long horns

[holly heifer]

:shock: I saw today in a traders pen an assortment of
longhorn cows. Some were brown and white, one was a
cream color, one a blue roan, one was branded. They looked
to be middle aged ( one looked young, 2 looked really old) I
had never seen longhorns up close. These poor girls were
really THIN : They were also really gentle and came up to
the gate to sniff my hand. I am wondering of their fate?????
The horn span on a couple of these were really wide.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Those real THIN Longhorns at a sale pen were probably those that someone (not a respectable breeder) had culled (or needed money) and was getting rid of them.

A respectable breeder will NOT let their Longhorns look thin (aka BCS of 2-3). Only those that don't know better, don't care, or aren't willing to spend the needed money to keep them in good condition (or any other animal for that matter).

Yes, Longhorns are generally gentle (there are always some exceptions for sure). And, they love attention from people.

Also, a Longhorn cow that has had several calves, is in the 15-20 year old range will have a swayback and possibly a pot belly (as some humans do...lol). However, such visual images have little to do with the type of calf it can put on the ground.

 

[texast]

I owned Longhorns before and they were the gentlest cows I've ever been around. The herd I got them from were fat and slick such were mine.
The person that was selling those cows like mention wanted money or something.
Whenever I go to the auction the Longhorns tend to sell for less. I think when that happens we are missing out on a chance to make money on them because they tend to be good momma cows.Easy keepers

 

[holly heifer]

:heart: I am looking into buying a couple of them . Would they
cross ok with a hereford or angus bull? The trader is hanging
on to them for a while. People around here like them because
they are different. These girls really need some TLC and groceries. :roll:

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

:heart: I am looking into buying a couple of them . Would they
cross ok with a hereford or angus bull? The trader is hanging
on to them for a while. People around here like them because
they are different. These girls really need some TLC and groceries. :roll:

Personally, I'd do it the other way around: Cross a LH Bull with other breed of female. While a LH female is known for her calving ease, I am not sure what would happen (if by chance) she tried to drop an 80 - 110# calf sired by a non-Longhorn bull.

Whatever the breeding plan, the females need to get their BCS as close to 5 as possible. Otherwise, going into winter as well as problems with getting pregnant as a thin female.

 

[Ryan]

:heart: I am looking into buying a couple of them . Would they
cross ok with a hereford or angus bull? The trader is hanging
on to them for a while. People around here like them because
they are different. These girls really need some TLC and groceries. :roll:

Yeah, they'll cross good with either of those. I have seen a number of LHXAngus crosses, out of really good bulls, that have been pretty impressive.

 

[Alan]

:heart: I am looking into buying a couple of them . Would they
cross ok with a hereford or angus bull? The trader is hanging
on to them for a while. People around here like them because
they are different. These girls really need some TLC and groceries. :roll:

Yeah, they'll cross good with either of those. I have seen a number of LHXAngus crosses, out of really good bulls, that have been pretty impressive.

I'm curious, when crossing LH x angus or polled Hereford, will the calf most likely be polled? I'm assuming if you crossed with a Horned Herf the calf will be horned, correct?

Thanks,
Alan

 

[dun]

I'm curious, when crossing LH x angus or polled Hereford, will the calf most likely be polled? I'm assuming if you crossed with a Horned Herf the calf will be horned, correct?

Thanks,
Alan

Correct and correct

 

[Rustler9]

Cross them with a Charolais. That's the best cross to make you money on commercial calves.

 

[jvicars]

dumb questions however how do you work long horns in a squeeze shoot? I have a few short horn cows that can cause some problems. I sure like what i hear about long horns and would like to cross a few to see how they grow out in FL. Thanks.

 

[Shorthornguy]

We have some longhorn and longhorn x corriente cows. We breed them to a registered Shorthorn bull and 80% of the calves are polled.

 

[backhoeboogie]

dumb questions however how do you work long horns in a squeeze shoot? I have a few short horn cows that can cause some problems. I sure like what i hear about long horns and would like to cross a few to see how they grow out in FL. Thanks.

Use a Medina hinged gate. I have a Medina going into the chute. The only cow with horns on my place is a milk cow. Sometimes there is a cow or two stacked in the Medina while another one is in the headgate. I'll work the ones in the Medina if all they are getting are innocs and tags.

edit:
If you don't know what a medina hinged gate is, go to Running Arrow Bill's website http://runningarrowfarm.com/ and look at his photos. He has a pic of one that looks like it would work just fine. Mine is not like RAB's but they all work the same way. Mine looks more like the system TXBobcat has posted pics of a few times in the past. Anyway, the medina hinged gate works great for getting cows into a chute. They have no where else to go. If I ever had to load the pens on the trailer and go work LH's, the medina system would do it.