x breeding highlands

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brownmule

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just a thought. looking for your alls input... my highlands are doing great. easy to work with. the only disadvantage is they are slow maturer's.. ive had a hard time keeping the guys away from T bone (our steer) cuz he aint ready yet! LOL next fall we'll butcher him. my question is what would be the best breed to cross w/my highland bull. i want good temperament, and good body.. something that is pretty laid back not looking for trouble.
thanks Rose
 
We've cross bred Highlands with Hereford, Red Angus and Charolais. In our case though it was Highland cows with those three breeds of bulls. All three crosses did well. I don't know what the sales rings are looking for where you live but if I were to do the cross here I would get Red Angus cows. The calves are born without horns so you don't have to de-horn or get docked. The colour here is more popular than Hereford, no one here wants a hairy Hereford. If you like the Highland temperament you will have no problem with the Red Angus. I've found ours really nice and easy to work with.
 
victoria, did it take as long for the X highlands too grow as the pure breeds? basically im looking to increase the size and time some what.. w/out pumping them full of steroids, i am raising for myself and to market a few locally.. i know they would get docked in the sale ring.. apx what is the wt of a herford X highland
i need to get some pics of my herd bull he has really grown this fall/winter. thanks Rose
 
Sorry it took me awhile to get back to you brownmule, we are calving and it is cold so it's keeping me busy!
We've never kept any of our Highland cross steers for freezer beef so I can't answer that directly. We have kept some of the heifers and they are faster growing than a pure Higland but still slower growing than other breeds, you can't make them what they aren't you know what I mean? That said, one fall one of our Highland x Charolais steers was our biggest calf.
I will talk to my mother today about the Highland x Herefords, I was young when we had that cross and don't remember weights. We've kept Highland/Char. and Highland/Red Angus females from the same cow and the Highland/Red Angus matured faster and bigger.
I will get back to you tomorrow with more info.
 
Shorthorns work really well on Highland cows. I think they even have a breed called Luing? that are bred that way. One of my best cows is a HighlandxShorthorn.
 
i like the pure highlands but they are hard to find here.. i had to drive 3 1/2 hours to get the ones i have..but worth the trip..am looking for a few more cows.. i seen some in ad pad the other week. but hay may be an issue at this time..i dont want to bring something in that i know 100% i may not have hay for....when im able to get a few more..(pasture/hay) they maybe scarce again..
i get the rest of the pasture fields fence in apx 40 ac ill feel better..just doing my home work on the possibility's of bring in herdford cows.. any pic that any of you all have the highland X would be great....thanks... rose
 

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