Longhorns to keep or not to keep.

Sabrina67 · #1 04/09/08, 08:30 PM

I was wondering if anyone can give me information about Longhorn cattle. We bought two heifers at a sale a couple of weeks ago and I am undecided about keeping them. I have never had longhorns before and have no idea what to expect. Right now they are a little skittish, actually if you were to chase them they would be very skittish. But when you take their feed to them you can sit on a bucket and they will come almost within reach and eat. They are about 500 lbs right now and have started nice horns.
Are these cows very calm? Are they hard to manage? Hard on fences? If a cow is this big can you still calm it down so it will not be so afraid .
I know this is alot of questions but I have had a couple of offers on these girls and I really am torn between keeping or selling them. Any help would be appreciated.

GrannyG · #2 04/09/08, 09:38 PM

They are great on fences..do not touch them, just go right over them..LOL..we only have one, a huge steer, Hombre. He is very intelligent, docile, eats biscuits each morning or a piece of bread for a treat. They are very hardy animals,he weights 2010 pounds or more, horns are 56 inches across. Work with them and they will gentle down.

**gone-a-milkin** · #3 04/10/08, 09:17 AM

I agree they are great on fences! They can use those horns just as well to daintily lift the hotwire and skip underneath it.

I would not describe the breed as 'very calm' though. Are you thinking of breeding them? True that they are very 'hardy'.

unioncreek · #4 04/10/08, 09:30 AM

I have a couple of longhorn cows and their not that hard on fences. Never had one get out and they make sure they keep their distance from the electric fence. They do graze under the fence and occasionally hit it with their horns, but don't get shocked. They are good for cleaning up brush and clearing a pasture of weeds, kind of like a goat is. Their meat nutritionally is better than chicken and I've never had one that is tough. They have a lot more character that the other breeds and can be a little skittish until they get to know you. Mine will eat out of your hand. They are good at keeping dogs, coyotes and other animals out of the pasture that don't belong.

Bob

Reptyle · #5 04/10/08, 09:56 AM

Interesting article on Longhorns:

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/c...texaslonghorn/

Sabrina67 · #6 04/10/08, 10:09 AM

We have a Jersey a little younger than them and were thinking of maybe breeding them , but I am really not so sure. I do worry that they are more cow than we need. So far they have gotten out of the field we had them in when they first came. It was 6 strands of barbed wire and it was like they were going through feathers...they never flinched. Now they are behind hotwire , several strands, and have gotten out once there too. I guess my husband is right..I just hate to let an animal leave once it gets here...*sigh* I have the opportunity to make money off them, but hate to sell them if they are a good thing. Thanks again for all your help.

unioncreek · #7 04/10/08, 10:53 AM

If you have a corral to put them in do that until they settle down and get familar with you.

Bob

jode · #8 04/10/08, 04:37 PM

If you are new to cattle and expect a close relationship, I'd sell them and use the $$ to buy a younger longhorn to start them out right. You can spend a little on a young one and have a puppydog or you can spend hours/days/months/years trying on an older one and still have one that only half trusts you. If you value your time at all, just start out right. A longhorn is a big animal with potentially deadly horns and wouldn't you rather just start out with one that likes you? I have 2 LH bulls I am getting rid of right now because they are too wild and I have two yearling heifers that I think I may get rid of too. The difference between them and the young Brown swiss we started with just after weaning is amazing. The LHs will come close enough to sniff me, then run off and the BS will let me rub her and lead her. Unless you just want a pasture cow that has to be worked through a squeeze chute for things as simple as spraying for flies, do yourself a favor and get rid of them.

wr · #9 04/10/08, 05:01 PM

jode, there is much misinformation in your statement. First of all, this person has only had these cattle for a couple of weeks and longhorns do need a bit of time to get things/people figured out. They are not mature by the description so they will calm down and I have had mature, range longhorn cows mellow out to the point where I literally walked out and scratched their backs and applied ivomec at the same time. I don't feel that it is fair to compare a dairy breed and longhorns is a lot like comparing apples and oranges. I've spent most of my life working longhorns and they are a fascinating breed but if you get what you put into them. Ignore them and they will be quite feral but put time into them and they are great.

jerzeygurl · #10 04/11/08, 10:27 AM

I agree with Jode...esp if you plan on getting other cattle as well, those horns can do damage.

They are wonderful to behold, but a pain to manage in real life.

Sabrina67 · #11 04/14/08, 05:21 PM

Well I guess the cows decided for me LOL I went out to get a halter the colt had slipped and they thought I didn't need to be out there.

So...I guess it's off to the sale with these two

I had hoped they would be nicer. Oh well ,we don't have much in them and "a lesson learned is better than a lesson bought "my dad always said.

CatherineE · #12 04/17/08, 01:12 PM

Too bad that the heifers got rough with you, but I understand your concern 100%. However, before you sell them, you might try what we did. Afterall, halter trained LHs would be nicer for you and/or sell for more if you chose not to keep them.

We have a small herd of 11 horned Milking Devons. Most of them arrived in our pastures as young heifers and quickly warmed up to being petted, as long as their noses were in a bucket of feed! There was one adult range cow, though, who really LIKED her independence! I wanted to milk her when she freshened (without contusions), so we built a really strong stanchion, which completely readjusted her attitude without a bit of fuss. Now, she's an absolute dream to work with, believe it or not! We can handle her all over without a single flinch or twitch on her part. We also run the little girls through the stanchion and give them a good brushing, for future reference (that's also allowed us to halter each girl, and attach a drag rope to them). However, if she hadn't mellowed out, she would have been sold or become hamburger.

About the horns, we love them. Yes, cattle know how to use them, and with all the coyotes we have around, I'm glad. Those horns also help dissipate a lot of body heat, which is important in our hot climate. We had the cow's sharp horns clipped and had traditional brass balls put on. I have to say that they look spectacular, and I don't have to worry about those sharp points quite so much any more.

We trained all our cows to the electric fence as soon as they arrived...by placing a bucket of feed just out of reach so that they each got a good healthy zap! None of them will so much as walk over that line when it's lying on the ground now! I thoroughly recommend training all animals on your place to respect electric fences right up front. Don't wait for them to discover that they can sneak underneath...help them get heartily zapped early on and then they'll leave that fence alone!

One last note...though I've never worked with Long Horns, I did research them when we were trying to decide on our breed. I ran across one lady somewhere in Texas that actually trains her LHs to be riding cattle!!! She saddles up and says they give her a smoother, more secure ride than any horse!!!

Sabrina67 · #13 04/17/08, 01:43 PM

I wish I was strong enough to try , but we have had them 2 months and have messed with them every day. The bigger one just seems not to like people. She is getting more aggressive as she gets more comfortable. The neighbors have children whose balls get into the field and they go in and get them. (even though we have asked them not to ) so I am afraid they might get hurt also. I know I am a worry wart

I agree totally with th electric fence theory. We have electric as our main fencing, It seems to work well, even the LH know. The first day she stretched out her nose and ZAP. Never again..lol she gives the whole line a wide berth.
I can't imagine riding them , I wont tell my ds as he loves to ride anything you can saddle up.
On a good note I am pretty sure we have sold them for a small profit and I should have enough money to buy a milk cow

That is what I really want . That way she can have a calf for our meat and I can have milk. win/win.
Thanks so much for posting , everyone has been so much help on here. Makes things so much easier to have people with another view be so helpful.

jerzeygurl · #14 04/18/08, 03:13 PM

I have one that will eat out of my hand, one that wont come near me, and one that will eat out of my hand while threatening to kill me.

got all three at the same time....

wr · #15 04/18/08, 03:40 PM

I've raised longhorns for many years and feel their behavior depends on consistent handling and the amount of time spent with them. With time and effort, I've had mature longhorn range cows become placid and easy to work with but I've also found that in assembling a herd of longhorn cows from various previous owners, you will find their personality changes/develops as the develop a new social order. It is also worth mentioning that they learn quite quickly that they must respect humans if you enforce the rule. Mine were never allowed to drop a horn or make any menacing movements and if they did, they were quickly rewarded with a sharp smack from a stock whip immediately. If they find that a human will back down if they offer a minor sign of agression, things will escalate.

CatherineE · #16 04/18/08, 05:32 PM

Sabrina: Never ever think of yourself as "not strong enough"! You took on raising children and big animals, which speaks worlds about your courage! lol. I think you've probably made the perfect choice for your family and your situation! Wow, I would be pretty freaked about neighbor kids jumping the fence, too! (can you ask, in writing, that they either put up a net to keep balls on their side, call you to get the ball, or enter your pasture at their own risk?) The fact that you have been able to sell the two LHs, AND make a bit of profit, is great! The fact that you've since been able to buy a milk cow with the money, which is what you REALLY wanted, is even better! Woohoo! That is soo awesome! NOW you can tell your DS about riding cows...and let him know he can train either the new milk cow, or her heifer calf! Congratulations!!!

Sabrina67 · #17 04/18/08, 06:55 PM

Thanks . We loaded the LH today and it was our own rodeo, The biggest one REFUSED to trailer. My Ds had put them in the round pen last nite so I thought it was in the bag....The guy who came to load them left a gap by the trailer door. We told him that if they could get even half a eyelash out, they would be gone. her says " I load a thousand cows a month , I know how to load cows" as he was saying it the biggest grumpiest cow slid out the hole and was gone...running across the field. We had to take over an hour to get her back up.Meanwhile he was standing there looking at teh hay crimper and anything else but the cow. GRRR So.. at least they are off to a different home.
Bad news, the guy I was supposed to get the milk cow from backed out.

so I am back to square one on that. There is a sale on Wed, so off I go. We did drive around the Amish farms today. They sometimes sell hand milkable cows. And I have to call a guy froma small family dairy tonight. Wish me luck.
Catherine, I will tell my DS about the riding cows now that they are gone...LOL I waited till they were totally gone even the truck out of sight

I still think that is amazing.
I feel bad for him sometimes because he really doesnt like the animals NEAR as much as I do. And after the horse kicked him last summer, he likes them even less.
wr, You are so right the smaller one seemed like she wanted to be friendly, but the other one was just mean. When the littler one would try to sniff you, she would horn her. And I sure noticed that if they felt you were intimidated they would take advantage. I went in the field and turned my back to walk away(big mistake) that is when she ran after me shaking her head. I yelled and whacked her with the whip.But she was still standing with her head down. They do have diferent personalities for sure. And I should know better than to turn my back anyway.

jode · #18 04/18/08, 09:53 PM

[QUOTE=wr;3006124]jode, there is much misinformation in your statement. [QUOTE]

Sorry about that. I tried to tell most of it as an opinion, and I stand by my opinion that it is easier to start a cow young than to try to tame an older one. Yes it can be done, but it takes more time. Anyway, to each his own, and I prefer to raise them from youth rather than to fight them.