The Miniature Hereford has been developed over the last 30 years by selective breeding of stock that was originally imported to the US from England in the early 19th Century. The Miniature Hereford breeding program was started by the Largent family in 1974, whose ranch is located in the Davis Mountains of Texas.
Photo courtesy of Trumbull Prairie Ranch
Rust Largent initially concentrated on breeding the most efficient cattle suited to the local conditions of his ranch. After working on size reduction for several years with efficiency in mind, a bull called Laser was used at the ranch that enabled a reduction in frame size to be achieved at an increased rate. Since Laser there has been a succession of small animals. The herd has been systematically culled and improved continuously to produce the base herd.
The first Miniature Herefords were sold on the open market in 1991. All Miniature Herefords are able to be registered with the American Hereford Society, once they are checked free of the dwarfism gene.
Characteristics
The only difference between a Hereford and a Miniature Hereford is the height, the Miniature has the same body profile in terms of proportion to a full sized Hereford.
A Miniature Hereford averages around 107cm (42 inches) in height and weighs around 450kgs (1000 lbs). Apart from that the Miniature Hereford is the same in characteristics as its larger counterpart.
Statistics
Easy to handle
Effective food conversion
Mature up to 20% earlier
Very docile
Quality beef
Photo courtesy of Trumbull Prairie Ranch
Retain the great traits of the Hereford
Are commonly used as pets
Good for children for 4H or FFA animals
Distribution
Miniature Herefords are now available in many states of the US, Canada and Australia.
References (the above information was cited from the following sites)
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