When I started with Miniature Zebu cattle, they were very, very rare in the US, fewer than 1000. Veterinarians weren't familiar with them at all, and often their advice would be quite wrong, and sometimes result in serious health issues. For instance, our breed's nutrition needs aren't at all the same as commercial cattle. Those cattle are bred for fast weight gain; ours were were tropical cattle, and bred to thrive in poor conditions. If a zebu is overfed, it gets fat, and obese cattle can have all kinds of problems like founder, poor fertility, and extreme calving problems.

I didn't have a clue about these things until I scoured the web for Zebu-specific information: super hard to find, sometimes involving obscure studies and reports from 1940s India. I began meeting both established and new Miniature Zebu breeders and we began sharing knowledge between all of us.

These days it seems like there are new breeders every day! And newbies always have questions. I love to research (I'm a community college teacher--art and digital media), and enjoy writing articles about our breed. Please remember that I am not a veterinary professional or a behavioral specialist, though; always consult your vet (but make sure your vet knows about mini Zebu--form a relationship with a vet before you need them!)

Here are some of my articles, and near the bottom are some articles written about me and my herd!