At what age or weight should I breed my Mini Myotonic goats? I’ve found a lot of info on larger goats but nothing about smaller goats. —Ann Wheeler
Ann , you may use the weight percentage Uzzi and I discovered when I answered a enquiry aboutbreeding young dairy laughingstock . University experts match that doelings should matter 60 to 70 pct of their grownup weight before breeding .
Mom wrote a book about miniature livestock calledStorey ’s Guide to set up Miniature Livestock(Storey Publishing , 2010 ) . As part of her enquiry , she watch a affair or two about miniature farm animals . She was surprised that miniature breed do n’t need a lot of specialised maintenance . What work for bigger animals commonly works for minis , too .
There are a set of in effect reason to keep miniature livestock . Miniature farm creature necessitate less housing quad , pasture and provender than full - sized livestock . They ’re soft to manage and less intimidating than bigger animal , especially for tiro , children , one-time folks and the physically challenged , not just because they ’re smaller but because many miniatures are breed for unagitated disposition and flexibility . Chores like hoof trimming , shearing or clipping , grant shots , and deal dewormers are prosperous , too . Fuse / Thinkstock
In most states , keeping miniature livestock ( especiallyminiature cattleand miniature hogg ) qualifies property owner for valuable agricultural - use domain taxation immunity , even on little parcels of soil . And mini are sometimes OK where partition laws prohibit full - sized barnyard favorite .
There are three form of miniature livestock :
If you want to recruit miniature livestock , there are mass of species and breeds to choose from . Takeminiature Goat . We have four form on our farm!Modo and Spike , the homeless goats who link up us last yr , are a Mini Myotonic and a interracial breed miniature caprine animal . Sweetieis aPygmy goat . Iggy , Ozzy , Gizmo and Gonzo areNigerian Dwarf goats . Other cool small goats include several scaled - down dairy breeds register by theMiniature Dairy Goat Association : Mini Alpines , Mini LaManchas , Mini Nubians , Mini Oberhaslis , Mini Saanens and Mini - Toggenburgs .
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Our sheep are miniatures , too . They’reMiniature Cheviots . Some other miniature sheep you could raise ( though Uzzi and I do n’t think they ’re quite as cute as ours ) areShetlands , Babydoll Southdowns , and really teensy Soay andOuessantsheep .
Did you know there are even miniature llamas ? There are ! They look likefull - sized llama , but they ’re small . They ’re read by theAmerican Miniature Llama Association .
When most people think of miniature pigs they intend ofVietnamese Potbelly pigsorKuneKunes , but two sort of heritage pig are sometimes small enough to be considered toy : Guinea hogsandOssabaw Island Sus scrofa .
There are loads ofminiature cattle breedsto select from . Lowline Angus are scale - down versions of full - sizedAngus cattle , whileMiniature Herefordsare just small regular Herefords . Zebuslook a slew like full - sizedBrahman cattlebut they ’re a separate , ancient breed . TheDexteris a naturally midget double - intent meat and dairy farm breed from Ireland . Miniature Jerseysgive a lot of Milk River , too . BothFlorida Cracker cattleandPineywoods cattleproduce remarkably small individuals called guinea oxen . eventually , breeders are make intemperately to miniaturizeHighlandandTexas Longhorncattle .
And if you like small equines tryMiniature domestic ass , Miniature mule orMiniature horses . British ShetlandsandCaspian horsesare mini equid , too .
So the next fourth dimension you add new brute to your farm , reckon small ! There are score of miniature livestock breed for you to choose from .
