We asked you to tell us about your beloved livestock breeds, and you answered. Texas farmer Joy L. Rogerson wrote in to tell us all about keeping the American Aberdeen breed of cattle!

I absolutely love American Aberdeen Cattle. This breed is so docile, curious and friendly. They instantly become one of the family. Whether it’s an older cow or a new calf, their personalities come out and they become individuals, not just ear tag numbers.

You know you have happy cows when they come running and jumping when you call them up to see you!

This very feed-efficient, easy-keeping breed requires minimal acreage: 1 acre per head. Most owners only feed grass and hay with minerals. 

Aussie Roots

This heritage breed comes from an original herd developed in New South Wales, Australia, carefully selected for efficiency and smaller frames. The end result was a breed of small, polled cattle of pure Aberdeen Angus descent. American Aberdeen Cattle are free of known genetic defects, including the dwarf gene. 

Breeding Options

American Aberdeen cows require very little or no assistance at calving time and are excellent mothers raising healthy, well-developed calves. Very little cattle equipment is needed to manage the cattle making them the perfect breed for beginners. 

The American Aberdeen Association allows cross breeding or percentage cattle to be registered. This helps the small farm owner offer more variety to their breeding program to fit their individual needs. An example of percentage cattle would be crossing American Aberdeen Cattle with miniature American Herefords.

The cross results in adorable black or red baldly calves registerable as “Moderator.”  

Joy L. Rogerson, Wolf Ridge Ranch, Reagan, Texas

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Email us your thoughts (~250 words) and a photo of you and your livestock to hobbyfarms@hobbyfarms.com (subject line: I Love My Livestock!). We’ll publish our favorites in upcoming issues.