A Denton County couple has bred the world's smallest registered Texas longhorn, Miss Little Lady, weighing just 16 pounds and standing only 18 inches tall at birth.
Over the past 20-plus years, Bill and Sandy Buck have bred about 100 miniature longhorns in Krum, a town west of Denton.
The Bucks, who have bred nine generations of miniature longhorns, started with full-size longhorns and followed the advice of their veterinarian.
After three generations, they shrunk the animals down quite a few sizes.
"I was surprised at how easy it has been to get the miniature longhorns," said Bill. "Take your longhorns and close the herd. And keep the smallest ones and sell the bigger ones."
The Bucks' mini longhorns are about half the size of a regular longhorn, but they're worth twice as much, ranging from about $2,000 to more than $25,000.
"Longhorns, believe it or not, are very affectionate. They get to know you. And they all have different personalities," said Bill.
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"They get jealous of each other, if you give one a little more attention than the other one," said Sandy.
The Bucks have sold dozens of mini longhorns across the country and say the demand is higher than the supply. People from California to Wisconsin to Florida like the animals as pets or lawn ornaments. Selling minis has been more profitable than regular-sized ones. The only different is their size, said the Bucks.
"I always tell everybody, you know, everybody needs a guard cow. The longhorn would be perfect," said Sandy.
