Am I Nuts??😂

[pleasantpasturesbeef]

I've been trying to read about Highlanders recently, and it seems that they are a good hardy/rugged cows, and good at raising their young. I find that attractive, since my access to a barn is very limited if not unavailable. I got to thinking that these cows are just too stinkin cute, since every week I go passed a farm that has several, but I wanted to figure out if they would even work with the herd I've got.

So what do y'all think: I want to get my AI tech to order me a Highlander straw to breed back my Angus/Hereford/whatever-else-she-is Mama cow that gave birth last month. She did an excellent job birthing her first. I'll need to order soon within the next few weeks, I guess, but would that even work? I had been thinking that I needed to purchase a bred highlander cow, but then I thought since it's time to breed my cow back next month, why couldn't I try just breeding her with a Highlander? I'll also have a Baldy ready to breed back around November, so I could wait till then.

Also....any opinion on the long horns...? Think that would be a problem in a heard with a bunch of polled beef cows?

 

[kenny thomas]

Run away, far far away. They will cost you your profit even if someone gives them to you. If you are going to feed a cow and calf feed one that will grow and sell.

 

[coachg]

If you are a hobby farmer and raising them for fun , go for it . If you are trying to improve your cattle , sell calves for profit and treat it like a business, NO !

 

[Hpacres440p]

They are rugged, but they are slow growing. I saw 2 grown cows go through the sale barn recently-.26/lb. One poor girl got stuck in the alley because her horns got caught. I think their live weight was 750 lbs?. Depends what your final goal is.

 

[Rafter S]

. . . Also....any opinion on the long horns...? Think that would be a problem in a herd with a bunch of polled beef cows?

Absolutely.

 

[WFfarm]

We're in your neck of the woods and our herd is outside all winter long. We have Angus and Simmental cross. You don't need a barn if you have a decent place they can get out of the winds and have plenty of quality hay to eat. The highlanders are more of a novelty breed and not as profitable at the sale barn if you are trying to be a commercial producer (you wont get as much as comparable weighing feeders calves). Their are a few guys around the state that raise them for freezer trade and have a market selling "grass fed/finished beef." Highlanders are supposed to be good for that with higher (healthier) Omega 3 fats. They have a niche market. They are slower maturing as well, especially if you are not graining them.

If you're thinking of AI cross breeding with what cows have, I would recommend just breeding with a more popular breed like Angus, Simm, Herford, etc. We had a couple cross bred Highlander over the years and all they did was have smaller calves with furry ears. If you are just a small hobby farm and are not looks so much at making prophet, then get what you like. They do make really cute calves. I'm guilty, bought a couple Whitepark cross cows because I just like the way they look, even though I know they get dinged at the salebarn, and our direct buyer probably wont want them.

 

[Redgully]

Around here they make good money on the hobby self sufficient type scene along with dexters. Not much use for them other than that and need a bit of special handling due to temperament. Speckle park do well in the cold i am told, can be quite fury. Even better if you can track down a black bull will get a good portion of black calves.

 

[Ky hills]

They are rugged, but they are slow growing. I saw 2 grown cows go through the sale barn recently-.26/lb. One poor girl got stuck in the alley because her horns got caught. I think their live weight was 750 lbs?. Depends what your final goal is.

When we bought a couple longhorn heifers, our vet said that even though he doesn't like horned cattle that longhorns are smart and can figure out how to get themselves down an alley and through a chute. He said whatever we do don't get Highlands cause they weren't very smart,

 

[alacowman1]

I know a few the came and went ,in the cattle Business..because of cattle that were just too stinking cute...

 

[Rafter S]

When we bought a couple longhorn heifers, our vet said that even though he doesn't like horned cattle that longhorns are smart and can figure out how to get themselves down an alley and through a chute. He said whatever we do don't get Highlands cause they weren't very smart,

He was right. I've had a few I used on heifers, and they didn't have any trouble getting down a 28" wide chute.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Yes. Yes u are nutz!



I've had a lot of "different" cows. Never a highland tho. 'Fraid I'd never get rid of it.
I did own a longhorn heifer for a few days!

The horns almost always become a problem when ya run em with all polled animals. The horned animal will dominate. Sometimes it doesn't turn out well.

 

[SBMF 2015]

hardy/rugged cows,

That tend to have bad aggressive attitudes when they calve. Sharp pointy up turned horns that can be quite a lot to deal with when working on a problem.

 

[Rmc]

If you like the looks of them and want to try across I say go for it.
Just don't plan to sell at the sale barn.
If you end up with a heifer keep her . Cross her back to a angus bull. She will be a easy keeper and a 1/4 highland will sell with the rest of the beef calves with very little to no discount. 1/2 highland cows are easy keepers and are very feed efficient. Will need about 1/3 hay to keep the same condition as similar sized cows in the same field over winter.

 

[angus man]

What kind of premium can a person get for highland freezer meat?
ive got a steer coming up. I ran a few with my angus cows.
Their horns make up for their lack of size, but are very docile.
i have some bull calves for sale.

 

[pleasantpasturesbeef]

If you're thinking of AI cross breeding with what cows have, I would recommend just breeding with a more popular breed like Angus, Simm, Herford, etc. We had a couple cross bred Highlander over the years and all they did was have smaller calves with furry ears.

Ok, the more I think about it, it seems I should stick with breeding those more popular breeds with my Angus/Hereford/Maine Anjou cows. I may get a Highland calf and play around with it.

If you are a hobby farmer and raising them for fun , go for it . If you are trying to improve your cattle , sell calves for profit and treat it like a business, NO !

Yeah, I'm def nothing professional, but I do aim to maintain a quality herd. I only send calves off to the butcher, and sell my meat to friends and family. So I don't sell my calves to anyone.

The horns almost always become a problem when ya run em with all polled animals. The horned animal will dominate. Sometimes it doesn't turn out well.

I can see that....I had a Jersey steer with horns and he sure pushed the other Mama cows around. So I polled my next Jersey steer I was given, and he was the one getting pushed (actually rammed) around by my Mama baldy cow. She takes that Angus in her seriously when it comes to other animals, but she's the only cow I have that's halter broke and lets me lead her around lol

 

[pleasantpasturesbeef]

Thanks for all the input, y'all! It's definitely some great points to think about. I might consider getting a polled Highlander calf just for fun sometime, to see how well it does. I was told that they are more feed efficient, but that makes sense that they would take longer to grow. And like I said, I basically just raise steers to butcher and sell the meat myself (my brother and sisters and I used to butcher by ourselves before my brother started working for the butcher down the road) so I'm not worried about being able to sell my calves to someone. But I do like the idea of just breeding the 2 Mama cows I have to good bulls for good beef calves.

 

[alacowman1]

There was a bull tossed around here, that one farmer wound up with and sold it to a friend.. He either shed off or the man clipped the hair off.."there was a impressive looking animal under all that hair..I wasn't expecting.....,think he came from a petting zoo initially ..

 

[Hereford2]

We had 2 highland bulls, my uncle thought they would be a good cross to make our jersey calves worth more. We had polled jerseys, and the calves came out polled and sold for almost as much as a beef calf, the first bull was dog gentle, but you really had to watch his horns, he would swipe at you if you weren't giving him enough attention. the second bull was a man killing jug head with horns that never bred a cow and was a pro at jumping fences, he would sneak up on people and try to gore them. My uncle paid $500 for the first bull traded him for the younger bull to get new blood in the herd, when we were able to catch him he went straight to the sale barn, weighed #750 got $250... I wouldn't want another one on the place.

 

[Hereford2]

Thankfully he never killed anyone, just caused bruises as they were getting away from him .

 

[Muletrack]

I've been trying to read about Highlanders recently, and it seems that they are a good hardy/rugged cows, and good at raising their young. I find that attractive, since my access to a barn is very limited if not unavailable. I got to thinking that these cows are just too stinkin cute, since every week I go passed a farm that has several, but I wanted to figure out if they would even work with the herd I've got.

So what do y'all think: I want to get my AI tech to order me a Highlander straw to breed back my Angus/Hereford/whatever-else-she-is Mama cow that gave birth last month. She did an excellent job birthing her first. I'll need to order soon within the next few weeks, I guess, but would that even work? I had been thinking that I needed to purchase a bred highlander cow, but then I thought since it's time to breed my cow back next month, why couldn't I try just breeding her with a Highlander? I'll also have a Baldy ready to breed back around November, so I could wait till then.

Also....any opinion on the long horns...? Think that would be a problem in a heard with a bunch of polled beef cows?

Having one or two might work out for you if you are marketing freezer beef. Every other year, butcher the two-year-old calf perhaps. I've seen Highland cows at the local sales barn and they struggle even get a bid. Don't expect a premium on Highland freezer beef -- the premium is in having an easy-keeping (fleshing on grass alone) cow, and you will know exactly which calf you are going to butcher. Another downside I see is that you will be butchering a smaller animal, but paying the same fixed costs at the butcher as you would for a large animal. But you also need a calf for your own freezer, so if you do all your own processing, you'll come out OK. You might not need a 750 lb. hanging weight critter for your own -- or your extended family -- use. Horns? Unless she needs to fight off coyotes, you can always dehorn her. Nothing cute about you or any of your other critters being gored with a horn.