Texas Longhorns

[NHlonghorns]

Anyone raise Longhorns? I'm new to cattle but we recently bought 3 bred and registered longhorns. All three calved with no problems and are excellent mothers. 2 heifers and a bull (who is now a steer). I'm really enjoying this little herd and was curious to hear your thoughts on this breed.
:cowboy:

 

[Bigfoot]

There is a few breeders on here. I have a small sprinkling of them myself. Welcome to the board. I never really thought about it, but longhorns might be a good place to start in the cattle business. Very few of the physical ailments that accompany most cattle.

 

[cowgirl8]

I have a couple friends who raise them, both in opposite ends. One, doesnt want to mind his cattle and can pick them up cheap at the sale so if he loses one its no biggie. They live on air. The other friend went the registered route and made quite a bit selling as pasture ornaments.
In a ranchers point of view, i dont want any sign of them in my cattle. Take a nice calf to the sale and it shows it has longhorn you lose money on it. But, if you cant tend to you cattle daily, you'll have less calving troubles and they can live off bad pastures and very little hay. Have a untended herd of angus, lose a calf its a big loss, dont lose any in the same number of longhorn and you've caught up to the same size angus herd that lost a calf..... My daughter has one as a pet and she calved a little heifer this spring. It was born standing up..lol...faster than lightning, can hide in a flat open pasture..
My husbands family had a longhorn way back in the 70's. It was a roping calf. It got mixed up in the early herd and its taken 40 years to wash it out of our cows today. I bet i have pictures somewhere of a skunk tailed calf out of the blue many years later. lol

 

[RoanDurham]

They're pasture ornaments. Then again, many of ranches have been paid for by putting terminal bulls over cheap salebarn longhorn cows. If your desire is to produce quality beef, you need to cross a different breed over those cows or sale them all together. If you just like the way they look then they might suit your desires perfectly.

 

[elkwc]

There are Longhorns that have high quality and also very good muscling. I had a friend in NW OK who raised very high quality angus for years. They switched to Longhorns and sought out the best. I purchased some of her calves for roping steers. They grew tood fast. I fed out several. The best beef and very good quality steers. All of her herd bulls weight a ton or more. Her cows would weigh 1,100-1,300. I've only saw one other herd of Longhorns of similar quality. She crossed Salers and Angus both back on the cows and raised good black calves that weren't docked near as much as a Hereford was in the 90's. Her heifers calved easy, her cows milked well and were great mothers. She weaned a high percentage calf crop and didn't have to babysit them. I will agree most are more for looks. But there is some good quality Longhorns if a person wants to spend the time looking. I'm sure they have something else in them also.

 

[RoanDurham]

I'd like to see the cost of gain on a Longhorn feed to grade high choice. Nearly any breed is capable of grading choice or even prime if fed properly. The problem with longhorn cattle is that they are TERRIBLE converters and are VERY expensive to feed to reach those quality grades.

 

[Lucky_P]

elkwc,
I've seen some photos, probably back in the '90s, of some of those really beefy, well-muscled TXLHs.
Probably won't go that route - if I wanted a noassatall, slow-growing calf ;-) , I'd probably use a Wagyu bull - but, can you direct us to some of those more muscular lines, or breeders who are selecting for that?

 

[Taurus]

A member on here named Ryan has best longhorns I ever seen. Very beefy types and well muscled. Solid colored longhorns crossed with continental breeds such as Limo and Charolais should give you a marketable calf that ring a bell at sale barn. A solid colored longhorn cross should be a good replacement. I wouldn't keep any skunks (LHx) for replacements if I wants to get rid of chrome completely.

 

[NHlonghorns]

Seeing as we are raising them for our own consumption and a few neighbors, I don't have to worry about prices they'll bring at a sale. We'll probably hand raise one for doing photo shoots, because everyone wants their picture with a cool longhorn, LOL
Our three girls each weigh a tad over 1100 lbs, all the calves born weighed 65-70 lb at birth. Their sire was only a 2 year old and he weighed 1500lbs, unfortunately I won't get to see him at full size as he got eaten. Not too shabby for longhorns!

 

[Caustic Burno]

I would have had to seen that LH bull born and weighed at 24 months.

 

[NHlonghorns]

That's what his owner told me, maybe they just guessed at his weight. I have no proof of it.

 

[cowgirl8]

I think there are 2 kinds, the rough kind and the pet kind. I know I've seen them at fairs to ride and they were huge..And i think our friend who raised them had big ones too... The fella who has a herd of them near us has all different sizes and he picks them up for the sale barn. They could possibly be mixes. I know the longhorn calf(supposing that the cow is all longhorn) we have that is half angus looks color wise all longhorn. So, if my daughter sells her someone will assume she's full longhorn(unless told otherwise). And if they breed her to another full angus, i just bet that it will be wildly colored but will be at least 3/4 angus. And if she grows horns, no one will ever know shes almost all angus..

Heres the calf, cow in behind others, with her sibs. Same age, way smaller. Was probably 30 pounds when born.

 

[Taurus]

I think there are 2 kinds, the rough kind and the pet kind. I know I've seen them at fairs to ride and they were huge..And i think our friend who raised them had big ones too... The fella who has a herd of them near us has all different sizes and he picks them up for the sale barn. They could possibly be mixes. I know the longhorn calf(supposing that the cow is all longhorn) we have that is half angus looks color wise all longhorn. So, if my daughter sells her someone will assume she's full longhorn(unless told otherwise). And if they breed her to another full angus, i just bet that it will be wildly colored but will be at least 3/4 angus. And if she grows horns, no one will ever know shes almost all angus..

Heres the calf, cow in behind others, with her sibs. Same age, way smaller. Was probably 30 pounds when born.

Well a 3/4 Angus 1/4 longhorn shouldn't have any horns. She will always be hetero polled but won't have any horns.

 

[cowgirl8]

Good to know...if we sell her she may throw a calf with horns depending its not angus?

 

[cowgirl8]

I dont deal with horns, have had only a few horned cows and those were long ago with our old sim bulls. The calf pictured is half longhorn half angus...So, what are the chances of the calf having horns? Technically, we have no idea what the cow is and assume she's longhorn. My daughter bought her at a sale barn to give to my other daughter. She gave 30 bucks for it, she barely survived.. It is quite possible that she's not full longhorn..Will this be evident that she's not full if the calf does not grow horns? Or will the 1/2 angus keep her from getting them?

 

[Taurus]

I dont deal with horns, have had only a few horned cows and those were long ago with our old sim bulls. The calf pictured is half longhorn half angus...So, what are the chances of the calf having horns? Technically, we have no idea what the cow is and assume she's longhorn. My daughter bought her at a sale barn to give to my other daughter. She gave 30 bucks for it, she barely survived.. It is quite possible that she's not full longhorn..Will this be evident that she's not full if the calf does not grow horns? Or will the 1/2 angus keep her from getting them?

Polled gene is dominant over horned gene, means if you bred a homozygous polled bull to a horned cow, his offspring will be heterozygous polled but carrying horned genes. You won't get horns unless you bred them to a horned or a heterozygous polled bull. Stick with registered homozygous polled bulls and you will be fine.

 

[elkwc]

elkwc,
I've seen some photos, probably back in the '90s, of some of those really beefy, well-muscled TXLHs.
Probably won't go that route - if I wanted a noassatall, slow-growing calf ;-) , I'd probably use a Wagyu bull - but, can you direct us to some of those more muscular lines, or breeders who are selecting for that?

Lucky P,
It was during the late 80's up to around 98 that I used Longhorns some for roping cattle as the corrientes at the border got so high. I used some purebred Longhorns and some crosses. I learned there was as much difference or more in disposition, muscling growth rate and maturity size as any breed I've ever been around. Most of the LH cows in the herds I bought from weighed 900-1050 and were slow growing. And some tended to be wild and hard to handle. But you could rope them a long time as they grew so slow. They matured and fed out at a light weight. Cost of gain was higher. The herd I mentioned in the previous post and one other I knew about had what they called beef type LH's. The herd I bought from originally had some of the best commercial Angus cows in NW OK. When they decided to go to LH's they bought the best quality they could find. Her husband passed away and she continued to raise LH's for several years. But understand she don't have them anymore. I once knew of some of the bloodlines but can't remember them now. The other herd I knew of is out of existence also I'm told. The ones I dealt with were docile, easy to handle, but grew fast. So by the time their horns got any size the cattle were too big to rope. I purchased steers from her for 2-3 years. I would buy her youngest, smallest steers, feed them basically a maintenance only diet and then plaster or fiberglass a steel rod to the horns so I could rope them some before they got too big. The last year I purchased steers from her we had a wet summer especially the last half. By mid July all of the steers were weighing 800-900. I brought the 4 biggest in and fed along with a good crossbred steer in the same pen. The 4 averaged almost as much daily gain as the crossbred. I'm sure two of them did or might of beat the crossbred. They weighed 1,200-1,350 when slaughtered. I tended to slaughter those I fed with a tad less finish than most feed yards. The meat was tender and a little leaner than the crossbred. The cost of gain wouldn't have been much if any different than the good crossbred. These cattle had muscle and good bone. Not the chicken bone you see on many. The frame size would of been 5-6 on their mothers and around a 6 on their sire. I called the next year and someone who had purchased what she didn't sell me and a few others the previous year for roping cattle had spoke for all of them to feed, slaughter and sell the meat from. Then I quit roping so basically lost touch. Although as I stated I have been told her herd and the other I knew who she shared bulls with have both been dispersed. So not sure where a person would find the good beef type LH now.

 

[cowgirl8]

I was just curious...all our angus are registered. We havent had a horn in years. The longhorn is just on our place to get bred, she'll go back to my daughters in a month or so...

 

[Taurus]

elkwc,
I've seen some photos, probably back in the '90s, of some of those really beefy, well-muscled TXLHs.
Probably won't go that route - if I wanted a noassatall, slow-growing calf ;-) , I'd probably use a Wagyu bull - but, can you direct us to some of those more muscular lines, or breeders who are selecting for that?

Lucky P,
It was during the late 80's up to around 98 that I used Longhorns some for roping cattle as the corrientes at the border got so high. I used some purebred Longhorns and some crosses. I learned there was as much difference or more in disposition, muscling growth rate and maturity size as any breed I've ever been around. Most of the LH cows in the herds I bought from weighed 900-1050 and were slow growing. And some tended to be wild and hard to handle. But you could rope them a long time as they grew so slow. They matured and fed out at a light weight. Cost of gain was higher. The herd I mentioned in the previous post and one other I knew about had what they called beef type LH's. The herd I bought from originally had some of the best commercial Angus cows in NW OK. When they decided to go to LH's they bought the best quality they could find. Her husband passed away and she continued to raise LH's for several years. But understand she don't have them anymore. I once knew of some of the bloodlines but can't remember them now. The other herd I knew of is out of existence also I'm told. The ones I dealt with were docile, easy to handle, but grew fast. So by the time their horns got any size the cattle were too big to rope. I purchased steers from her for 2-3 years. I would buy her youngest, smallest steers, feed them basically a maintenance only diet and then plaster or fiberglass a steel rod to the horns so I could rope them some before they got too big. The last year I purchased steers from her we had a wet summer especially the last half. By mid July all of the steers were weighing 800-900. I brought the 4 biggest in and fed along with a good crossbred steer in the same pen. The 4 averaged almost as much daily gain as the crossbred. I'm sure two of them did or might of beat the crossbred. They weighed 1,200-1,350 when slaughtered. I tended to slaughter those I fed with a tad less finish than most feed yards. The meat was tender and a little leaner than the crossbred. The cost of gain wouldn't have been much if any different than the good crossbred. These cattle had muscle and good bone. Not the chicken bone you see on many. The frame size would of been 5-6 on their mothers and around a 6 on their sire. I called the next year and someone who had purchased what she didn't sell me and a few others the previous year for roping cattle had spoke for all of them to feed, slaughter and sell the meat from. Then I quit roping so basically lost touch. Although as I stated I have been told her herd and the other I knew who she shared bulls with have both been dispersed. So not sure where a person would find the good beef type LH now.

there are seven families in Texas Longhorn and I believe that you are talking about Peeler type longhorn which is beefier than other families and they weren't selected for horn sizeness. Big framed cattle that can wean off big calves.

 

[elkwc]

elkwc,
I've seen some photos, probably back in the '90s, of some of those really beefy, well-muscled TXLHs.
Probably won't go that route - if I wanted a noassatall, slow-growing calf ;-) , I'd probably use a Wagyu bull - but, can you direct us to some of those more muscular lines, or breeders who are selecting for that?

Lucky P,
It was during the late 80's up to around 98 that I used Longhorns some for roping cattle as the corrientes at the border got so high. I used some purebred Longhorns and some crosses. I learned there was as much difference or more in disposition, muscling growth rate and maturity size as any breed I've ever been around. Most of the LH cows in the herds I bought from weighed 900-1050 and were slow growing. And some tended to be wild and hard to handle. But you could rope them a long time as they grew so slow. They matured and fed out at a light weight. Cost of gain was higher. The herd I mentioned in the previous post and one other I knew about had what they called beef type LH's. The herd I bought from originally had some of the best commercial Angus cows in NW OK. When they decided to go to LH's they bought the best quality they could find. Her husband passed away and she continued to raise LH's for several years. But understand she don't have them anymore. I once knew of some of the bloodlines but can't remember them now. The other herd I knew of is out of existence also I'm told. The ones I dealt with were docile, easy to handle, but grew fast. So by the time their horns got any size the cattle were too big to rope. I purchased steers from her for 2-3 years. I would buy her youngest, smallest steers, feed them basically a maintenance only diet and then plaster or fiberglass a steel rod to the horns so I could rope them some before they got too big. The last year I purchased steers from her we had a wet summer especially the last half. By mid July all of the steers were weighing 800-900. I brought the 4 biggest in and fed along with a good crossbred steer in the same pen. The 4 averaged almost as much daily gain as the crossbred. I'm sure two of them did or might of beat the crossbred. They weighed 1,200-1,350 when slaughtered. I tended to slaughter those I fed with a tad less finish than most feed yards. The meat was tender and a little leaner than the crossbred. The cost of gain wouldn't have been much if any different than the good crossbred. These cattle had muscle and good bone. Not the chicken bone you see on many. The frame size would of been 5-6 on their mothers and around a 6 on their sire. I called the next year and someone who had purchased what she didn't sell me and a few others the previous year for roping cattle had spoke for all of them to feed, slaughter and sell the meat from. Then I quit roping so basically lost touch. Although as I stated I have been told her herd and the other I knew who she shared bulls with have both been dispersed. So not sure where a person would find the good beef type LH now.

there are seven families in Texas Longhorn and I believe that you are talking about Peeler type longhorn which is beefier than other families and they weren't selected for horn sizeness. Big framed cattle that can wean off big calves.

That could very well be correct. It has been so long I can't rightfully remember. I know the horns weren't as long even on the herd sires. They tended to have a large base but not as much length. I knew this couples daughter from rodeoing. She ran barrels. I had heard about the quality but was surprised the first time I saw them. Still didn't expect the growthiness that they exhibited the first time I bought some from her. By far the best LH's I have seen anywhere.