|
News
Recipes
Diet Info
Fun Stuff
Mini-Cow Links
|
|
Your
next pet might go "moo," not "meow."
Tiny cows could be the
next big thing in household animal companions. And that's
no load of bull.
"They're almost like
a dog, but they don't jump on you," miniature-cattle
rancher Dustin Pillard said.
Pillard has been the most
visible of the nation's ranchers of miniature cattle, touting
the little creatures as the newest exotic pet.
Whereas a normal-sized cow
stands 5 to 6 feet tall at the shoulder and averages 1,500
pounds — and about twice that for bulls — Pillard's
cattle stand only 33 to 40 inches high and weigh a relatively
light 300 to 500 pounds.
|
|
They're
the descendants of Zebu cattle, a distinct breed of small
cows from southern India. In the 1920s, a handful of the
creatures were shipped to the United States and placed in
zoos. Nowadays, though still relatively rare, miniature
cows have made it onto commercial farms. The next step,
Pillard says, is introducing them into people's homes.
"Rodeo's really caught
on in the last few years," he said. "These cattle
are for someone who likes going to rodeos to see the rodeo
bulls and wants something that looks like one but is the
size of a small dog."
|
"They come in the same colors regular cows
do, but best of all, they're lovable"
|
|
Miniature-cattle
rancher Ralph Sowers has been breeding his animals so
tiny over the last 20 years that the idea of dog-sized
cattle might not be an exaggeration in a few generations.
"They're
getting still smaller yet," the Ft. Bragg, Calif.,
herdsman said. "I want to get them down to 30 inches
or less."
"They're
really mellow like a dog. They like to be brushed and
are very sociable — they will come if you call them,"
he said.
|
| [more
information] |
|
|
