Scottish highland cattle size

I just called the taxidermist around here and he is going to send our hide away to be tanned. He said to expect between 3 to 4 hundred dollars. It's a 2 year old white steer and the hair is very long so I may keep it or I may see what it brings on ebay.

Here is an adult.

Nice looking dun there!

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!

I have a question for all you highland people, how do they do with heat?

I have always loved the look of them but we are moving to south eastern Georgia and its hot hot HOT there, would the poor fur covered beasty just melt away or would it be like a long haired dog and just get use to it?

I am bringing the mister around to the idea that soon after the move we will be getting a couple of cows, a jersey is a must but a highland is close in the running as I am short so the cows better be to

We are in south central KY, ours do just fine in the summer heat. I would say there would be a couple-three things that you should do however if you are wanting to go with Highlands. You should have some form of shelter for them to get into when they want, such as a barn area or 3-sided shed thats open on the one side so they get in and out. You dont have to put them up in the winter, but this shelter area will be useful for them in both the summer heat and the winter cold (if you ever get any in that part of GA). A pond or year-round creek that they can access is something you really should have too....gives them water and also somewhere they can hang out to cool off. Trees are a good thing too, since that serves the purpose of providing an airy place that has shade....and also, Highlands like most cattle LOVE to scratch themselves on anything and everything. A few good sized trees come in handy that way too.

Highlands, depending on the bloodlines, tend to be smaller than your average cattle breed. Unless the breeder that you get some from is trying to breed cow-zillas or something. Ours are closer to the smaller end of the average scale, or a more traditional size if you will.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!

Oh, and DONT EVER give in to the temptation to de-horn a Highland. It makes them look funny, and its part of their natural cooling system.

If the horns on a Highland scare you, it would be best to go for a different breed rather than dehorn one. JMHO.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!

I find that when it is hot they will drop their long hair and nature will give them a much shorter coat for the summers. I just love Highlands.
They are SO smart. In fact my old herd boss just kept the other 29 off them away from me while I was filling a tipped over water trough for half an hour!
But yes a stream is best as it is all year round and so much easier.
I find our Highlands never use the shelter but instead hang out in the forest
for pretty much everything, the sun, the wind, the cold.
Just make sure you do a walk through first and break off the branches at eye level, as although they will do this for you, and they do have long bangs,
best not to take the chance of any eye injuries. Yup, five years later and not one health problem or injury or birthing problem. Love them!
ALso, for those of you who eat meat, The Heart Assoc. says that Highland meat is the healthiest meat to eat partly due to the fact that because of the long hair they don't have to 'grow fat' in the winters to keep warm and so very low in cholesterol.

My Dexter bull bred two Highlands. One was big, about 1000#, and mean. The other was smaller, about 900#, and nicer.

The calves were as sweet natured as you please, and much smaller.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

Thank you all for your very interesting info! I keep coming back to this breed in my research. DH has decided to be an Angus man-got himself 3 bred hiefers - but, alas, what would another 2 hurt sometime in the future? Even if they look a tad different and have horns?

If she's like Big Mama from the picture two posts ago, she can hurt your Angus cattle. Big Mama put too many holes in the hide of her owner's prize red Angus, so she went.

Maybe you could consider putting some of those balls on her horns, so she can't do as much damage. Her horns are going to be long and sharp. It's typical of the breed.

If she's like Little Mama, the nice Highland, then the horns will be no problem.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

Highlands and Angus cross very nicely....and the horns are recessive, so for example since your DH got some angus bred heifers.....maybe a Highland bull to use on them for the next time around? Your resulting calves would be polled. And Highland bulls, in our experience anyways so far, tend to be a lot more mellower than what I have heard about other types of bulls. And they dont usually end up near as huge in size either....a Highland bull in breeding condition will on average top out around 1800 pounds.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!