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!

THE BULL THAT WANTED TO BE A REINDEER

Galaxy at around 18 months of age

                                    

Genetics are interesting but bamboozling stuff when they throw up unexpected traits despite the best efforts with breeding programmes.   For instance, take the business of animals having horns, scurs or being polled.   All the research shows the polled gene being dominant but, to confuse the issue, every now and then an animal with a polled background of several generations suddenly sprouts real horns as in the case of the boy here.

The story of the bull we called “Galaxy” began when he was born in the corner of a paddock and managed to snuggle himself against the fence becoming almost invisible.   His mother went walkabout, forgot where her calf was and “calf-napped”  the newborn offspring of another cow.   Once we discovered what had happened we tried to reunite her with her own calf but she wasn't interested even when we put the two of them together in one of the races for a day.

Rather than cause more stress by trying to right a wrong we took the little bull home to rear and put the cow in a different herd to curb her obsession with the other calf.   We already had a number of hand feeders owing to several cases of twinning so Galaxy settled in well.   He was really laid back even as a youngster and thrived on the daily attention.

When Galaxy was around five weeks of age we noticed he was developing little horns, proper ones which really puzzled us knowing his background so we had a look back through his pedigree record.   Amazing reading.   With his dam we went back nine generations on the female side and six on the male before the indication came up “pedigree unknown” on the New Zealand Hereford Association database but ALL those animals were polled.   Then we looked at his sire's record and this is where the horny business started.   His sire had two paternal generations of polled animals then in came the horns with a great-grand-dam listed as “pure horned” and from this we traced back to1958 – all horned – before the pedigree records ran out.   The maternal side of Galaxy's sire showed one great-grand-dam which was horned but her parents, grandparents and as far back as we could go were polled!

In August of this year (2010) I took part in a webinar run by Southern Beef Technology in Australia

which was about a new DNA test for the polled gene.   The discussion covered a number of topics which has since been updated and I have permission to use some of this.

It has been found that the polled characteristic is dominant over horns, however, although you might buy a polled bull you won't know until he has progeny on the ground whether he is “true polled”.   An animal that is polled may still possess a copy of the recessive gene for horns and throw a proportion of horned calves.   The difficulty of distinguishing between homozygous polled animals and polled animals that are heterozygous carriers of the allele (an alternative form of a gene) responsible for horns is an impediment to breeding for polled stock.  

Research has shown that using bulls tested to be homozygous with the Beef CRC (Co-operative Research Centre) test will result in a reduction in the proportion of horned calves but in some breeds there will be an increase in the proportion of scurred calves and in all breeds there will be an increase in the proportion of polled calves.   Very basically homozygous means having two of the same alleles at the same location on a chromosome and heterozygous is having two different alleles at the same location on a chromosome.   All these terms and descriptions of them can be found on the internet.  

These factors need to be taken into account when breeding for polled Miniature Herefords.   They are relatively new on the scene when compared with the horned ones and all of them have been bred from polled animals among the larger Classic Herefords which in turn have evolved from polled Standard Herefords.    You can see this within a few generations in their pedigrees.   At least one of the bulls I have selected  for semen import is known to be homozygous and with around forty progeny so far is throwing 95% polled calves from horned cows.   Some others I have looked at have a heterozygous background with the resulting progeny being a mixture of polled, horned and scurred.   These animals would not be as suitable for using to breed polled offspring unless mated to a homozygous polled bull or cow when the chances could improve.   For this reason in breeding my own line of polled miniatures the heifers selected from among the standard Herefords have had their pedigrees scrutinised for any appearance of scurs or horns but that is still no guarantee that the polled factor will be dominant.

 

Galaxy as a 2 year old the day before his horns came off

We should have dehorned Galaxy in the autumn following his birth but by then the antlers were promising to be something spectacular (move over Donner and Blitzen) and we had hopes of selling him to one of the bullock teams which operate up here.   He would have been great as a stud bull for new team stock, although what guarantee could we give that his progeny would have horns?   At the very least he would have had to be mated with a horned cow.  

Unfortunately he wasn't wanted by the bullock teams nor as a ring-in for Santa's reindeer so reluctantly we had the deed done.   We couldn't keep him for breeding ourselves even though apart from the horns he would have been ideal as a stud bull so he was up for sale as a terminal sire to a dairy herd.   Parting with him was hard but we do know he has gone to a small dairy farm in a pleasant location where he should be able to live a peaceful and productive life. 

Another 'Short' Story

                                              

Riverlands Pearl 05 0722 was leaving it very late to calve and we had almost given up hope that she would do so as she didn't look overly large.    BUT........on November 27^th 2009, when the 'boss' was on his daily rounds, he almost ran over a small object lying in the grass.   Pearl was standing nearby and on closer examination the discovery was made of an incredibly little calf which turned out to be hers!   It weighed only 16 kgs – less than half the average weight of a normal standard Hereford calf and a good 5 kgs lighter than the smaller of my twin Miniature Hereford calves.   When checking the condition of the calf and the mating records we decided it might possibly be a couple of weeks early but certainly not enough to be called 'premature'.

This little lady, Riverlands Pearl 09 0085, could not even reach her mother's teats so for several days we hand milked the cow and fed the baby from a bottle with a lamb's teat attached as her mouth was too small for the conventional calf teat.   Finally, with much stretching, she managed to latch onto a teat and was away.   It was quite funny to see her mother washing her and almost knocking her over with just her tongue but the wee thing was very determined and nothing was going to keep her down.   I missed one of the best of photographic opportunities on a day that was raining when little one was tucking into breakfast while sheltering right underneath her mother.   The camera is now almost a fixture on my person!

Little Pearl eventually grew up, was weaned and went off with the big girls in her heifer group but we kept an eye on her.   A bit later on it became evident that she and a few others were not coping as well as they could in a wet winter which had followed a long drought.   We pulled them out of the group and put them in with the weaned Miniature Hereford calves where they were able to get a daily feed of molasses as well as have a whole paddock to themselves.

Although rather shy, reluctant to push her way in among the others and still shorter than even the minis Little Pearl was growing and thriving.    Now, as a yearling, she is quite beautiful – very dark, well marked and with good conformation.   She is not stunted in any way, just SMALL.   Her future will not be with the big Herefords as she will be too small for any of those bulls but she will join an elite group.   This is made up of specially picked registered standard Herefords, all polled and all smaller than average which are run with a Miniature Hereford bull to start an exclusive line of polled minis.  

Miniature Herefords began this way in the States, using small standard Herefords and gradually reducing the size until the “miniature”  was achieved.   Every Miniature Hereford has this mixture of sizes in its background and all their pedigrees will show it.      Around the world breeders are developing their own lines in a similar fashion but with the advantage of now starting with miniature stock such as a mini bull over larger Herefords.   They are ALL full blood Herefords - just different sizes of the same breed.   At the moment such progeny is not registerable in New Zealand but they will all come from registered animals and have their own pedigree records.   With the increasing preference for polled cattle there will be a demand for this type of Miniature Hereford and Riverlands Pearl 09 0085 will have her place in history!

Accidents can happen!

                                              

Even the best plans can be thwarted by Mother Nature especially if hormones kick in at the wrong time!   In September 2009 we were given a White Hereford heifer calf to put on a dairy nurse-cow which had lost her calf.   The calf thrived on the Ayshire/Jersey milk, grew well and started to look quite striking with decidedly 'blue' roan colouring.

White Herefords originated in New Zealand early last century when a breeder purchased a line of Hereford cows among which was a roan coloured cow with Hereford markings.   Running with only Hereford bulls this cow  produced a near white calf.    From this, a little family. line developed with the cows having more or less two roan calves to every one red calf all sired by Hereford bulls.  

Over the years with so few  numbers of the line inbreeding became a problem so the White Herefords were crossed out on occasions with such breeds as Jersey, Friesian, Friesian X. Ayrshire, Angus and Shorthorn X.   The progeny, all having the Hereford white face, were then bred back to the White bulls.   In Northland there is a White Hereford Stud known as “Lochnoor” which is making its mark as a recognised breed.

Our herd sires go in with their respective groups of cows in late spring and come out some three months later usually with a job well done.   The calves remain on the cows until they are around eight months old when they are weaned.   Once the calves reach six months of age, however, cows with bull calves are separated from cows with heifer calves.   This avoids any possible hanky panky although beef calves are normally later to mature than dairy ones.  

Unbeknown to us, the drop of dairy breed in our heifer brought her to maturity far earlier than the others and just before the bull was taken out of the herd she succumbed to his charms at a mere five months of age!   Once weaned she went off “up the mountain” at the back of our farm for the winter along with all the other weaned heifers.

In the spring  we noticed this heifer starting to look a bit seedy with a pot belly and harsh coat.   She had also lost cover condition but curiously was developing a small udder.   We decided to bring her up to our yards and drench her but before that happened she produced a tiny calf, perfectly formed and lively.   This wee creature was the typical black/white-face which results from crossing a Hereford bull with a Friesian cow.   Despite being only fourteen months of age the heifer calved all by herself and is a very good mother.

With the drought upon us this very young mum is needing some extra care so we have taken her out of the main herd and put her in with one of the Miniature Hereford groups where there will be less competition for food.   Owing to the age at which she calved and the adverse conditions at present it is very possible she will not cycle for some time.   If she does, then maybe next Spring we will have a miniature White (blue) Hereford!

Virtual Cattle Show for Miniature Herefords

The Australian Miniature Hereford Breeders Network Inc., is holding a Virtual Cattle Show for Miniature Herefords via the internet next autumn (Southern Hemisphere).   Entries are invited from interested breeders/owners/enthusiasts and there are already a number of people on both sides of the Tasman as well as further afield overseas wanting to take part.

The AMHBN is an incorporated society fully recognised by HAL (Herefords Australia Ltd) and thinks this would be a good way to showcase stock as well as promote the breeding of Miniature Herefords.   This is especially the case for those who live too far away from any show centres or have no means of getting to one.   The first Show will be purely for fun – no entry fees and no prizes apart from place recognitions but with international interest in it plans are in place for more serious competition while retaining the fun element.   For this show judges will be selected from both Australia and New Zealand.

The animals can be prepared as if for a live show (unless you are lucky enough to have ones that stay clean) although the emphasis will be on “natural” condition.

Except for Classes 10 and 11 animals must be registered as Herefords with either HAL or NZHA (or the overseas equivalent) and be of a Frame Score 1 or less in order to qualify for entry.

A sample Show Schedule can also be seen on this website along with helpful hints for animal preparation and photography.    For the full programme along with entry form and Frame Score Measurement Certificate please go to the Australian Miniature Hereford Breeders Network website which is: http://www.amhbn.com/

For further enquiries please contact me on  riverlands@ubernet.co.nz