Longhorn X Hereford Cross ?

[Tommy Ruyle]

Anyone have any experience running a Hereford bull with Longhorn cows? I'm looking for some good mothers and a gentle herd. What do you think???

 

[msscamp]

Well, since you stated you were looking for good mothers and a gentle herd I would encourage you to look into Murray Greys. I'm not trying to be a smarty pants or anything, but they will definitely fill the bill.

 

[J&T Farm]

Msscamp, yall raise some Murray Grays don't you?

 

[Chuck]

Where would your calf market be, Tommy? If you're going to the salebarn with them, the half LH calves will most likely take a beating in our part of the world.

 

[Tommy Ruyle]

I talking about a small herd - 6-8 cows. I plan on sell the fat cattle to individuals for their freezer. We already sell a few hogs that way.

 

[msscamp]

Msscamp, yall raise some Murray Grays don't you?

Yes, we do - I can't imagine how you figured that out! :lol: We're pretty darned proud of them, too! We also have a freezer full of them and they are some very good eating! ;-)

 

[Bobg]

I have longhorn cows and have used a Hereford bull on them. We also sell directly to individuals for their freezers. We run the calves on grass as yearlings and then grain them for 90 to 120 days, they have always graded "Choice". My longhorn cows are good mothers, they don't let anything in the pasture with them, our dog doesn't even dare venture in there. Longhorns eat 80% of what the other breeds eat and can utulize alot rougher feed. I winter mine on bluegrass straw and a little grain when it gets cold. I AI'd to an Angus bull this year to see how the calves do, so we'll see if I go back to a Hereford.


Bobg

 

[Rustler9]

Those Longhorns cows are going to cross well with whatever breed of bull you choose to use on them. They will grow out well on less feed. If you're selling the calves as freezer beef you'll do well. Yes, you'll get knocked on them at the sale barn-the buyers do that just because they can and get away with it. The beef will be excellent, once they are dressed out no can knows or should care what color their hides were. They would cross well with Murray Greys too. Even the Angus cross will be good, some may be solid black and look completely Angus only they will grow faster and may be taller than a straight Angus. Others will probably have some of the Longhorn spots. I use a Longhorn bull on my Beefmaster cows and they raise some whopping big calves, the only time I take any of these crosses to the salebarn is when they come out either solid red or black-that way I can laugh on my way home after picking up my check because I didn't get docked.

 

[trin]

Those Longhorns cows are going to cross well with whatever breed of bull you choose to use on them. They will grow out well on less feed. If you're selling the calves as freezer beef you'll do well. Yes, you'll get knocked on them at the sale barn-the buyers do that just because they can and get away with it. The beef will be excellent, once they are dressed out no can knows or should care what color their hides were. They would cross well with Murray Greys too. Even the Angus cross will be good, some may be solid black and look completely Angus only they will grow faster and may be taller than a straight Angus. Others will probably have some of the Longhorn spots. I use a Longhorn bull on my Beefmaster cows and they raise some whopping big calves, the only time I take any of these crosses to the salebarn is when they come out either solid red or black-that way I can laugh on my way home after picking up my check because I didn't get docked.

just wondering what makes u breed your beefmaster cows to longhorn.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Last month we re-purchased a 3.8 yr old LH bull the commercial rancher had him for about 1.5 years. Two calf crops from the bull were from a mixed herd of Angus, Charlolais, and Hereford. The rancher was very pleased with the performance of this bull. After pulling a LOT of calves from his previous bull(s) he was sold on the LH genetics.

This bull is back at our place. Another rancher in another town was inquiring about a 2-3 month lease for a LH bull. We must be doing something right with this bull.

Incidentally, this "full-bodied" bull is essentially only appropriate for a commercial cross-breeding program: we wouldn't use him ourselves for our LH program. Our Senior and Junior LH sires have both horn and body conformation.

"Longhorn Breeders Pull Trailers...Not Calves"

;-)

 

[Campground Cattle]

Anyone have any experience running a Hereford bull with Longhorn cows? I'm looking for some good mothers and a gentle herd. What do you think???

Actually I have thought of it before, longhorn cows are cheap around here and can live on about anything.

 

[Rustler9]

trin,
I breed my Beefmaster cows to one of my Longhorn bulls because I primarily breed and raise registered Texas Longhorns. I have some of these Beefmaster cows left over from before I started in the Longhorn business. I currently have ten breeding age bulls, all Longhorns and don't want to have to keep up with another bull of another breed. I have kept some Longhorn/Beefmaster cross cows to raise crossbred calves for beef and commercial heifers to sell.

 

[Tommy Ruyle]

Thanks guys for the input.

 

[trin]

trin,
I breed my Beefmaster cows to one of my Longhorn bulls because I primarily breed and raise registered Texas Longhorns. I have some of these Beefmaster cows left over from before I started in the Longhorn business. I currently have ten breeding age bulls, all Longhorns and don't want to have to keep up with another bull of another breed. I have kept some Longhorn/Beefmaster cross cows to raise crossbred calves for beef and commercial heifers to sell.

just wanting to know about longhorn. what mad you switch to longhorn, and what do 6 to 8 month old longhorn heifers that are not registered sell for. are they worth putting in a crossbred herd or would i be better of buying angus cross. i only have about 30 acres. what is the weight of the weaned calves at about 6 months.

 

[Rustler9]

trin,
You'll have some folks tell you that they're no good but they're like everything else-some people love them, some hate them and some think they hate them but don't have a clue because they've never had them. We have no problem selling Longhorn cross heifers because they are excellent mothers, easy calving, milk well and will usually wean a calf almost as big as themselves. They forage more than alot of other breeds, eat more roughage and weedy type plants and less hay and supplemental feeds. Most folks say they don't like the horns-the polled gene is dominant and if your bull is a true polled he should pass this trait onto his offspring-expect about 80% polled calves.

Now I told you some of the good points-if you expect everything to be black you may not get that with a Longhorn cross. If you use a Charolais bull you'll get the cream colored calves that sell great at the sale barn. If you use a black bull you may get some spotted calves. The meat is lean and tastes great-we have no trouble selling Longhorn lean freezer beef. Town folks and yuppies line up for it.

I still like my Beefmaster cows and always will but the reason I got into the Longhorns was simply because I love the way they look. They are colorful, have all sorts of shapes of horns plus the other benefits that I mentioned earlier such as calving ease. Never had to pull a Longhorn calf since I've had them for nine years. I'm not knocking other breeds at all so don't get me wrong but I'm happy to be doing other things rather than pulling monster calves from huge birth weight bulls and to me it's a little boring for all the herd to look alike. A six month old cross heifer should weigh anywhere from 450 to 500 lbs depending on the breed crossed with and of course the pasture conditions. Now that's not saying that all of my purebreds will weight that at weaning.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

trin,
I breed my Beefmaster cows to one of my Longhorn bulls because I primarily breed and raise registered Texas Longhorns. I have some of these Beefmaster cows left over from before I started in the Longhorn business. I currently have ten breeding age bulls, all Longhorns and don't want to have to keep up with another bull of another breed. I have kept some Longhorn/Beefmaster cross cows to raise crossbred calves for beef and commercial heifers to sell.

just wanting to know about longhorn. what mad you switch to longhorn, and what do 6 to 8 month old longhorn heifers that are not registered sell for. are they worth putting in a crossbred herd or would i be better of buying angus cross. i only have about 30 acres. what is the weight of the weaned calves at about 6 months.

Don't know prices for Longhorns or others in your part of the country. However, my "guess" would be that a NON-Registered LH heifer, bull, or cow would probably sell for at least sale barn price and up, depending on supply & demand.

On the other hand, the REGISTERED Longhorns sell for more. I've seen some registered LH calves advertised for as little as $600 to $800. but that is perhaps the exception. However, the majority of the registered calves I have seen are priced in the $1000 to $3000 range (a LOT depends on conformation, pedigree, horn, etc.).

One can probably expect a 6-7 month old weaned LH calf to range anywhere between about 400 and 600 lbs. There are some "late bloomers" that may only weigh in the 300 to 400 lb range, especially if they are from smaller framed parents. The LH cattle are slower to mature than other breeds; however, their longevity and breeding life offsets any delay in reaching mature size and/or about 650 lbs at breeding age of around 14 months. Not unusual for a longhorn cow to still produce a good calf in her late teens or early 20's. And, the LH bulls are just "middle aged" and still producing well at 8, 10, 12 years old (or older).

 

[jbar]

two of my best cows are 1/2lh and 1/2 angus i put an angus bull on them and get good calves. still have two purebred lh and would like to keep some heifers out of them but they keep having bulls.these lh cows are 14or 15 years old and have a calf every year. never pull one just have to help one get stared nursing once in awhile. hows that for longevity :cboy:

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Our Charolais on the Longhorn gals do real good. The LH are great mommas,put out small no hassle calves and are cream or tan colored. Did pretty good at the sale barn too. ;-)

 

[Caustic Burno]

Holy cow putting a good bull on horns and hide (that are docked at the salebarn) Thats like crossing a throughbreed with a shetland pony.

 

[Beef11]

Don't think i'm being a donkey but, why did the longhorn almost become extinct? I thought it was because the breed wasn't as economically viable as the british and then continental breeds then they brought in eared cattle and they seemed to tie up the rough climate market squeezing the horns out of another corner. Also i am looking for a breed to cross with and was turned off of longhorns due to the only info i could find on them was horn length and color. They seem like a novelty breed

i would be happy to hear anything to the contrary