What counts as a mini cow
There is no single rule. Each breed registry sets its own cutoff, usually measured at the hip once the animal is grown, around age 3. The Miniature Zebu registry calls for under 42 inches at the back, the Miniature Jersey registry 36 to 44 inches at the hip, and the Miniature Hereford breeders 45 inches for cows and 48 for bulls.
The breeds
- Dexter: from southern Ireland, one of the world's smallest cattle, with cows about 36 to 42 inches at the shoulder. Oklahoma State University calls them gentle, hardy and easy to handle.
- Miniature Zebu: from southern India, humped, about 35 to 42 inches tall, and small by nature rather than by breeding. They handle heat well.
- Lowline: bred from Angus at a research center in Australia from 1974, about 60 percent the size of ordinary beef breeds at every stage of growth, and naturally docile.
- Miniature Hereford: a full blood Hereford, an English breed, bred smaller in Texas. Its breeders call it extremely docile.
- Miniature Jersey: from the dairy Jersey, which comes from the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Cows weigh about 600 to 700 pounds, and its registry pitches it as a small milk cow.
Small by nature, or bred down
The Dexter is a traditional small breed, and the Miniature Zebu is small by nature. The Lowline and the Miniature Hereford were bred down from full size Angus and Herefords by selecting for smaller animals.
Two breeds that are not minis
The Belted Galloway, the black cow with a white belt from southwest Scotland, and the shaggy Highland, from the Scottish Highlands, are standard size breeds. A Highland cow averages 900 to 1,200 pounds, and Oklahoma State University calls the breed even tempered.
A mini cow is still a cow
Cattle are herd animals, and being kept alone is stressful for them, the Merck Veterinary Manual and Mississippi State University Extension say, so even a small one needs company. They are grazing ruminants that chew their cud, and when foraging they graze 6 to 10 hours a day. Dairy cattle have a natural life expectancy of about 20 years, and Miniature Zebu often live 18 to 21.
Big Head and Bug Eyes at Kaleidoscope Desert
Big Head and Bug Eyes are the mini cows here. They share the grounds with the zebra, the mini horses, the goats, the pigs and the rest of the residents.
Kaleidoscope Desert is a nonprofit art and animal sanctuary on 7.5 acres in Morongo Valley, California, 15 minutes from Joshua Tree and 20 minutes from Palm Springs, where more than 100 animals roam free among the art.
You meet them on the Sanctuary Tour, a guided walk of about 90 minutes that runs daily, with someone who knows every resident by name and their stories. The animals come over on their own terms. Every visit is for adults, 18 and over.
100% of proceeds go to the animals: their rescue, their care, and the sanctuary they live in. Kaleidoscope Desert Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.