Longhorn vs Angus vs cross

[obsidian73]

Hey All a newbie here,

I just got some property and have around 4 acres to have some cattle on. Right now I am hoping to have fencing up by the end of next month. First I am wondering if there is a best time to get my cows in should I do it this fall or wait till next year? Also I am debating on what breed to get. First of all these would be beef cows just for my family at this point and if it works out to sell one or a half if the need arises. I have been looking at the longhorn as they say the quality of meat is higher but they have a good bit less hanging weight. It seems around here that the Angus/Longhorn cross is somewhat popular. For those that have raised Longhorns for just family meat what have been your pros & cons?

 

[M.Magis]

Any breed can eat good, but the only people that will tell you longhorn have higher quality meat than a beef animal are those selling longhorns.

 

[Little Joe]

With just 4 acres you'd be better off buying a couple of good weaned and vaccinated steers every spring and run them til winter and butcher. Sell one keep one to eat. You won't be able to run much as far as cows on 4 acres.

 

[Little Joe]

As far as the longhorns go, a purebred would be fine if you like really lean meat. I've got some longhorn x black baldy that I'm going to finish out next year so I'll be able to tell you more then. I've been told that they're good eating just don't get as big and don't gain as efficient, we shall see. I don't have much in them so won't hurt me to experiment.

 

[Warren Allison]

Hey All a newbie here,

I just got some property and have around 4 acres to have some cattle on. Right now I am hoping to have fencing up by the end of next month. First I am wondering if there is a best time to get my cows in should I do it this fall or wait till next year? Also I am debating on what breed to get. First of all these would be beef cows just for my family at this point and if it works out to sell one or a half if the need arises. I have been looking at the longhorn as they say the quality of meat is higher but they have a good bit less hanging weight. It seems around here that the Angus/Longhorn cross is somewhat popular. For those that have raised Longhorns for just family meat what have been your pros & cons?

Here in the southeast, a lot of folks are breeding their rodeo stock...Corrientes, some longhorn or Watusi, or mixtures of the three, to Angus bulls. These little cows are raising as big or nearly as big polled, black calves as cows twice their size, on half the feed. This may be an alternative for you, with the small acreage.

 

[Little Joe]

Hey All a newbie here,

I just got some property and have around 4 acres to have some cattle on. Right now I am hoping to have fencing up by the end of next month. First I am wondering if there is a best time to get my cows in should I do it this fall or wait till next year? Also I am debating on what breed to get. First of all these would be beef cows just for my family at this point and if it works out to sell one or a half if the need arises. I have been looking at the longhorn as they say the quality of meat is higher but they have a good bit less hanging weight. It seems around here that the Angus/Longhorn cross is somewhat popular. For those that have raised Longhorns for just family meat what have been your pros & cons?

Here in the southeast, a lot of folks are breeding their rodeo stock...Corrientes, some longhorn or Watusi, or mixtures of the three, to Angus bulls. These little cows are raising as big or nearly as big polled, black calves as cows twice their size, on half the feed. This may be an alternative for you, with the small acreage.

I have some longhorn cows that were bred to a black baldie when I bought them and I put a black angus back on them. The calves won't be as big as a full beef calf but as a percentage of cow weight they will wean well. Some will come out black baldie and some come out spotted, had one already out of the angus bull and longhorn cow and it's spotted. I'm finishing them for freezer beef so color won't matter, anxious to see how they finish, hoping i the 700-900 lb range. The longhorns are very efficient cows for sure.

 

[obsidian73]

Thanks for the info guys. I havent read much on the black baldie or some of the other mentioned. I need to try to find out what the most common is around here (local) so I kind of know what my options are. One thing I have noticed is that it seems like a cross bull is bred to a longhorn cow. Is there a reason why that is common? Say vs a longhorn bull to an Angus cow?

Little Joe - Thanks for that info I am definitely interested in how yours turn out. I know 4 acres is not much, so as mentioned I am not looking to have more than a few at most. I was thinking of a stocker who is maybe a year old with around a year to finish out next year and then a calf to fill out 2 years from now and replace the stocker with a calf after he has been butchered.

 

[Little Joe]

Thanks for the info guys. I havent read much on the black baldie or some of the other mentioned. I need to try to find out what the most common is around here (local) so I kind of know what my options are. One thing I have noticed is that it seems like a cross bull is bred to a longhorn cow. Is there a reason why that is common? Say vs a longhorn bull to an Angus cow?

Little Joe - Thanks for that info I am definitely interested in how yours turn out. I know 4 acres is not much, so as mentioned I am not looking to have more than a few at most. I was thinking of a stocker who is maybe a year old with around a year to finish out next year and then a calf to fill out 2 years from now and replace the stocker with a calf after he has been butchered.

That sounds like a good plan, that way you always have 2 of them as they do better in pairs and not alone. If you're going to buy the calves I wouldn't set out to buy longhorn crosses. They won't gain as efficient as a full beef type. Only reason I'm messing with longhorn crosses is because I bought the cows at a bargain and I think I can make a buck this way but when I buy calves to finish I buy full beef type.

 

[Ky hills]

Thanks for the info guys. I havent read much on the black baldie or some of the other mentioned. I need to try to find out what the most common is around here (local) so I kind of know what my options are. One thing I have noticed is that it seems like a cross bull is bred to a longhorn cow. Is there a reason why that is common? Say vs a longhorn bull to an Angus cow?

Little Joe - Thanks for that info I am definitely interested in how yours turn out. I know 4 acres is not much, so as mentioned I am not looking to have more than a few at most. I was thinking of a stocker who is maybe a year old with around a year to finish out next year and then a calf to fill out 2 years from now and replace the stocker with a calf after he has been butchered.

That sounds like a good plan, that way you always have 2 of them as they do better in pairs and not alone. If you're going to buy the calves I wouldn't set out to buy longhorn crosses. They won't gain as efficient as a full beef type. Only reason I'm messing with longhorn crosses is because I bought the cows at a bargain and I think I can make a buck this way but when I buy calves to finish I buy full beef type.

I agree with your assessment. I have a longhorn cow that I bought as a heifer fairly cheap in comparison. One of the few maybe the only one I've ever paid for with the first calf an Angus sired steer. That being said I wouldn't want a whole herd of those kind of cows. When I buy feeder or as most on here call them stocker calves, I want calves that are beef breeds be it pure or crossbred, don't want any longhorn or dairy breeding. Sometimes end up with one or two that come in a group as it gets pretty obvious before long. The beef calves that have good frame on them just grow and gain much better than the others and are much more practical in terms of cost of gain. Those longhorn type calves may initially cost less but will not be a bargain in the long run.

 

[obsidian73]

Thanks for the info guys. So that being said, is there a best breed for my situation, do I stick to a full Angus, Baldi, Limousine etc? Or just a beef cross?

 

[M.Magis]

Any beef breed will be fine. I'd focus more on the individual animals being easy to work with and used to people. No need to start out with a rodeo.

 

[bckinghorn]

Thanks for the info guys. I havent read much on the black baldie or some of the other mentioned. I need to try to find out what the most common is around here (local) so I kind of know what my options are. One thing I have noticed is that it seems like a cross bull is bred to a longhorn cow. Is there a reason why that is common? Say vs a longhorn bull to an Angus cow?

Little Joe - Thanks for that info I am definitely interested in how yours turn out. I know 4 acres is not much, so as mentioned I am not looking to have more than a few at most. I was thinking of a stocker who is maybe a year old with around a year to finish out next year and then a calf to fill out 2 years from now and replace the stocker with a calf after he has been butchered.

It's simply a dollars and cents thing to have the longhorns be the cows and the beef breed be the bull. LH cows will be cheaper than beef cows, so rather than buying say 3 angus cows at an increased cost, you can buy 3 LH cows at a discount and save that money. Then you just need to find semen, or spend money on one bull. Cheaper way to get the same product.

 

[ita47]

With just 4 acres you'd be better off buying a couple of good weaned and vaccinated steers every spring and run them til winter and butcher. Sell one keep one to eat. You won't be able to run much as far as cows on 4 acres.

I agree with Little Joe, with your limited amount of space you would be much better off buying two steers and feeding them out. Personally I would look for beef breeds and pass on the longhorns. Look for something with good dispositions, it will make handling them much easier and less dangerous.