breed, there are basic requirements that must be met for any breed of cattle. Make sure you are set up, and can provide the basic necessities for cattle:

• Adequate Shelter: Assess your homestead--all cattle should have wind breaks in cold seasons, shade from sun in hot seasons, and most breeds may need a clean, dry place to escape wet weather when calving.

• Adequate Number: Since cattle are herd animals and unhappy kept alone, owning two is the minimum. You can run more head per acre if you choose smaller cattle. 

First, make sure it's a good Homestead Breed: By definition, all homestead breeds should / be / have:

• docile, gentle, easier on fences, equipment & pastures
• efficient, with grass fed genetics
• produce tasty, tender meat on grass
• produce enough milk for family & a calf on grass
• produce enough milk &/or beef for a family
• hardy & healthy, with a longer, productive life span

Breed Genetics: ALL breeds of cattle can have some genetics you will want, and some conditions to be aware of. Do you want to breed crossbred cattle, or a pure breed of cattle? Do you want to breed cattle with dwarfism? Read more about dwarfism genetics here: (http://www.miniature-cattle.com/bd.htm). Do you want to breed cattle with double muscling? Do you want to raise cattle that have A1 or A2 milk; or that are horned, polled, etc? Read more about which breeds may carry which genetic traits here: (http://miniature-cattle.com/dna.htm)

To help narrow down which breeds would work well on your homestead, consider the following:

• Purpose. Decide what you want from your cattle: One bull and one cow can provide a homestead with a calf each year for the freezer and keep a dairy or dual purpose cow in milk. Choosing between dairy, beef or dual purpose breeds will depend on the overall need and marketing plans for the homestead. How many cattle to own will depend on whether their purpose is to feed only the family, or bring in additional income. Whether or not to own a bull depends upon the breed (temperament) you choose, your facilities, and whether artificial insemination (AI) is an option. Whether you need fast maturing beef cattle or hardy, long-lived breeds may influence your choice: "Indigenous genetics of old heritage Welsh and Scottish breeds..." "...are time tested to breed strong constitution, early maturity, marbling and tenderness in a harsh climate." "These genetic blends" of "Native Celtic breeds" ... "are logical choices for recovering functional low input grass finishing genetics. Those types will restore a proven grass fattening beef animal of first quality." ~ Kathryn Engel, puregrassbeef.com

• Region. Most breeds do well in most climates, with basic shelter requirements. Beyond that, Zebu are heat resistant, tropical-pest resistant cattle that thrive in the hot, sunny south. They probably should not be raised too far north. Fine boned Jerseys and slick haired breeds do better in temperate climate, protected from the coldest northern weather. Double coated cattle (Galloway, Highland, Beefalo, Yak), thrive in harsh, northern winter climates, and are likely to be miserable if raised in the south. Research at Montana State University (USA) has shown that a beef cow with just one inch thicker hair coat needs 20% - 25% less digestible  feed to maintain body weight during cold weather. Double coated cattle (like Galloways or Highlands) have a hair count of approximately 4000 hairs per square inch (600 hairs per  square centimeter) which results in significantly happier cattle and reduced feed costs in winter.

• Cost. Back to that "frivolous fad" question... Ideally, any cow purchased should produce a calf the following year that can sell (or produce enough beef or milk) for roughly the equivalent value as the cow's initial investment price. If you find yourself fascinated by expensive, tiny cattle with big eyes, long hair and cute colors, you owe it to your budget to meet that same criteria: Will the calf produced the following or next year, pay back the initial investment cattle, before the fad runs its course? Any hay, feed & care also enters in the budget. Hay bills are higher in northern climates with longer winters, and health & veterinary bills are higher with dual purpose or dairy cows, especially if producing raw milk.

• Facilities & Pasture. Do you own a pickup truck and a stock trailer in case a vet trip is ever needed? Do you live next to a highway? Got poor fences? Shorter, content cattle are easier on fences than taller, excitable cattle. Short-legged dwarf cattle may be more prone to arthritis as they age, and may stay happy and sound longer in small cozy pastures. Although as small as most miniature cattle, Yak are very active, and they enjoy (and arguably, probably need) larger pastures to race and frolic in. Got brushy, weedy, hillside pastures? Some heritage breeds are browsers, and can actually compete with goats on poor, scrubby acreage, thriving while clearing & improving land. Compare more pros and cons for each breed here:   Comparisons Between Breeds (graphs).

5. What Market Do You Want to Sell To, and What Markets Exist? 

LOCATION:

Local Market: If you raise enough cattle, you can produce extra beef or dairy products to sell for added side income. You may be limited to selling to local customers & farmer markets in your own community, but that is not usually a problem! There is often high demand for grass fed and grass finished beef, and raw milk, butter or cheese products in most communities, as well as other artisan products fresh from the homestead. You would have to make sure raw milk is legal to sell in your state, or you would have to sell it for pets only. If you plan to sell live animals locally, you should make sure you can produce cattle that are worth at least what you paid for them or their parents, to protect your investment. Expect to market them individually, and price them accordingly. If you sell homestead or miniature cattle at a local sale auction barn, expect to lose your hat.

Regional or National Market: If you plan to raise enough cattle to sell calves annually for side income, in general, your cattle should be high enough quality to be considered breeding quality cattle or "seedstock". If this is your goal, you must be able to reach a wider customer base. You must have a website or popular social media page, and be in a well-used public breeder directory where you will be seen and easily found in searches. And to meet this market, you must produce high value cattle that warrant high transport costs. This plan requires a higher initial investment, being willing to keep good production records, and planning for a higher annual budget to keep a fairly closed herd of routinely tested, healthy animals.

International Market: If you raise breeding quality cattle for live export, or if your seedstock cattle are high enough value to produce frozen genetics (frozen semen or embryos for export) that buyers from other countries may be interested in, make sure your cattle registry uses international breed codes, and, can direct you when choosing a facility for collection, processing and storing your frozen genetics; because facility certifications determine which countries your frozen semen or embryos may export to in the future.

HOMESTEAD & MINIATURE CATTLE MARKETS:

1. Family Homestead Cattle. These are the happy, gentle, efficient family cattle that provide meat  and /or milk for the family. These cattle should produce offspring that sell well for the average market price per pound, if not more.
    
2. Breeding Cattle. Seedstock or breeding cattle are higher than average quality animals purchased for herd improvement. Top quality breeding cattle cost more to begin with, but should continue to produce the same level income when selling offspring. Unless you are a whiz at marketing, and are not concerned with your impact on the breed industry in question, experience with cattle in general, and the breed chosen in particular, is required to successfully raise seedstock.
    
3. Registered Cattle. Registration is a service to record animals' pedigrees for posterity. Registration by itself is not an indicator of quality or purity. Registration certificates should accurately and completely document an animal's breed(s), ancestry, pedigree, breed percentage and breeder.
    
4. Heritage Cattle. Rare breeds, when fullblood (documented by pedigrees that go back to the original animals since the breed began), may fetch a premium with preservation breeders.
    
5. Bucking Stock. Small gentle bulls that will happily buck when flank-strapped, stay in  demand in areas where Little Britches type rodeos are popular for kids.
    
6. Novelty "frivolent fad" Pet Cattle are valued and bred for their friendliness, their tiny size, and their unique looks, more than for their production. They are popular with petting zoos and first time cattle owners. The smallest, well handled, halter broke, cute & fuzzy cattle, with extra fancy colors or markings, and can bring unrealistic high prices when creatively marketed. Be aware, that excessively high-priced, novelty cattle are vulnerable to popularity trends that could end without much warning. Always keep in mind your purpose... can you afford the risk to invest in cattle that are expensive, betting their calves will hold their value long enough? Or do you prefer to invest in cattle proven with genetics for earlier maturing, high quality, tender beef, on plain grass, rough pasture or harsh climate? The wrong answer can only come from being uneducated. As long as you do your due diligence, there is no right or wrong answer. The right answer is determined by your purpose and your risk tolerance.

6. What is a Breed? Knowing what a breed is, can help you decide on what you want. There is no single definition, but across the livestock industry, in general, a breed is a population of related animals that have not been out-crossed with other genetics for a century or more. A breed is made of animals with a common origin and purpose and selection history. Animals within a breed have physical characteristics that distinguish them from other breeds or groups of animals within that same species.

7. What is not a Breed? Crossbred cattle are not breeds. Composite or percentage bred cattle are technically not breeds, but may be breeds in evolution. Registered cattle are those with documented pedigrees, however, a pedigree can be made up of one or more breeds. So, whether an animals is registered or not, is no indication of whether it is a pure bred animal or not. Most registered miniature cattle in North America are composites, upgraded percentage breeds, or breeds in development.

8. What is a Composite or Percentage Breed? It is a crossbred or an upgrade or a developing "breed." There are more miniature "percentage breeds" than there are miniature fullblood breeds. Some of them are very popular and fetch high prices. Higher prices result from supply and demand created by novelty marketing strategies, emphasizing special types or colors, and trends in popularity. The most popular breeds are listed and described in more detail on Homestead & Miniature Cattle Breeds of North America.

9. What is the difference between purebred and fullblood? Fullblood and purebred are the most widely used terms to define the breed purity or breed blood percentage of cattle. The most widely used definition is: Fullblood means 100% pure. Purebred means close, but not 100% pure.

Breed purity in cattle is often referred to in the following terms: 

• composite breed cattle: 25% -- 49.99% blood percentage 
• percentage breed cattle: 50% -- 87.499% blood percentage 
• purebred breed cattle: 87.5% -- 99.99% blood percentage 
• fullblood breed cattle: 100% blood percentage

But this is only a guideline ... 

Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably between different breeds or registries. 

Sometimes these terms have different definitions in different breeds.

Therefore, in cases where breed purity is a factor, (eg. when preserving rare breeds in danger of extinction) it is important to ask the right questions, and to clarify everyone's definitions when using these terms. There are also a few additional breed specific terms such as "heritage" (many breeds such as beef Shorthorn, Angus, etc.), "native" (Milking Shorthorn), "traditional" (Dexter), or OP~Original Population (Herefords), used to identify fullblood cattle with no known outside genetics in their pedigrees.

When shopping for cattle or choosing a breed, most buyers are not overly concerned about breed purity. Buyers just need to be aware that once purity is traded in for the advantages of outcrossing (eg. heterosis or blending the favorable traits of multiple breeds, or "improving" an old breed, or creating a new breed), it cannot be undone. When buying cattle, if purity is a concern, don't make assumptions. Many breeders are unaware of the actual purity of their own animals. And just because an animal is registered, does not mean it is pure. More often than not, it isn't pure. Read more here: What is the Difference between Purebred and Fullblood? (and who cares?).

10. How Many Breeds Are There? 

Miniature Breeds? Well... possibly fewer than you may have heard...

Homestead Breeds? Maybe more than you realized...

There is probably about a dozen (10-12) pure breeds of miniature cattle at any one time. The number of pure breeds (notice I didn't say purebreds) that have a wide range of sizes, including "miniature cattle," is not carved in stone--that number is a moving target: A new miniature family or bloodline of cattle may be discovered at any time amongst other larger breeds. And, the ones that exist now, could disappear any time if they are not preserved, and crossbred into extinction. So, let's count the miniature breeds we know about listed by their category:

Original Miniature Cattle: In North America, there are 2 breeds of cattle that normally come only in frame score 1 and below:

1. Irish Dexter
2. Miniature Zebu

These are the only pure breeds of cattle in North America that exist only in miniature size. The miniature Zebu is the smaller of the two. The Irish Dexter carries several bulldog (BD) dwarf genes (also known as chondro, pronounced (kän-drə), a short-limbed dwarfism) which is neither encouraged nor discouraged by Dexter registries. The chondro gene additionally shortens carriers by a few more inches. Irish Dexter and Miniature Zebu cattle are the 2 original miniature breeds in North America that have been used for decades to crossbreed with and create many of today's composite or percentage breeds of miniature cattle.

Heritage Miniature Cattle: In some old breeds of cattle there are small bloodlines that qualify as miniature. Some of these are quite rare. Some may have been preserved all along in their breed's original shorter style. Some have been restored by selecting back to the shorter, older original style. The breeds in this category include:

1. (3) Miniature Hereford (fullblood)
2. (4) Lowline (American Aberdeen Angus) (fullblood)
3. (5) miniature fullblood Texas Longhorn (rare)
4. (6) miniature Heritage Jersey (extremely rare)
5. (7) miniature fullblood Scottish Highland (extremely rare)
6. (8) miniature fullblood Galloway (all 4 colors, extremely rare)
7. (9) miniature fullblood South Devon (there is only 1 known family of these)

Heirloom Miniature Cattle: Finally, we should mention a few miniature "purebred" breeds of cattle that are developing breeds with a long-established history in America. Their passed down heritage indicates that while these cattle are not fullblood breeds with centuries of documented pedigrees, they are historical cattle selected for their old style and type, which have persisted and survived over the decades into what many recognize as miniature breeds today. These include:

1. (10) American Miniature Jersey: There were breeders long ago, that selected for high percentage Jersey, and Jersey type homestead cattle, that were shorter and stouter built. Today the American Miniature Jersey will BBR DNA test as pure (high percentage) Jersey. They may be horned or polled. These are not 100% Jersey cattle, but have been selected away from chondro.
2. (11) Heirloom Miniature Durham: For many years there were a few breeders who bred purebred (high percentage) old style Durham Shorthorns in miniature size; both beef & dual purpose types, both horned & polled. Some of these are chondro positive, and none are fullblood Shorthorns.
3. (12) American "Fullblood" British White Park: a few of these cattle have (relatively recently) been selected for small frames by a few breeders. This breed is not a fullblood breed in America, but the purest are labeled "American Fullbloods" by the British White and the White Park registries. According to interviews & research, there may have been no fullblood British White Park cattle seen in North America since the 1960s.

IN CONCLUSION: I hope this article helps narrow down which Homestead Cattle breeds might work best for any certain homestead. But, if the reader is still having a hard time making the final decision on which breed to choose, well... what would you and your family most enjoy seeing outside your window?

~Donna Grace Vickery