Longhorns...

[5minpins]

I have been searching around for some info on longhorns and what I want to know I cant find. someone gave me a heifer, she will be 2 in june and she is tiny. can anyone tell me how long it takes them to grow up some? or maybe she is just gonna be a little longhorn? mini longhorn? lol If she is gonna stay little should I breed her to a dexter or some other mini bull? I dont think she has been fed right, I didnt see any mineral blocks out there for them. they have two and decided to butcher the steer even tho he isnt all that big either, he is bigger than she is but he will be 2 in may. got some pics, and no I wouldnt have bought one but I get a kick out of the horns so one is enough. Oh and halter breaking...she is friendly but not able to touch her, can I get a rope on her horns and snub her up to get a halter on her and then tie her up to a post for a few hours a day to get her halter broke? how the hec does one halter break a longhorn?
this is the heifer

this is the steer

 

[bigbull338]

well to me that heifer isnt small at all.looks like she weighs 700 to 800.you can breed her to a dexter or a longhorn bull.

 

[TXBobcat]

I agree, the heifer does not look small for a Longhorn. We have 24 to 30 month old Longhorn heifers that size having calves.

As far as halter breaking her, I think you will have a tough time of it, being that she is 2 years old and pretty good sized. In my opinion if you want to halter break an animal, it is better to start when they are young, probably 5-6 months old or less, because they are easier to handle.

At this point, I would do the following:

- keep her in the pen for a few weeks and feed her a little sweet feed each day. This will gentle her down and get her used to her new surroundings.
- vaccinate and worm her if you are unsure of her history on vaccinations
- After 3-4 weeks, give boosters on vaccinations, and turn her out to pasture
- Provide access to mineral (I like loose minerals)
- Put the bull of your choice on her (if wanting commercial calves, I would run a Charolais or Angus bull with her)

 

[5minpins]

I think the pictures are pretty decieving, there is a shetland pony in the pen with her and she isnt any bigger than the shetland pony. when I stood next to her she came up to just above my waist. my friend in the background is close up to the fence and she is about 5 1/2 feet tall, the fence comes up to her chest, the heifer just above her waist. but if that is pretty normal then I wont worry about much. I would like a spring calf from her.
the halter breaking, Im up for the task lol. just wanted to make sure it was ok to get a rope on her horns and snub her up that way. I just want her a little more gentle and used to being handled a little.

 

[Proverbs 12:10]

She's big enough. Do what bobcat says. I wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to halter break a 2 year old if you don't plan on showing.

 

[3waycross]

Looks to me like she is pretty interested in that wine your friend is drinking. You might try gettin her a little likkered up and then try putting on that halter. A couple qts of good cheap Zin should do the job.

 

[5minpins]

3way maybe I should get likkered up and try putting a halter on her instead of the other way around?? :lol2: KIDDING!! but getting her drunk might not be a bad idea.....Kidding again!
I think I will rearrange some of my big old heavy corral panels and keep her in there like bobcat said for a while, I feed everything with a little sweet feed anyway so thats not a problem. We are gonna haul her over here in June I think, maybe I should just go right up the road and toss her in with the red angus bull before I bring her home eh? Rental bull! They told me she jumped their fence twice when she was in heat, so that was my only reason for wanting her halter broke. If I get her bred maybe she wont do that....

 

[Ryan]

I think she'll end up being a smaller longhorn. She looks in decent Body Condition Score. You can breed her to Longhorn bull, and not have to worry too much about her when she calves. The safest way to go would be to a.i. her to a butler or butler-influenced bull. Butler cattle tend to be smaller framed them most other bloodlines or mixture of bloodlines.

If you want to halter break her, have at it. You can halter break longhorns just like anything else. The key with her is her age. Daily interaction with her, gradually progressing towards putting the halter on and leading her around, starting with what Bobcat said should get the job done. It will take a lot of patience and time, but if you are for up it, then go for it. Good luck with her, and keep us updated.

Ryan

 

[Brute 23]

3way maybe I should get likkered up and try putting a halter on her instead of the other way around?? :lol2: KIDDING!! but getting her drunk might not be a bad idea.....Kidding again!

:shock:......... :lol2:

 

[ANAZAZI]

She is a longhorn. Longhorn cows calve easily almost whatever you breed them to. Longhorn bulls give small easy calves. Breed her to a longhorn bull; if you go AI, then do not bother to pick a smallframed bull, take a big one. Then the offspring will be full sized when it has grown up, but it will nonetheless be tiny at birth.

 

[iowafarmer]

Yeah she looks to be big enough and degfinaitly old enough to be bred. IF you want a spring calf turn her with a bull this summer. As for halter breaking a 2 year old good luck and taek your time.

 

[Turin53]

I bought a longhorn heffer when she was 14 mo old, 7 mo bred by a longhorn bull. She wasn't very tall but she can clear a 5 foot fence with no trouble. Her calf is a very good looking bull. About 2 yrs old now, has good horns and is gentle? enough to feed by hand through the fence. Never thought about halter breaking, we just use a bucket of cubes to get her back here.

 

[5minpins]

thanks for all the advice everyone Have decided to just turn her out with an angus bull next month. be it the red one or the black one. Longhorns are somewhat scarce around here so angus it is! will let ya know how the halter breaking goes and who gets broke first, me or her lol. No worries, if its a huge fight we wont go on with it, but if she takes to it ok we will get it done. I am going to use some gates though Like TXBobcat has pics of. that makes the most sense to me.

 

[backhoeboogie]

thanks for all the advice everyone Have decided to just turn her out with an angus bull next month. be it the red one or the black one. Longhorns are somewhat scarce around here so angus it is! will let ya know how the halter breaking goes and who gets broke first, me or her lol. No worries, if its a huge fight we wont go on with it, but if she takes to it ok we will get it done. I am going to use some gates though Like TXBobcat has pics of. that makes the most sense to me.

Why are you so bent on breaking this cow? She'll raise one heck of a market calf out of that bull. She could do that living off of mesquite leaves and cactus and hold a decent BCS. She'll likely live long enough to calve 20 plus times for you too if you take decent care of her.

 

[5minpins]

Because she is a known fence jumper and if I am unable to run her back up the road by myself managing to NOT get hit by a speeding dump truck, she wont live a long life. I didnt say I was going to make a pet out of her, but if she leads it might help me out some when she is hopping fences to visit the neighbors. her calves will end up in my freezer and she will do a fine job at clearing brush I am sure, just didnt think it was such a big deal to want to lead her home should she continue to jump fence. and of course I take good care of all my animals, NOTHING starves at my place, ever, I work to buy animal feed lol. not one of my critters has earned its own feed yet. Dang it!! I knew I was doing something wrong!