Does anyone have Mini Herefords?

I agree, although the bred down mini herefords are not genetic dwarfs.

It's been some years since I looked into them, but at that time, the mini Herefords were considered less efficient than the Lowline Angus. The Lowline breeders did a very good job at keeping production traits, while just reducing size.

Other than Lowlines, Mini Herefords, Dexters and Zebus, just about all of the other so-called mini cattle are nothing more than grades given a breed name, or normally small individuals of a breed. It continues to amaze me the mentality of people who you can't convince that one generation or 5 does not yet make a true breeding breed. The same is happening in dairy goats. People weren't satisfied with Pigmys, they had to create the Nigerian Dwarf. Fine, but now they've taken to fooling themselves that Lamanchas and Nubians have also been miniaturized into true breeds. They have not. I understand how somewhat smaller cattle can still be desireable. That's how the Dexter came about, but anything less than a normal sized dairy goat is just false economy. Still, you can't convince the bleeding heart, misty morning and rainbow crowd. PT Barnum was right. There are any number of enterprising "breeders" who gladly part people from their money. Just add mini to the front of the breed, and an emoticon at the end of your email, and you've as good as made a sale.

Nope! I cant let that one fly! The NDDs have been around as long as teh pygmies. They were bred for two compleatly different reasons but BOTH have been for as long as each other.

And if you are like me, a full sized dairy goat isn't an option but our Little Girl (ND) gives a gallon of milk every four days so she is no ones idea of a second rate goat.

And Dexter's were bred in Ireland for small holders who had no room for large cows and no feed for un-thrifty breeds. They have been around for ages too.

When the dairy down the road would loose a cow or two and they would come wandering round our two acres (When we lived in Ireland) the full sized beasts would do damage it took MONTHS to get rid of. On clay based always wet soil, their hooves would knife easily a foot deep into the land, churning it to a mire in to time. I have no doubt that Dexter's could do as much damage but being smaller, it would take them longer.

Having said that, the new trend for smaller dairy goat breeds has made me smile but its something needed, not everyone can FIT full sized animals in their yards but EVERYONE is worried/afraid of what is getting into our food supplies and wants to get safe food for their families.

Having gotten our goat, I have learned we need one per milk drinker to have enough left over for cheese, yogurt and ice cream making but just having a glass of her sweet creamy milk is worth anything it takes to have her and she is a darned sight cheaper to feed than our worthless dog.

Home butchering is hard work - worth it though - so being small myself, a small beef breed is going to be easier for me. Our last pig is getting a bit intimidating with his size, he is topping 300 pounds now and its a good thing he is friendly. My lovely hubby has gotten me another freezer so in the next week or two I shall scratch Ham's belly, get him to fall over in a happy daze and shoot him in the head. He will never know what hit him But if he is 300 pounds and is such hard work, having a 1000 plus pound animal to butcher and pack is out of my league lol.

I would LOVE a Dexter cow calf pair and am saving for it now.

Try for a little patience for the small, round, not too young folks who like a smaller animal than you do eh?

I have nothing against this mini movement per se, but I just don't like to see people get taken, and fed a bunch of hype that is not true, and buy animals that are represented as a pure breed, when they are not.

If I were zoned for livestock I would get a mini: I have no need of a gallon of milk a day. Even if I make butter about 1-2 quarts a day would be about right.

Patric, http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/88/88-6 /breed_history_of_the_nigerian_dwarf_dairy_goat.htm l According to this they have been around in this country as long as each other because they came from the same stock. I am not arguing the breeds age, esp. because I thought it was older and came over from its native land as two breeds, not as lion food lol.

I just missed a chance at a dexter cow calf pair at a really really good price. $700 for a 3 year old cow and lowline cross month old heifer and they have a year and a half old heifer for $400 or $1,000 for all three. So I got permission to keep them at our 4H grounds if I built the pen but then was told I couldnt. Committees eh, doncha just love em

And each time I get my pig fat enough for me to kill it, he turns the fat into meat adn grows two inches taller. He is then a long lean pig again so I work on getting him fat and we do it again lol. He is for the chop this Monday. I like pork with fat on it and he is once again nice and plump

I am not going to look at Craigs list again until I have a place of my own where NO ONE has a say but me! So I am now saving for a 10 acre parcel not too far from us. I am then going to fence off three, one acre and four half acre parcels and rent them to people like me who want to raise good, safe meat and veg and fruit for their families. It will leave me 5 acres for myself and pay my monthly payments.

So no more looking until I sign on the dotted line.

Being a craigs list addict, any bets on how long I can keep from looking? lol.

We have found with our one goat milking its just the right amount for one person. So my mum gets most of it. We were going to get more but am really glad we didnt. Its hard to hide two goats in the back yard, never mind a herd lol.

I am getting Maria's shorty, I am just looking for a pet but if she were to be safely breedable not opposed to a tiny milk cow giving just enough, I have small amount of land.