Good things take time. Sometimes really good things take a really long time. What started out in the late 1990s as an effort to help revive the dwindling numbers of heritage breeds of livestock turned into a 25-year project to downsize these  unique and beautiful Galloway cattle into a mid-size mini that fits perfectly on small acreage for people with a handful of animals who may have little experience with cattle and need an easy-care learning curve. 

Twenty-five years ago, Australia and New Zealand had developed purebred miniature Galloway cattle, a separate miniature Galloway registry, and a thriving market for them, but there were none to be found in the United States. Even full-size Galloways were difficult to come by, so we got our first five standard size Galloways via embryo plants into Angus cattle. It did not take long to discover the Galloways have huge personality, an inquisitive and gentle nature, and a cuteness factor delivered by their double hair coat not found in many breeds. We wanted to take these characteristics of the Galloway and package them in a smaller frame that more people would be able to enjoy.

It was important to us to maintain 100% pure bloodlines and never introduce anything else to get to the mini frame size.  As we slowly added more Galloways to our herd, we began selective breeding  and retaining the smallest for breeding stock. When the mini craze really got rolling, many breeders began speeding up the process to meet demand by mixing in other miniature breeds and dwarfism. There is no denying those tiny cattle are adorable and fit the needs of some perfectly, but preservation of this very old Scottish breed was always our top priority, so we continued at our tortoise pace and kept the lines pure.  Every miniature Galloway we sell comes from 100% pureblood, registered Galloway breeding stock with traceable bloodlines many generations back. This approach takes longer and does not result in a tiny micro-mini, but it nearly eliminates the risk of genetic defects, health issues, calving problems, etc. that can pop up randomly with the mixing approach.  

At Idlehour Farm, raising pureblood miniature Galloway cattle is our labor of love. If you find these beautiful creatures tugging at your heartstrings and are interested in helping us preserve these rare bloodlines, we would love to hear from you.