BEFORE LAUNCHING any animal-related enterprise, be certain you understand its demands. Raising animals will impact your lifestyle, your physical and emotional health (typically for the better), and your bank account. Not everyone is cut out to keep livestock, however, miniature or otherwise. Are you?
Lifestyle Choices
Are you willing to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, whenever your livestock need you? Will you camp in the barn when foals are due? Roll out of bed at two in the morning to feed a bottle lamb? Retrieve errant cattle and patch their flattened fences under a noonday sun, missing that long-anticipated televised ball game in the process? Animals rarely get hungry, sick, loose, or injured at convenient times.
Is reliable relief help available when you need it? If not, would forgoing dinner invitations, overnight trips, and well-deserved vacations upset you (or your family)? Keeping livestock invariably ties you down.
Discuss your venture with your veterinarian. (Or if you don’t yet have a veterinarian, talk with a few local vets to see who might be available.) Is she qualified to doctor Pygmy goats, miniature llamas, or whatever else you’ve chosen? Does she want to? If not, are you willing (and able) to transport sick or injured animals to a specialty practice and learn to perform routine maintenance procedures yourself?
Physical and Emotional Considerations
Can you weather the inevitable livestock keeper’s lows? When your favorite cow dies of bloat or a coyote slays that special lamb, what then? Animals die. They injure themselves and each other. Things go terribly wrong. Some stockkeepers neatly handle these stressors — could you?
Do you have the patience or the means to wait for the best animals? Some miniature breeds are in exceedingly short supply. With location and price factored into the equation, newcomers must often bide their time until the right individuals come along.
Are you capable of selling your livestock? Can you send the steer to slaughter; could you sell the sow you love? Are you willing to pull out the stops to market your wares? You’ll need to continually monitor market trends to stay on the cutting edge, advertise, and maintain a Web site. Are you ready to haul your livestock to expos, demonstrations, shows, and sales? If not, think “pets,” not “produce.” Don’t become a breeder. That way lies heartache if you find you can’t (or won’t) sell what you produce.
Are you prepared to handle dwarfs? Some (but not all) miniature cattle, horse, and donkey breeds produce occasional dwarfs. Because of serious limb and internal abnormalities, dwarf calves and foals that survive birth seldom live happy, pain-free lives, so it behooves breeders not to knowingly produce them. The gene responsible for dwarfism in cattle has been identified, but miniature equine dwarf genetics are poorly understood. Miniature equine dwarfism is more prevalent than most new breeders imagine, so it’s wise to research this issue before you commit.
Is the species you choose suited to your climate, your temperament, and your physical capabilities? You could raise Miniature Highland cattle in South Texas and Miniature Zebus in northern Minnesota — but why would you want to? For the animals’ sake, choose something adapted for the weather where you live. You will need to do your homework to determine what your options are.
Interacting with some animal species requires more brawn than with others, and with some species you’d better be swift on your feet. Don’t take on a species or breed you physically can’t handle. It will be frustrating and dangerous if you do.
Loud, abrupt individuals rarely resonate with flighty, reactive livestock. “Do it my way or else” humans and headstrong, aggressive animals are bound to clash. Assess your mind-set carefully, and choose a compatible species. It will save a world of upset for all concerned.
Economic Considerations
Do you have the wherewithal to purchase good-quality animals of the breed you want? Since miniature livestock tend to command top prices, getting started with certain breeds of certain species can be a pricey venture. Even so, start with the best animals you can find and afford. One calf or foal from outstanding parents will fetch a higher price than half a dozen mediocre animals, and it will cost far less to produce the single good one.
Are there enough dollars in your pocket to support your animals when things go awry? Markets falter. Disease rips through your herd. Expect the unexpected. Keeping livestock can be a pricey proposition. Do you have the financial resources to see yours through those bumpy times?
Make certain your facilities are adequate before you bring any livestock home. If they aren’t safe and appropriate for the species of your choice, do you have enough land, financial resources, and know-how to make the necessary improvements? Can you obtain the building permits to do it? If you need chutes and squeezes or tall fences to repel predators, can you build them or hire someone else to build them? If not, you might need to choose a different species. Factor in injuries, losses, and breakouts; it’s the safe and economical thing to do.
Before purchasing livestock of any kind, acquire any licenses and owner/breeder permits required by state and local authorities, and make certain your property is zoned for the type of livestock you plan to keep.
Safe shelters (see chapter 6 for information on facilities and fencing), proper fencing, bedding, feed, feeders, water containers, and a consistent source of clean drinking water.