The First Day in the Life of a VERY Miniature Hereford.

Riverlets Abigail, born on March 2nd, 2011 and weighing just 17.5 kgs explores her new world.

 What a big place.   Where do I go now?

Actually, it feels safer with Mum.

 

Mummy, I've got a tummy ache.

 

Ooh!   It's that meconium business

                                         
                                                    Aah!  That's better




                               Now, for another wee drink.

Heck, Mum's gone.   Gotta catch her up.

                                     Where did she go?

Crikey - what are these craters. 

 

                               This cuzzie bro' is HUGE.




            Ha ha - can't see me now! 

                                                            Mummy loves me.

 

Exactly What Is A Miniature Hereford

There is a lot of misunderstanding being perpetrated regarding the classification of Miniature Herefords, making them out to be a separate breed, which they are not. It is also causing unnecessary confusion among new owners and potential breeders. Quite simply the animal is a Hereford first by breed and a miniature second by size. A look at some of the terminology which has been used incorrectly will show this.

Firstly, there is no such thing as a “purebred” Miniature Hereford. The description should be “full blood Hereford” without any reference to the miniature size. A full blood animal is one which has no other breed in its background going back many generations. In the case of Herefords this goes back several hundred years. A Hereford bred to another Hereford, regardless of size is still a full blood Hereford. The only differentiations which can be made with Herefords are whether they are horned or polled or of different sizes e.g. standard, classic or miniature but those are just varieties of the same breed.

“Purebred” is the result of successive back breeding from original crossbreeding or interbreeding and this applies to using two or more entirely separate breeds. In this way we now have recognised breeds such as Belgian Blue which was developed from native Belgian cattle crossed with Shorthorn and Charolais. The Australian Belmont Red is another example of crossing or interbreeding, in this case Africander bulls over Hereford and Shorthorn cows. Purebred usually means a minimum 31/32 cattle which have been produced through a “grading up” process from the original breeds used.

“Crossbreeding” or “interbreeding” is exactly that – the mixing of different breeds. You cannot crossbreed or interbreed within the same breed therefore the practice of referring to a Miniature Hereford with Classic or Standard Hereford in its pedigree as a crossbreed is totally untrue. All Miniature Herefords have this mixture of sizes (not breeds) in their pedigrees. A Brahman crossed with a Hereford produces a crossbreed known as a Braford – two separate breeds. Likewise a Brahman crossed with an Angus produces a Brangus. The popular Murray Grey is a result of crossing an Angus with a Shorthorn and refining the breed over many generations. Another interesting combination of breeds leads to the Mandalong Special which has Brahman, Shorthorn, Charolais, British White and Chianina in its background.

“Grading up” again applies to using more than one breed to combine particular genetics It starts with using a bull from one breed across a cow of another breed. The first offspring is half-bred and heifers from this are then bred back to the original bull breed. The next offspring will be three-quarter bred and the procedure is repeated using part-bred heifers back to the original bull breed until offspring which are of 31/32 breeding are then classified as “purebred”. They are not full blood of either breed used. The “grading up” being used within the Hereford breed to produce a so-called fifth generation miniature is not justifiable as it is simply using two animals of different varieties of the same breed and the final outcome may not necessarily fall within miniature status as the frame score size could well be over the limit. The original process of acquiring miniatures was to breed the smallest Herefords possible to other small Herefords and continue from there to reduce the size, not to establish so many generations of breeding. Frame score can be heritable and changed mainly through using selected sires therefore it is more important to know the framescore background of the animals being bred than their pedigrees.

“Inbreeding” along with “linebreeding” is now prevalent among Miniature Hereford herds in both Australia and New Zealand owing to the lack of new bloodlines. Although one advantage is the early exposure of a defect - providing measures are taken to eradicate that - the main outcome is a loss of fertility along with detrimental effects on production efficiency. Inbreeding is computed as a percentage of chances for two alleles to be identical by descent. This percentage is called “inbreeding co-efficient”. Alleles are alternative forms of genes and part of the DNA coding which determines distinct traits which are passed on from parents to offspring. Progeny can have a 1 in 2 risk of inheriting identical alleles from both parents which greatly increases any negative effects. Linebreeding is a milder form of inbreeding through breeding of cousins. Anyone claiming to have “five full generations” of “miniature” in an animal should properly examine its breeding – it is most likely the product of straight inbreeding or very close linebreeding, neither of which is desirable. It is more likely the five generations are obtained by picking and choosing what appears to be "miniature" from among each generation and this is where frame scores are needed.   For this reason conscientious breeders in other parts of the world occasionally introduce new bloodlines using mainly the smaller Classic Herefords which are of FS 2 or FS 3. This is known as “outbreeding” but it is still within the same breed. . In Australia and New Zealand there are Classic sized animals among the standard Hereford herds but not actually classified as such. A miniature bull (FS 1 or less) over a Classic cow should produce progeny not much bigger than itself.

Much has been made of a “foundation herd” and a claim that all Miniature Herefords in Australia and any animals coming to New Zealand from Australia must be linked to this. The foundation herd is nothing more than a collection of original imports from the USA most of which had a Classic Hereford in its immediate parentage. There is at least one animal classed as “miniature” which had Classics for both parents. How did the classification as “miniature” arise then? It could only have been on frame score as most of the Classics were FS 2 or 3. Was FS 2 considered “miniature”? It certainly wasn't in the States. To restrict the classification as “miniature” to only particular animals whose pedigree traces back to chosen “ancestors” is not only irrelevant it drastically narrows the gene pool and constitutes restrictive trading practice for other breeders who have animals which qualify by size – the only criteria needed. These latter animals are likely to have superior genetics through a widened gene pool and as such strengthen the overall breeding of Miniature Herefords.

Finally, to state that animals must be classified as “miniature” by only one particular group is an insult to the majority of breeders. The integrity of the breeder in noting the size of an animal goes hand in hand with the integrity of the breeder in stating the correct parentage. If the intending purchaser has any concerns, a request can be made for a DNA profile, the registration checked and the measurement process observed or done independently to confirm what has been stated. As it stands now, no group is the authoritative body for classification of Miniature Herefords.

The Elastic Miniature

Let's get this right. The only thing the word “miniature” has to do with an animal's description is its size - more specifically its height. In no language in the world is “miniature” defined by pedigree but some of the synonyms for it are; small-scale, diminutive, short and so on. Small-scale best suits Miniature Herefords but with two breeder groups allowing animals to be up to a frame score of 2 this creates confusion and misleading conceptions of what size these animals really are. A good example is when visitors see my Frame Score 2 registered miniature cow among the rest which, except for one Frame Score 1 animal are all Frame Score 0 or less. They ask why she is called “miniature”. With standard Herefords in a nearby paddock their question is not surprising.

    Standard Hereford cow on left - Miniature Hereford cow on right.   The Standard cow is only .5 cm above being Frame Score 2 while the Miniature cow is Frame Score 2.


In 2004 the New Zealand Hereford Association introduced a rule which does not allow the registration of progeny from a mixture of miniature and standard Herefords. I suspect one of the reasons was the bigger sizes being allowed for miniatures. Breeders of standard Herefords were concerned, and some still are, that these animals would end up in the sale yards being passed off as conventional Herefords with the purchaser finding later on that they did not grow to expectations. The fact that these animals are also being sold on to private buyers with no controls in place as to their backgrounds should be of equal concern. On the other hand some crossbreds (Hereford and another breed) which look like Herefords are also in the sale yards but that does not appear to generate the same concern.

   Three-quarter Hereford, quarter Friesian calf

There are three height categories used not only for Herefords but also for other cattle. Basically, anything below a Frame Score of 1 is classed as Miniature, from 1 to 3 is Classic and from 4 up is Standard or Regular. In the States, where Miniature Herefords originated and where they are far more prolific than in other countries, the upper level for a miniature can be FS 1 but the preferred height is from 0 down. Anything over FS 1 is NOT classed as miniature – it becomes Classic. This makes it very clear for purchasers as to what they are actually buying – pedigree does not come into it except for registration purposes as a full blood Hereford although the discerning buyer would do well to check any frame scores in the pedigree.

Seven-year-old Miniature Hereford bull

The argument for classifying FS 2 as miniature has been qualified by some as necessary because they need the larger size for their particular meat production purposes. This simply does not make sense. If you want a bigger animal then don't call it a Miniature – call it a Classic or Standard Hereford. If, however, you look closely at these larger “miniatures” you will see not too far back in their pedigrees, generally in the second or third generation, the Classic heights of F2 and F3. For those who have a fixation on Largent stock read this comment in an e-mail from Roy:

“It is very helpful for me when looking at an animal's pedigree to be able to see the frame score of each animal in that pedigree so that I can better predict the % of calves possible that would be larger than the parents from a certain mating.”

Frame Score is only a prediction, not a guarantee, of mature height of any progeny. In fact, according to some American research, frame score is more a predictor of future weights rather than a measure of body size. Check out this article on the website “Texas adapted genetic strategies for beef cattle X: Frame Score, Frame Size and Weight.”

Roy considers that miniatures are classified as cows being under 45” (114 cm) and bulls under 47” (119 cm) when they are three years of age. This means they are UNDER FS 1. Pedigrees should show either the concentration of smaller heights or the lack thereof - in other words HEIGHT is the important factor. The Official Frame Score Chart for the American Miniature Hereford Breeders Association allows mature bulls (3 years or older) to be up to 48" (121 cm) and mature cows (3 years or older) to be up to 45" (114cm).   This height is classed as Frame Score 1.

Roy also recommends developing our own lines of miniatures in the same way as being done in the States – that is, using a Miniature bull over small standard or classic Hereford cows and repeating the process with the progeny (with different bulls of course) until the miniature size is reached – depending on the heights of the animals used this can happen within two generations! Again NOTHING to do with pedigree but ALL to do with height and the added advantage of a wider gene pool.

Miniature Hereford bull running with yearling Jersey, Jersey/Friesian and standard Hereford heifers

This downsizing is easily done in Australia and all other parts of the world where full blood Herefords, regardless of height, can be registered with that country's Hereford Association but currently not so in NZ. A safeguard can be put in place, however, by using only registered animals to begin with then having a separate register for the progeny which will record both the pedigrees and the frame scores. With the dearth of a range of new bloodlines and the incredibly involved process for importing new genetics this is the only way NZ is going to avoid going further down the track of line and in-breeding with their inherent problems.

An animal of two years is not really fully mature and may well have more growing to do. For this reason Miniature Herefords should not have an official measurement recorded at two. It is a useful interim indication of how tall the animal may be later in life but the official measurement should be at three years. A case in point is Patsy, who at two years of age had a frame score of 0 but was very close to being 00. She will probably not grow enough over the next year to stay at 0 so her three-year-old measurement is likely to be 00.

Patsy (on left) at 108 cm and Eve (on right) at 111 cm
Both FS 0 at 2 yrs but this could change with Patsy.

Stretching the frame score to allow for bigger animals is defeating the purpose of having “miniature” Herefords. The question also has to be asked – Why was the FS set at 2 and under by two breeders groups when it is so obviously at odds with the rest of the world. It makes a mockery of the hard work done by breeders in the USA to get the sizes down and they are quite puzzled by it. It also does nothing to help market the minis as truly small cattle which is what the majority of lifestylers are looking for.

Colour Coded

Recently I had the pleasure of getting back into the “driver's seat” behind a one horse-power engine of energy. It was at a meeting of the Kaipara Equine Driving Club which has a mixture of members, horses and ponies but all with one thing in common – the enjoyment of an original form of transport.

I have now become a member of the group with the offer of animals to drive providing I can find a little cart and harness. Having sold my smaller turn-out some years ago the Trade-Me columns are now being scrutinised for something which will fit a Miniature Horse which is around nine hands high!

The Miniature Horse (Equus ferus caballus) is found in many nations particularly in America and Europe. It's distinguishing feature is that it is small size with horse phenotype 34-38 inches (86-97 cm) as measured at the last hairs of the mane. In other words, like a Miniature Hereford it is based on size but it is exactly the same as its larger counterpart.

The mini horse pictured here is “Red”, an11-year-old stallion with the most amazing disposition. He drove calmly and responded well to my rusty instructions and it was sheer delight to be rolling gently around the paddock to the familiar hoofbeat, harness and “buggy” sounds. Another attraction is that Red exactly matches the colour of my Miniature Herefords so would blend in well with them! He is one of two horses offered to me for use in either leisure or competition driving events so once I get the necessary gear we will be away.

A Games Day is to be held on April 3^rd, weather permitting, with April 10^th if not and an ODE will take place on either May 1^st or 8^th, again depending on weather. Unlike ridden horses, which generally have to cope with whatever conditions are thrown at them, a driven one will find the going too hard if the ground becomes soft or boggy. I now have a Dressage Test to learn which for me is quite a mission to remember. My daughter who does eventing on horseback has no such trouble, often learning the test just before going into the ring!

In the past I have driven big horses - taken the ribbons (reins) of a Clydesdale and ponies around 11 to 13 hands plus my beloved donkey. With wonky knees, which I am waiting to have replaced, getting on and off a horse is not easy so returning to harness driving seems a great solution.

WHY HAVE MINIATURE HEREFORDS?

 

2-year-old Miniature Hereford heifer and calf

Miniature Herefords were developed by the Largent family in West Texas, USA starting in the 1970s.   Their reasoning was that the typical Hereford was getting too big, developing too much bone and becoming harder on pasture and facilities.   In order to “downsize” the Largents used the smallest Herefords they could find and continued to breed smaller over the decades until they reached the size now called “miniature”.   For this they are measured across the spine at the hip bones as the height there is less likely to change than at the wither.  In general bulls should be under 124cm and cows under 119 cm at three years of age to be considered miniature.  These smaller animals are not a separate breed.   They are descendants of the original Herefords brought to North America in 1831 and their pedigrees trace back along the same lines to those in the United Kingdom where the breed originated.   In conformation they should look exactly like the bigger cattle but proportionately smaller.  

The characteristics of Herefords are that they are efficient foragers, mature early, calve easily, milk well for their calves and are excellent mothers.   They are extremely hardy and adapt well to almost any environment.   Their docile temperament and ease of handling makes them even more popular as a breed.   Miniature Herefords are all of the above but they have some added advantages.   They eat approximately 40% less food than their bigger cousins but produce 60% by weight of the prime cuts with less bone.   It is possible to graze two to three minis in the place of one larger animal yet get up to 25% more beef and at the same time have less damage to pasture and facilities.

2-year-old Miniature Hereford bull

For those wanting to invest in Miniature Herefords it is wise to look at the size of your property before deciding on how many you want and whether or not you wish to run a bull as well.   Cost will also come into it as with so few Miniature Herefords in New Zealand they are not cheap.   It is probably best to start with just a couple of in-calf cows and add  a  weaner heifer calf or two if you have the room.   A ten acre block would hold those easily and give you scope for some expansion of the herd.  

On a small block of land it would be better not to purchase a bull but to consider AI (artificial insemination) or leasing one for the short time needed to get your cows in calf again.   You would also need to look at selling stock either when calves are weaned or using heifers to replace older cows and selling the cows to avoid becoming overstocked depending on your acreage.   Remember that winter usually requires supplementary feed e.g. hay and drought conditions in summer could need it too.   Division of paddocks to enable rotational grazing is essential as set stocking can lead to problems such as a build up of worm burdens especially if you are not cross-grazing with other animals such as sheep.   This could also enable any surplus grass to be cut for silage or hay in late spring or during summer.

Yearling Hereford heifers - mini on the left, standard size on the right

If buying in-calf cows find out all you can about when they are due to calve and locate a good vet to be on stand-by especially if you have never had this experience before.   Calves will require vaccinations, there will also be dehorning and possibly castration of bull calves not needed for breeding.   If wanting animals for the freezer then sourcing a good Home Kill butcher is worthwhile.   If all this sounds daunting just remember there are plenty of experienced people around only too willing to help you.

Yearling Hereford bulls - mini on left, standard size on the right

Should you decide to become a registered breeder there are procedures to go through for which you will be assisted.    Although you need to learn all you can about your cattle and how you would like to develop your breeding programme for matters like checking pedigrees in order to match your cows with specific bulls, what time of the year suits you best for calving, where and how you can sell or buy stock and so on there is always help available.    This can be through the NZ Miniature Hereford Breeders or other Breeders groups as well as working with vets, AI technicians, Livestock Agents and other personnel connected with cattle breeding.   You do not have to go it alone.

DEBUT OF THE MINIATURE HEREFORDS

Show Day at last! 

Following weeks of training the Friday afternoon before the Show saw our four Miniature Herefords being washed and polished then turned out into a handy paddock for the night with instructions to STAY CLEAN. Hah! The next morning Grovenorth Patsy had liberally coated her calf with sloppy “whew”!

We are fortunate enough to have large covered yards in which we can make up big or small pens simply by shutting different gates. Another advantage is that we can make a race inside the perimeter of the yards which allows us to teach the animals to lead and walk properly regardless of the weather. Another long race leads from the yards past several small holding paddocks so once the animals are walking co-operatively we can take them outside. With everything going as it should we then go into one of these paddocks and use it as a simulated show ring. Here the animals learn to stop, stand correctly and move off when required to in the same clockwise direction they will go when exhibited.

Training started with the new calf learning to wear a halter while the others were tethered and groomed. After a few days when they stood quietly we started going for little walks with the calf alongside his mum. The yearling was being willful and actually took more work than any of the others to bring her in line then later she had an unpleasant surprise for us. A radio was turned on with the sound reasonably loud and friends were permitted to come and watch during the latter part of the training. Some of them also patted and brushed the animals helping accustom them to a “public” situation.

This was a real opportunity to involve young people with the minis. Riverlets Patrick (Paddy), the calf, became the responsibility of 9-year-old Jessica. She did such a good job with him that when my great-niece, who was nearly 9, visited from the city she was able to brush and walk the little guy herself with no problems. Later on the 2-year-old heifers, Mount Marua Emma and Grovenorth Patsy were taken over by 13-year-old Inaya and 14-year-old Brianna respectively. These girls were exceptional in the way they prepared the minis for the show ring and they achieved many placings. This was even more rewarding in that we were competing against the popular Highland and Dexter cattle and at a later show, Red Poll.

At the showgrounds Riverlets Sparkler, the yearling, put on a real performance. Coming off the truck she took fright at the surroundings, panicked and nearly pulled my husband over the ramp with her. He had to let go and she bolted through some vintage vehicles and headed toward the rodeo venue. The “cowboys” saw a good chance to put their skills into action so rounded her up and secured her in the yards. With the comforting presence of a friend's big Saler cow Sparkler was brought back to the show pens and tethered. We let her settle down and eventually she went into the show ring and behaved as she should. At he next show she won her class!

The only other disturbance was when Patsy, missing her calf who was doing his thing in the ring, leaped over into another pen looking for him. If I'd known she was such a good jumper I would have entered her in the equine events! Thankfully the “victim” graciously accepted my apologies.

The ups and downs of the day did nothing to deter the enthusiasm of the “team” who are eager to continue showing. The minis attracted a lot of attention from the public and other young people have asked if they can be involved too. Next year we could have quite a collection to take out and about and with fourteen shows in the Northern Districts area we can pick and choose which ones to go to. Great advertising for the Miniature Herefords.

HAPPY ENDING

 

The gentle Jersey cow and her calf sired by a Miniature Hereford bull

In August, 2009, we lost a good friend. It needn't have happened but it did. In the days following this tragedy it was discovered he had some cattle grazing on a small block of land and I was asked to go and see what was there. To my dismay I found the older stock in such poor condition they were virtually worthless and had they been sent to the Works they would have gone down the chute. Apparently our friend was making regular checks on these animals but with the deterioration of his health these ceased. Those who could have helped knew nothing about it.

I was then asked to deal with the cattle so with the assistance of a livestock agent they were sorted up and the young ones sent off to the saleyards. Then there was the dilemma with the older cows. To put them on a truck where they could face a long journey and then go through the stress of being in unfamiliar surroundings with only one end in sight seemed heartless so on went my thinking cap.

A bit of discussion with sympathetic local dairy farmers resulted in a decision for me to buy the cows, get them back into decent condition and then put them into a milking shed once they had calved. Although it cost me quite a bit of money to achieve this it worked out for all of them except a gentle little Jersey cow which had everyone fooled. First of all we thought she had calved and lost the calf as she had a bit of milk but after a week in the shed the milk yield did not build up so she was turned out with some yearling heifers running with a bull to give her another chance.

Jersey's first calf on left at seven months of age - a year younger than the mini on right!

I was just dealing with the arrival of my first Miniature Hereford calves when I got a phone call to say the Jersey cow had calved! There had been a weaner Hereford bull in her previous herd which resulted in the unexpected new arrival. We brought her home and started looking for another calf to put on her as she had so much milk but with such a late calving there was nothing newborn around. We did, however, have a Jersey/Ayrshire cross heifer calf among our hand feeders which was a month old so we introduced it to the new mother who allowed it to suckle providing her calf was the first she could smell!

The summer of 2009/2010 became a bad drought so the little Jersey was grazed with a group of Miniature Hereford heifers running with a mini bull. After such a rocky few months we were not sure what her future would be so once the calves were weaned she went back into the main Hereford herd.

The drought had knocked her hard as she couldn't convert the sparse feed available as well as the beef cows so we had to hope she got her fair share of hay and minerals through the winter and spring.

Dairy cattle which have had several calves are inclined to have big bellies and to pick whether the Jersey was in calf or not was impossible until early December when she started springing up. This fitted in with the dates she had been with the Miniature Hereford bull and sure enough, on December 15^th she produced a small, fawn-coloured bull calf with a mostly white face, speckled white feet and a white tip on its tail. Once again she had loads of milk so the hunt went on to find another calf for her.

Christmas Day foster calf

Just as we thought we were out of luck the phone rang with a message that there was a little Jersey bull available from a late calver which was going into the milking shed. We picked this calf up on Christmas Day. Two days of “mothering on” was all that was needed. The cow can also be hand milked and she is going to a friend's lifestyle block where he wants to use her as a house/nurse cow for which she is ideally suited. She is likely to be spoiled “rotten” at this place which she thoroughly deserves and we will continue to use a Miniature Hereford bull over her each season. This cross makes an ideal freezer pack but we don't tell her that! The friend we lost was proud of his pedigree Jerseys in particular so we are happy to have saved this one for him.

All mothered up out in the paddock

With a couple of changes of words the following poem, found in a Hereford Sale Complex in Southland, seems to epitomise this little Jersey cow.

I know of a sweet Jersey cow,

Whose behaviour was rash, I'll allow.

One hot, summer day

She wandered away

But no-one reproaches her now!

She met a fine Hereford bull

Who liked pretty girls as a rule

He said to her, “Dear,

There's nothing to fear

Come under the trees where it's cool.”

And now they have reason to laugh,

For the cow has a white-headed calf,

Gaining pounds every day

The Hereford way

And reducing expenses by half!