{{short description|Breeds of small cattle}} '''Miniature cattle''' are found in various parts of the world. Some, such as the Dexter of Ireland and the Vechur of Kerala, India, are traditional breeds; others have been created by selective breeding. The Australian Lowline was the unexpected result of a scientific experiment.{{r|dave|page=3}} Some, but not all, miniature breeds display achondroplasia, or dwarfism.{{r|cabi|page=xxvi}}
Compared to larger cattle, miniature cattle require less space and less feed,{{r|guard}} and may be easier to handle.{{r|lat}} They do less damage to pasture land, do not need such high or strong fencing,{{r|nz}} and do not produce as much methane.{{r|guard}}
== Breeds ==
{| class="wikitable" ! style="width: 180px;" | Breed !! Origin !! style="width: 180px;" | Height/weight !! style="width: 180px;" | Image !! style="width: 180px;" | Notes |- | Achham || zebu, Achham District of Nepal{{r|cabi|page=259}} || {{ubl|Males: 97 cm|Females: 88 cm}} || height="100px" | || |- | Australian Lowline ||derived from Aberdeen Angus in Australia{{r|dad2}} || {{ubl|Males: 110 cm|Females: 100 cm}} || 180px || |- | Dexter ||traditional Irish breed || {{ nobreak|92–107 cm}}{{r|dad}} || 180px || |- | Kasagarod ||traditional breed, Kerala, India || {{ nobreak|80–90 cm}}{{r|cabi|page=322}} || 180px || |- | Lagune or Dahomey || Benin, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Togo || {{ubl|Males: 100 cm|Females: 80 cm{{r|dad4}}}} || 180px || |- | Miniature Texas Longhorn || United States || not over 115 cm{{r|tlbaa}} || height="100px" | || |- | Miniature Zebu || modern breed register, United States || {{ubl|Males: 182–272 kg|Females: 136–227 kg|Maximum height: {{convert|107|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}{{r|cabi|page=245}}}} || 180px || |- | Minivaca || Mexico || about {{val|100|u=cm}}{{r|val2|p=105}} || || developed from the 1970s at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City by selective breeding of Indu-Brasil for small size.{{r|val2|p=105}} |- | Niata || Uruguay, Argentina; now extinct{{r|cabi|page=xxvi}} || || 180px || |- | Panda cow || United States || || 180px || rare type of black-and-white belted miniature; in 2011 the total number world-wide was estimated at 24 head.{{r|tel}} |- | Punganur || Andhra Pradesh, India || {{ubl|Males: 107 cm, 240 kg|Females: 97 cm, 170 kg{{r|dad5}}}} || 180px || |- | Somba || Benin, Togo || {{ubl|Males: 110 cm|Females: 85 cm{{r|dad3}}}} || height="100px" | || |- | Vechur || traditional breed, Kerala, India{{r|cabi|page=xxvi}} || about 87 cm || 180px || |- |}
An American breeder, Richard Gradwohl, has developed eighteen different strains of miniature cattle.{{r|guard}} Miniature Galloway, Hereford and Holstein have been bred.{{r|cabi|page=245|guard}} In the United States, small zebuine cattle deriving from stock imported from Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Sweden may be registered as "Miniature Zebu";{{r|cabi|page=245}} in Australia, similar cattle may be known as "Nadudana".{{cn|date=February 2017}} In the United States, Jersey cattle of the original island type may be known as "Miniature Jersey"; Jersey cows stand about {{nobreak|115–120 cm}} and weigh some {{nobreak|350 kg}}.{{r|cabi|page=212}}
The Ethiopian Goffa and Guraghe breeds in the Abyssinian Shorthorned Zebu group are also small.{{r|cabi|page=99}}
==References==
{{reflist|45em|refs=
<ref name=tel>[s.n.] (2 January 2011). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8236447/Rare-panda-cow-born.html Rare 'panda cow' born]. London: ''The Telegraph''. Accessed December 2022.</ref>
<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{ISBN|9781780647944}}.</ref>
<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=0b1613ebf16355cf65f6a05b9a65fe25,reportsreport8a_50001561 Breed data sheet: Dexter/Ireland]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad2>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=0b1613ebf16355cf65f6a05b9a65fe25,reportsreport8a_50000521 Breed data sheet: Lowline/Australia]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad3>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=0b1613ebf16355cf65f6a05b9a65fe25,reportsreport8a_502 Breed data sheet: Somba/Benin]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad4>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=0b1613ebf16355cf65f6a05b9a65fe25,reportsreport8a_5499 Breed data sheet: Lagune/Benin]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad5>[http://www.fao.org/dad-is/browse-by-country-and-species/en/ Breed data sheet: India: Cattle: Punganur]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2019.</ref>
<ref name=dave>David Barnett (1998). [http://www.lowlinecattleassoc.com.au//wp-content/uploads/2016/02/History-of-the-Breed-–-Preface-of-ALCA-Foundation-Herd-Book-by-David-Barnett-OBE-Foundation-Member.pdf History of Lowlines]. In: ''Foundation Herd Book''. Armidale, New South Wales: Australian Lowline Cattle Association.</ref>
<ref name=guard>Rebecca Seal (25 July 2010). [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/25/miniature-cattle-environmentally-friendly-beef Why mini cows could save the planet]. ''The Guardian''. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=lat>[Associated Press] (4 January 2006). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-04-fi-minicows4-story.html Miniature Cattle Breed Interest]. ''Los Angeles Times''. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=nz>[https://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/lowline.html Australian Lowline Cattle: A Rare Breed of Australian Origin]. Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand. Accessed February 2017.</ref>
<ref name=tlbaa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110728111059/http://www.tlbaa.org/breed/MTL_Rules_Regs_v9.pdf Regulations for registering Miniature Longhorns with the TLBAA]. Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. Archived 28 July 2011.</ref>
<ref name=val2>Valerie Porter (2008). [https://books.google.it/books?id=N6CSqgpIC0YC&hl=en&pg=PA66 ''The Field Guide to Cattle'']. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. {{isbn|9780760331927}}.</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Miniature Cattle}} Category:Cattle {{bots|deny=Citation bot}}