A shell in my pocket and waves at my feet...: Miniature Zebu Cattle Farm...

I am visiting my mom in central Florida and we found this "little" cattle farm near Ocala. The owners, John and Kathleen Schmidt have approximately 40 head of miniature Zebu cattle. We spent over an hour at the farm learning about these special cattle. On "The Other Side Farm" when calves are born they weigh approximately 23 lbs. and they are taken from the cow immediately after birth and then bottled feed 2-3 times a day until they are weaned at 4 months. The reason they are taken from the cow is so that they are more tame and social--thus they are imprinted with humans.These cattle remind me of big dogs! As adults they weight approximately 200-300 lbs. They had one calf that was just 2 weeks old and followed John everywhere. In fact he could hardly walk with all the younger calves trailing behind him. They are all named, such as: April, Mae, June, Dottie, Edgar etc... The cattle on this farm are raised and sold as pets and show animals, NOT for consumption!
Maybe we should consider raising Zebu cattle on the Bloy Ranch!!

So if you are ever in central Florida and are looking for a new experience please check out "The Other Side Farm" you will not be disappointed.