LONGHORN COWS

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wood2

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I was curious if longhorn are good producer of meat if raised to butcher? I am not familiar with this breed whatsoever. Im asking because I have opp. at some bred longhorn cows but dont know what to or history of cows themselves. Just more curious than anything its a little risky not having history, was wondering meat wise if they butcher well? Of course it would be to raise there calves to butcher, guessing they are X with hereford or angus.:(
 
I have a few and have sold several for beef. A few points to consider. Common longhorn grow a little slower so is it profitable to feed? The meat taste a little different but has less fat. Most people like it but a few don't. The cutout is a little less. Make sure the cows act good around people. Many do but some don't.
Now someone on here has some Longhorn pictures posted that looks very, very good compared to most I see. If you can get them like that they would be great.
 
I used to raise LH's and if you are going to keep them for butcher beef I would breed them to a herf or an angus and they should do fine the weight at butchering might be less than that of a straight bred Angus or herf but they still do fine friend has some he butchers about 850-950lbs where on my angus it id 1050-1200lbs

you shouldn't pay much for the cows I would say not over $450 with they way todays market is

Also if you breed to an angus and keep hfrs then breed them to an angus you would have a good set of momma cows JMO
 
We butcher a Longhorn bull every year. We prefer to slaughter between about 12 and 14 months of age and do not put the bull with any females. Have found that if they are kept in a small pasture and fed good grass hay (10% + CP), and slaughter them between 600 and 800 lbs their meat turns out very good. We do not finish on grain, protein cubes or anything...strictly grass fed beef.

Meat does taste differently ( but excellent in our opinion) and doesn't have that "greasy taste" of feedlot grain fed cattle. Meat is very lean. Is best to use an animal that naturally fills out well and doesn't have that "lean, mean, rangy" look. Check our website to see some photos of our cattle and their body condition.

I do not recommend butchering a bull that is in service and has bred females, or one that is over 18 months of age. Meat will be on tougher side, especially if it has a lot of room to run around (large pasture) and exercise. We keep our young bulls (2 or 3 at most) in about a 1/2 acre paddock and only feed them quality hay ("horse" quality or alfalfa). They have enough room to exercise but not enough to get tough. However, if you do butcher an older bull or cow, I'd turn most of it into ground beef (naturally 95 to 98% lean), and use the "best cuts" (tenderloin, ribeye, or sirloin) only for steaks or roasts...then you might have to cook longer with an old animal. The ground meat also makes excellent beef sausage! LH beef cooks fast since there is little fat for insulation against heat. Cook at low to medium temperature, (well done, but not overcooked for ground beef).
 
Angus Cowman":1clb2d19 said:
I used to raise LH's and if you are going to keep them for butcher beef I would breed them to a herf or an angus and they should do fine the weight at butchering might be less than that of a straight bred Angus or herf but they still do fine friend has some he butchers about 850-950lbs where on my angus it id 1050-1200lbs

you shouldn't pay much for the cows I would say not over $450 with they way todays market is

Also if you breed to an angus and keep hfrs then breed them to an angus you would have a good set of momma cows JMO

Paying ~ $450 for a LH cow will generally get you a "cull" at the local sale barn. Probably on the "lean and mean" side and only good for hamburger. A well fed filled out longhorn yearling for slaughter will probably only be found from a private seller. Expect to a minimum of $750 for a non-seedstock animal. You get what you pay for in terms of body condition, tenderness, etc.
 
Running Arrow Bill":9s3i9q4b said:
Angus Cowman":9s3i9q4b said:
I used to raise LH's and if you are going to keep them for butcher beef I would breed them to a herf or an angus and they should do fine the weight at butchering might be less than that of a straight bred Angus or herf but they still do fine friend has some he butchers about 850-950lbs where on my angus it id 1050-1200lbs

you shouldn't pay much for the cows I would say not over $450 with they way todays market is

Also if you breed to an angus and keep hfrs then breed them to an angus you would have a good set of momma cows JMO

Paying ~ $450 for a LH cow will generally get you a "cull" at the local sale barn. Probably on the "lean and mean" side and only good for hamburger. A well fed filled out longhorn yearling for slaughter will probably only be found from a private seller. Expect to a minimum of $750 for a non-seedstock animal. You get what you pay for in terms of body condition, tenderness, etc.
I should have stated the location of where you are at makes the prices different around here you can buy LH cows all day long for $400-500 am not talking about reg seedstock and don't beleive this guy was either because he said it was for butcher purposes
Alot of the LH you see around here are used for supplying roping stock and thta market isn't profitable so we have several LH cows for sale that are only worth Maket price and taht is $4-$500 and that is for a bred cow and open cow will bring about $.20pr lb
 
The most notciable issue will be lack of muscleing in the rear quarter
 
Thanks for all the info, helpful in making my decision! :tiphat:
 
Longhorn beef is excellent beef in my opinion, of course that's my breed of choice. Longhorns cross very well with most mainstream beef breeds, we cross breed some ourselves. Straight Longhorns usually mature a little slower than other breeds but will yield as much or usually more lean beef than other breeds as you don't have so much fat that just has to go to waste. Ours usually yield about 60-62% hanging weight. We butcher four to five per year, usually grass fed up to about a month before butchering, then we supplement with some grain.

Around here, people seem to want them but usually don't want to pay much for them. The misconception that most people have about the breed is that they are small and rangy. Not true for the breed as a whole. Roper buyers will but them and half starve them to keep them small and thin, run them half to death then send them to the sale yard and get nothing for them. The breed itself does require less maintenance than alot of other breeds but they do need to be fed and cared for like any other kind of cattle. The cattle market here is down, Longhorn cows sell for as low as $300 at the sale barn but I have seen them go for up to $800-$900 at some of the special brood cow sales here at the local barn. A decent $450 cow should easily pay for herself when her cross bred calf is sold. Angus is a good cross but will still get some spots or linebacks which will get docked. A Charolais bull is the best cross to take the color off the calves and get a big calf.
 

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