New Breed Of Mini-Cattle Catch On

New Breed Of Mini-Cattle Catch On AG WORLD Michigan livestock producer Dave Wheeler is raising mini-cattle for specific beneficial traits “We call the breed Pirates and Pandas and we’re developing them for improved feed efficiency and easier handling than full-size breeds ” Wheeler says “They can be raisied in smaller facilities and are much easier for young people to handle ” Wheeler used a cross-breeding program to gain traits that he couldn’t achieve from a single breed He started with two mini belted Galloway females and used sexed semen embryos sired by a mini Hereford bull for the offspring He also bought 4 excellent females from a Nebraska breeder “The Galloway have a lot of eye appeal are great mothers have a double coat for protection in cold weather and are naturally polled The pair we started with also had great longevity and were very easy to keep on grass because they’re aggressive foragers ” Wheeler says He chose the mini Hereford as a sire because “those bulls have been around for several years and are known for excellent conformation Some of the newer mini breeds have structural problems because they haven’t gone through a selection process like the Herefords have ” Wheeler says The Hereford sire was also selected for eye pigmentation because without that trait the offspring might be susceptible to pinkeye and eye cancer His breeding program has produced offspring that are a color combination that look like a panda bear Calves are red brown silver and black with some of them having two patches He calls those calves Pandas and those with one patch are called Pirates “Our goal is to have cattle that are 36 to 45 in tall which is large enough to artificially inseminate and palpate for pregnancy ” Wheeler says “Any smaller than that limits our sire selection for calving ease ” Wheeler isn’t selecting for muscling and big bone structure so calving has been very easy Mature cattle weigh 500 to 600 lbs with desireable females selling for $3 000 to $5 000 and bulls $500 to $1 000 “If you’re running mini cattle or just looking to raise easy-to-handle beef that are friendly and great at grazing or if you want to add color or improve grazing ability in your herd these cattle are a great place to start ” Wheeler adds Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Wheeler 12320 Yost Rd Hudson Mich 49247 ph 517 416-2027; dave@luckybuckmineral com

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