Rare breeds mix well on lifestyle block
Miniature donkeys and Riggit Galloway cattle are an interesting mix but it works well at Cherrybank Stud.
The McVerry family, who have an 8ha lifestyle farm at Pukeatua, easily manage two quite different farm animals.
Both these rare breeds work well together to maintain the pasture. They form the basis of Cherrybank Stud.
Beth McVerry says the Riggit Galloway graze the paddocks first and do very well on rough pasture, but also thrive on the lush green pastures found in the Waikato.
“The miniature donkeys follow behind the cattle when there is not much left in the paddocks. They take their pick first of any seed heads or thistles. They are browsers rather than grazers so the thistles are a special treat for them.
The donkeys don’t need a lot of grass so by coming behind the Riggit Galloway both the cattle and the donkeys are kept in tip top shape and the pasture benefits as well.
American Mediterranean Miniature Donkeys (AMMD) are a true miniature, they have not been bred down in size Beth says.
She says they must measure 36 inches or under at the shoulder but most of the Cherrybank donkeys are between 30 and 33 inches and they come in different colours and most carry the cross on their back and shoulders.
“They are very gentle and affectionate making them idea companions for people including children.”
Paul and Beth from Cherrybank Stud started breeding miniature donkeys about 12 years ago which was the same time they started with Riggit Galloway. They wanted to concentrate on saving these rare breeds.
Cherrybank Stud has two stud jacks including the Superb ‘Splendors’ Nestle special Dark (imp USA) and 10 pedigree breeding jennys and they have a number of foals available each year to approved homes.
“We are excited to say we have purchased another young jack in Australia. He has an excellent pedigree but is unrelated to the AMMD lines presently in New Zealand. We think he will be a wonderful asset. He arrives early 2019 along with another exceptional jenny from the same stud.
“AMMD miniature donkeys are truly a delightful breed. They love affection and most people who encounter them will tell you ‘they are like potato chips - one is never enough’,” Beth says with a grin.
“They are easy to handle, very smart and don’t require a lot of space and will return the love from their humans in equal measure making them ideal for a lifestyle block.
The other rare breed at Cherrybank Stud, the Riggit cattle breed, was re-introduced into the United Kingdom in the 1980s where there is a substantial herd book which documents the breed.
There are four types of Galloway - Black, White with black points, Belted Galloway (bred from crossing Dutch Belt) and the Riggit - white markings down the backbone.
All Galloways have a ‘double’ coat, they are naturally polled (no horns), medium framed, have excellent mothering skills and they do very well on hard ground – foraging on roughage or poor terrain.
In 2007 Beth owned a couple of White Galloways on the family’s previous lifestyle block just south of Cambridge. She saw an advertisement for a solid black Galloway and in the advert it mentioned Riggit. She Googled ‘Riggit’ and started her, what was to become extensive, research.
Although she missed out on buying the solid black bull she managed to lease the father, ‘Ngutunui White Dunmore’ a purebred Galloway but New Zealand would not register as they did not recognise the Riggit.
She decided to breed and keep the Riggit ‘throwbacks’ while pursuing the aim of registration and ultimately a New Zealand Herd Book for the rare breed.
Her first bull purchase was ‘Cherrybank Dunstan’, a black Riggit.
She then purchased ‘Riland Ranger’ and he is now fathering Beth’s Riggit cows. The herd now has five Riggit generations with two different genetic lines.
This year Beth is importing