Our miniature Zebu cattle are pets. They are my favorite farm animals.
They are docile and intelligent. They also keep my grass short. They are
the perfect animal for the small landholder. The miniature Zebu is hardy
and is easy to care for requiring no special diets, fences or shelters.
Miniature cattle are used through out the world. Our miniature Zebu are representative samples. Most of the world’s farmers are subsistence farmers and need animals for meat, milk and leather. Cattle are cared for by family members on small land holdings. They need animals that are hardy and easy to care for. Judging by pictures I have seen the cattle also need to be able to scrounge for forage. Small cattle fulfill this better than 1100 pound cows and 1800 pound bulls. The majority of the world wants small easy to maintain cattle. I think the smaller animals produce more meat per acre. While some of the Zebu cows have large well developed udders I have never milked any. I suspect they could be milked although I would not guess the yield.
The origin of our miniature Zebus is unclear. They may have been brought from European zoos as specialty or exhibition cattle to American zoos. The miniature Zebu are humped cattle that originated in India. They are thought to have originated in India on temple grounds where they were kept and bred for small size. India is rather interesting. It has the world’s second largest population. The majority of Indians are vegetarians or at the most eat very little meat. Many Indians consider the cow a religious object. Cattle are used as draft and milk sources. After the cow becomes old it is let loose and they wander. They are sacred and no one will kill or bother them. In India beef is not on the menu. There is even an Indian religious party that is based on worship of the cow.
In general cattle can be divided into two large interbreeding groups,
Bos indicus or Asian humped cattle and Bos taurus or European cattle. These
two ‘species’ interbreed without any problem. In the United States we have
the commonly recognized Brahma. They are frequently used in crossbreeding
programs with European breeds to give hybrid vigor to the offspring and
increased heat and parasite resistance. The American Brahma is a composite
breed composed of several different breeds of Bos indicus cattle that originated
in India. I have been told India has at least 29 separate breeds of humped cattle.
Miniature Zebu resemble Brahma cattle. The miniature Zebu breed standards require bulls be less than 40 inches at the shoulder and cows be 42 inches or less. Most bulls are less than 600 pounds and cows are proportionally less. My primary herd bull is 36 inches at the shoulder and has weighed 550 pounds. He is a stocky muscular animal. His calves are good looking and muscular. My smallest cow is 31 inches tall at the shoulder. The bull’s hump are pronounced and the cow’s hump are not as pronounced. The Zebu’s ears are short and not like the Brahma which has long pendulous ears. The skin is tighter at the neck and prepuce which again is different than the American Brahma. They color is usually gray or off-white although other colors exist. I have had my bull side by side with a 2500 pound Brahma and the resemblance is remarkable.
My herd bull has bred several of my regular Angus cows. The half breed calves are vigorous and look good. They have no long pendulous ears. I have sold two at a local sale and am sure there are a couple of perturbed people who do not understand why that fine looking calf has never grown right.
The Zebu has excellent heat resistance and tolerates my wet (55 inches of rain a year) hot climate (315 growing days per year) very well. Looking through the International Miniature Zebu Registry shows many of these animals are raised in much colder areas like Iowa or Indiana. They seem to thrive in any climate.
The Zebus have good parasite resistance, both internal and external. One of my daughters did a short science fair project comparing flies per cow by breed. The flies liked the Zebus the least. My Zebus have no ticks. They seem to have better internal parasite tolerance than Bos taurus or European breeds.
All cattle are grazers. I put my small herd into the woods occasionally and they do not like it. They want to be on pasture with grass. They do not require protein supplements and on good multispecies pasture can get by without mineral supplements. I have salt and minerals available for my animals at all times. They need a good water source. They tolerate the cold well according to my northern friends and do well if able to get into a barn or lean-to. If no winter pasture or rye grass is available the Zebus need to have hay. They can eat typical cow hay. I feed our animals Bahia grass hay. I feed some corn or 20% protein cubes during the winter when it is cold or wet or I want to check them. They eat no differently than the Angus or Senepol cattle we raise.
The Zebus exhibit typical cow like behavior. They are gregarious animals and want to
be in a herd or group. My vet says that Bos indicus cattle are a lot smarter and more
agile than Bos taurus species. I think the Zebus are more intelligent than my other cattle.
A couple of my Zebu cows are obnoxiously smart. They can be very gentle. Our bull will
allow small children to ride on his back. The bull has been aggressive one time when I
interfered when he was following a cow in heat. All but one of our herd will eat out of your
hand and are not very skittish. I have only one cow that will not allow anyone to closely
approach and part of her behavior may be related to her only being 31 inches tall and being
bullied by everyone in the herd. I have had no birthing problems with my miniatures. I have
had one calf killed at a hay ring by the bigger (regular) cows. One miniature cow had a
stifle joint broken by the regular size cows. I now have separated the cows by size. I have a
couple of half breed heifers that I think are remarkable in that they are alert intelligent
bright eyed docile and more active than either the Angus or the Zebus. The half breeds are
also athletic, meaning they will jump a short fence. These two animals prefer to hang around
with the full size cows.
My Zebus cows have not had any difficulty conceiving or calving. Like the average Bos
indicus they become sexually mature later than the European breeds. I am not sure but think
they are not sexually mature until age 18 months or more. This is a disadvantage but while the
average commercial cow is culled by age 6 or 7 the Zebu will have calves for a longer period
of time. I have one 12 year old cow who has just had a calf. The miniature Zebus probably do
not have a very broad genetic base and have been known to have problems with fertility. One
of my goals is to do some research on origins to understand this problem better. The
miniatures cycle about every 21 days and it is hard to spot when they are in heat. I now
keep a bull with them constantly instead of using a set breeding period like I do
with the Angus.
You can find these animals in zoos. The Nashville zoo TN, Glenrose Animal Park TX, and San Jose zoo CA are examples. The make a good exhibition animal because of size, uniqueness and ease of care and handling. I think they make a good pet. I like to watch them out my office window and have three in the yard. You need a bunch of calves to eat much grass.
There is a herd registry book and International Miniature Zebu Association. If you want more information you can contact the International Zebu Association. You can also call or e-mail us if you have questions. I would be glad to talk to you about them. Ultimately I will try and put some hot links into this page to connect with some related sites.
dgrantham@pnx.com
