Instructions
Ensure that you buy your longhorn miniature from a reputable breeder. Check that it has been registered in the miniature section of the Texas Longhorn Breeds of America Association. It is important for the veracity of your animal that it has been registered in the correct section. Look for an animal of the correct height. They should reach less than 45 inches to the top of the hip, confirmation, horns, coat and disposition.
Allow your longhorn to graze and supplement its feed with corn, and hay and silage in winter. Expect your animal to eat less than a full-sized longhorn. The miniature will eat eight pounds of feed a day, compared to the 22 pounds that a full-sized animal eats. A miniature cow will weigh between 250 and 450 pounds and a miniature bull, between 450 and 600 pounds.
Train your miniature to the halter, or better still, buy one that has been already trained. The halter-trained animal will be more tame and people-friendly and you will be halfway there if you want to use it for showing and competing.
Buy a special chute or adapt your existing one to accommodate the horns of your miniature. You will need this to trim your animals hooves and so the veterinarian can administer the necessary vaccines.
How to Raise Miniature Longhorn Cattle for Entertainment
The survival of the Texas Longhorn breed of cattle has only been secured by the efforts of dedicated breeders, as other types of cattle became more popular in the early 1900s. Lovers of the longhorn began to get alarmed at the breed's decline and from the 1920s began breeding Texas Longhorns. Then two breeders, Bill Buck and John Fore headed the movement to breed specialized miniature longhorns. These really are small animals -- a full-grown miniature only reaches the size of a standard 10-week-old longhorn calf. Today, people keep the breed for interest and to exhibit at shows. As an owner, or breeder, you are also helping to maintain the breed and ensure its survival.