Environment

World's Smallest Cow: Swallow From Cheshire is 33.5in Tall

by Amy Judd | September 20, 2010 at 09:22 am

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The World's Smallest Cow Category in the Guinness Book of World Records Now Belongs to Swallow

Swallow may be small, but at 11-years-old she is no spring chicken and has already given birth to nine calves in her lifetime.

She is a Dexter cow and only measures 33.5 in from hind to foot, which is smaller than most sheep.

Her owner, Caroline Ryder, told the BBC that they purchased Swallow from a rare breed auction in 2006, and because she is so small, it means she is used for breeding.

"She was quite small when she was born and she has grown proportionately," she told the BBC.

"She is really sweet - an asset to the herd. For a small cow with short legs she can't half move fast."

Her husband thinks she is a genetic anomaly, but anomaly or not, Swallow has earned a place in bovine history by being designated the smallest cow in the world.