Zebu or mini cattle

[Shari]

Does anyone raise them?

How are they to have around the farm?

Gentle?

And of course... photos.

 

[Shari]

No one has them?

Am asking because I am looking at a mini Zebu steer.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Mine arent mini Zebus but I do like have the steer around. It is fun to watch them. And nice to be able to graze them and not worry about them foundering like the horses. And you get a freezer full of payback when your done.

Try asking on Facebook, you will have a broader range of people to answer.

 

[Shari]

Thanks Kim!

One of the reason I want a couple, to help eat all the grass the horse's can't have.

 

[circlesinthesand]

If mini zebu are anything like their larger cousins the regular ole brahma cow, I'd say go find a gentler breed! My experience is mostly in regular beef cattle, not minis but here's what I know: Brahma are popular here because they sweat so they're cross bred on the beefier breeds. The do much better in warmer weather. They have thick hides that aren't as susceptible to mosquitoes and bugs, Nearly every cow around here has some brahma in it, but the smart peeps keep as little as necessary (like a 1/4th or 3/8ths I forget exactly how much is needed to still be useful.) Entire breeds were created trying to find the perfect amount of sweat/hide without the brahma attitude. Brahma are know to be a bit wild, they're unpredictable, hate being in a corner, making them hard to pen and work and will jump fences like a deer or just plow through the fence, they don't much care one way or the other. They can be fast and aggressive and generally hard to handle.

I'd love to have lowline or mini herefords but whew...have you priced them? ouch. So I'll probably end up with dexters instead. Regular Hereford cattle are my favorite, they're so laid back and calm if the smaller version is the same in personality that's what I'd go with. My grandpa used to keep a herd of brahma and he had a hereford bull that I LOVED. Then he got tired of fixing fences so he switched to braford cows with a brahma bull and eventually switching over to nearly all Beefmaster. Beefmaster are nice for small ranching, nice and hardy. I kept beefmaster for a little while, til it got to hard to keep up with everything while we lived in the city. I'm probably going to keep a very small herd of something small. Dexters probably, but I'd never choose pure brahma ever! Dang brahma...I am not fond of them at all.

 

[vvf]

We used to raise mini Zebu, but our SD winters were just to hard on them.. They were small and easy to handle though. We have raised Dexters also and liked them. We currently have Lowline and and also a couple mini belts, really like them. My husband doesn't really like the Herefords, as flys the seem to bother their eyes more.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I'd LOVE to have a mini Jersey! Jerseys are the PRETTIEST cows, and generally of gentle dispostion. Our first neighbors here had a Jersey milk cow for a time...my son would milk her for them when they went somewhere, and we all became very fond of her and hated it when she left.I don't want to mess w/ milking; just love the breed! Even a little steer would be cool, I think!

Circlesinthesand is right about Brahmas/Brahma crosses! Corralitos Ranch down near Las Cruces used to run them when my late husband worked some out there; he told MANY stories of how they'd just jump over/run through fences when they tried to gather them.I used to be horseback to pen cattle at the sale barn at Socorro when we lived there; the WORST,most dangerous in the alleys were the Santa Gertrudis, a King Ranch-created breed that is heavy w/ brahma blood. They were 'proddy' and dangerous to work, esp. in the close quarters of the alleys! You made VERY sure to be well out ahead of an emerging group or individual, made sure you were BEHIND the open gate and had an 'escape route' when pennning them. WHEW!

Best source for into should be people who have kept mini zebu long enough to 'know' them throughly, but my guess would be, they might well be like brahma in their 'outlook on life'!

Margo

 

[Shari]

Thanks for the heads up on the Brahma's.

Yes, been looking at some of the prices of the mini cattle and seems like everyone is selling bulls, no steers. The ones I have talked with, seems like all the males are breeding stock quality.

Shrug.... Not spending that kind of money on a Steer.

Those mini Belts should interesting, but I am guessing no one will have steers for sale.

There have been some Jersey steer calves for sale this last spring. Might just end up with a couple of those next spring. They are more in my price budget anyway.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Shari I just bought a jersey steer calf! I pick him up in one month. He is not mini sized though!

 

[Shari]

Bet he is very cute!

 

[ROWIRA]

Zebus were the first breed of mini cattle that I bought, and I hated them. They're wild, just like the Brahma. I had one cow and heifer that I hand fed everyday for 6-7 months, and the best I ever managed was to lay my hand on them for about 3 seconds before they would run off. Working them was a nightmare, as I was never sure if they were going to try to jump through the fence (which they managed to do once or twice) or turn around and try to charge me (which they did more than once until I started carrying a whip or a big stick to protect myself). I ended up selling them for about half of what I paid for them just to get rid of them. Don't know if you were wanting them for meat, but the size I had were pretty much worthless for that too. Scrawny (despite all the feed I poured into them) and built like a dairy goat. If you're just wanting a pet and can find a bottle-fed steer you might be alright, but other than that I'd say stay away.

I raise Dexters now and like them a lot. They're calm and will follow a feed bucket just about anywhere. Even the bull is a pretty mellow guy. There is still the problem though of them sometimes getting out of the fence. I have one cow that will try to crawl under it. My pasture was originally fenced for regular cattle and the last strand of wire is just a bit too high. You have to fence for minis like you're fencing for goats.

If you find a bull calf that you like you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it steered. There's always a surplus of bulls and contrary to what some sellers may tell you, no, not every bull is of breeding quality.