About Miniature Herefords

  • The origin of Miniature Hereford cattle has its roots in Herefordshire, England.
  • The Miniature Hereford we know today are descendants of pure Hereford stock selectively bred since the 1970’s.
  • With the trend at that time being “bigger is better” one particular breeder went against the trend and selectively bred for temperament, hardiness, meat quality and feed conversion.
  • Miniature Herefords are full blooded Herefords and are registered through Herefords Australia (they are just a line of Herefords).
  • Like other Herefords, they are primarily used as a beef animal. Miniature Herefords are about 30-50% the size of traditional Herefords.
  • The ideal conformation and breeding characteristics of a miniature Hereford are the same as traditional Herefords.
  • One judges the quality of these cattle in a similar manner – good bone structure, depth, functionality, soundness and indication of high carcass quality.
  • The primary difference being height – an adult Miniature Hereford Cow can not be taller than 119 cm (47”) at the hip, while a Bull can not be taller than 124 cm (49”) at the hip.
  • In Australia, Herefords are classed as miniature Herefords if the animal is registered with Herefords Australia (HAL)  AND their frame score is 1 or less at age 3 years.
  • Buyers should ensure any cattle they purchase are registered with Herefords Australia.
  • You can check to see if the animal is registered by going to Herefords Australia animal enquiry page and typing in the animals full name.
  • Read the article ‘Exactly what is a miniature Hereford” here
  • Read the article ‘A factual history of miniature Herefords‘ here
  • The Elastic Miniature

The AMHBN has an information package that we send to people enquiring about miniature Herefords, you can download your copy here (2.5Mb)

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