shorthorn

[rouxshortorn]

just wondering what everyone thought of shorthorn,how many used them? either for beef or dairy.

 

[vs_cattle]

If I ever get another breed again to show other then Charolais my next choice would be Shorthorns I hear they can be used for both just depends on the genes I would go for more of just a beed cow with a good udder

 

[glover36]

we have beef and dairy great cows never had a single calving problem with them

 

[randiliana]

We are using Shorthorn in our herd. Have been for a number of years. If I were to go into purebreds, that is what I would raise. We rarely have any calving problems with them. Some of our growthiest calves this year are out of our Shorthorn bull. Plus, the cows are quiet and easy to work with/around.

 

[mnmtranching]

Are Shorthorns still popular in Canada? In the 60's-70's there were a few herds around here. They sort of disappeared with the Herefords. I miss those roan cattle.

 

[turning grass into beef]

I have never had any experience with the dual purpose shorthorns so I can't comment on them. We have been raising purebreds and commercial shorthorns since 1961 and have been happy with them. We have experienced very few calving problems. This year we helped less than 1% of the mature cows.
Shorthorns are no different than any other breed in the respect that there are good quality shorthorns and poor quality shorthorns. It is just a matter of breeding the good ones.
One thing that is pretty consistent though, is the temperament. We calve out a lot of cows of various breeds and shorthorn cattle have proven to us to be very docile.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Are Shorthorns still popular in Canada?

I wouldn't call them "popular" but I see more Shorthorn stock up here than you do within the US. While the show ring guys were bent on destroying the breed, there were still some breeders up here who kept reasonably true to the Shorthorn roots of heavy milk, excellent fertility, smaller framed, deep cows. We have far too much leg (for my liking) and frame under our Canadian Shorthorns, but unlike other breeds that say you can cross them to anything, Shorthorns really do cross well to anything when building an F1 cow.

Rod

 

[Shorthornguy]

I :heart: Shorthorns. We have two registered shorthorn bulls that we use on Longhorn, Longhorn cross, and shorthorn cows.
No calving problems,fast growth and doctile. As I mentioned in another post I call my Longhorn x Shorthorn "Roan Tenderleans"
;-)

 

[karlie45]

We raise beef shorthorn in addition to our main simmental herd. Some are better show prospects, but I gotta say that simmentals 'work' out in the pasture better than our shorthorns. Our shorts tend to loose a lot of condition, are very high maintenance, and we do have a few calving issues(not a lot, but we have ONE LAZY cow, that just doesnt get it). They sure look pretty in the ring though. ;-)

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Karlie, I'd junk those "showring" Shorthorns then. It really ticks me off when one of the easiest doing breeds has been turned into crap just because they look pretty.

I wish the showring required feed conversion numbers as well. Maybe then we'd be able to get back to having useful shows instead of the oversized poodle **** I see in the rings today.

Rod

 

[karlie45]

Karlie, I'd junk those "showring" Shorthorns then. It really ticks me off when one of the easiest doing breeds has been turned into crap just because they look pretty.

Rod

Yeah, I can agree with the junking them. Sadly, they arent actually mine. We (My dad and I)own the farm with my Aunt and her daughter. THEY own the pretty little shorthorns (and their "pet" cow herefords :roll: not knockin herfs here, because I know that there are great ones out there, I've seen 'em, but ours are worthless)
We do the whole showing thing, but I dont touch the shorts. I show my simms, and they show well. Then they go out to pasture, and work better than the cousins pretty litte shorts.

Sure, there are some great shorthorns out there, just sayin, we dont have them. They are hard to find.

 

[ArrowHBrand]

My wife and I both love Shorty's. Rod is right, though, you have to watch the genetics to see that these cattle are bred to the breed standard and not what is the new showring fad. They do cross well with any breed, but you should be UTD on the known carriers of TH so you don't breed to carriers together. We've never had problems getting and keeping condition on our Shorty's or crosses. My wife has shown our Shorty's too, but when their showring life is over they go into the herd so they have to have the ability perform as a cow if they expect to stick around.