Highlander people: breeding smaller heifers

anvoj · #1 05/25/10, 07:24 AM

Hi
We're new to highlanders. We've got a smaller heifer, coming on 2 this June and would like to breed her for a May calf in 2011. I don't think she's abnormal, just from smaller bloodlines, and it could be that she'll gain good this summer and grow to normal size. She's healthy and sound. I don't mind her being small (and eating less hay over winter), just don't want to set her back overall by breeding too early. Thought about putting her with a dexter for the first calf, to go easy on her in case she doesn't grow a lot over the next year.

What do you guys do about smaller stock? Any advice? Wait a year? Go for it?

In general, do you think breeding them early affects more than just their size (lifespan, overall health, etc)?

thanks in advance

genebo · #2 05/25/10, 09:36 AM

Two years old isn't early for breeding. Even the slowest maturing breeds don't wait longer than that for breeding.

If she's from small bloodlines, then it's in her genes to make smaller offspring. Check to see if her line makes small calves.

Dexters generally make small calves, so a first calf by a Dexter bull known to throw small calves would ease her first calving. Two very nice heifers were the result of breeding a gentle Dexter bull to two mean Highlander cows. Little sweethearts.

Highland beef is reputed to be very tasty, and Dexter beef has won taste competitions, so the calf you get by crossing these two should certainly be welcome as potential beef.

You would breed her at the end of July or first of August for a May 2011 delivery. She'll be two months older then than she is now. Waiting too much longer can lead to other problems. Older heifers aren't as easy to settle.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

lonelyfarmgirl · #3 05/25/10, 10:17 AM

we have some big highlands and some small ones. as a general rule, the breed throws small calves. our biggest cows only calved with 40 pounders this year. we are getting rid of our smallers cows though. they dont serve our purposes.

decide when you want her to calve, and get her bred asap. we usually breed by 16 months at the latest. we want ours calving at 2 years old.

I do not believe early breeding affects their growth. If they are fed right, then they will be ready for breeding when their bodies are ready. especially highlands with thier untainted genetics.

breeding her with something small wouldnt hurt for the first time, but remember, the baby wont grow up to be big. If you are ok with that, then dont be afraid to use a dexter.

crowinghen · #4 05/25/10, 12:16 PM

I would definitely go with a dexter or a Lowline would be an even better cross IMO.
I bought a small cow at the sales barn last year, I didn't know she was pregnant. I called the guy who sold her just to get some info about her... turns out she was bred to his Highland bull... I had the Vet on standby, because she was such a small cow-- (40 inches tall or so?) anyway she had a bull calf, everything went okay, but his head and shoulders were SO thick and chunky .. i felt like we dodged a bullet.

susie

anvoj · #5 05/25/10, 06:39 PM

Thanks for the responses. It's probably not a big deal.
crowinghen:
Do you have experience with lowline crosses? They're more of a mini breed, right? I'd be a little nervous there'd be some BIG angus genes in there that could be expressed and cause problems.

crowinghen · #6 05/26/10, 07:35 PM

Yes I have experience with lowlines crosses. I get my cows bred AI so I have used Lowline semen on

a hereford heifer ( full size)
a murray gray heifer, and again when she was a cow
a Dexter heifer,
a small black-white faced cross cow

I have been very happy with the easy births and the vigor of the calves-- they are up and nursing in no time flat. Every summer our grass goes dormant in the heat, so we calve in March, then are able to butcher the following June or July with nicely finished beefs. Delicious.
Lowlines are not a mini breed per se, they are Angus cows that were smaller in size, part of a study done in Australia, i think. They are not big cows crossed with small ones.
here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowline_cattle
hope that helps

susie
I'll get some pictures to post in a sec

crowinghen · #7 05/26/10, 07:42 PM

My black-white face cow with her half Lowline heifer, this year
Highlander people: breeding smaller heifers - Cattle

My Dexter cow with her first calf, a lowline cross, up and nursing within minutes
Highlander people: breeding smaller heifers - Cattle

last year BWF's calf-- half highland

just wanted to share

susie

lonelyfarmgirl · #8 05/26/10, 08:17 PM

your little cross breed looks almost just like our purebreds, except ours has longer hair.

genebo · #9 05/26/10, 09:36 PM

Here's a Highland cow with a Dexter/Highland calf:

Highlander people: breeding smaller heifers - Cattle

Genebo
Paradise Farm

crowinghen · #10 05/26/10, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonelyfarmgirl

your little cross breed looks almost just like our purebreds, except ours has longer hair.

If you look closely, in the picture of the BWF cow and this year's calf, you can see the cross in the background. He never got very tall, when we buthcered him at 13 months he was almost 400 pounds hanging weight. very tastey too.
oh we butchered him because my hubby missed a nut with the bander and he was very much acting like a bull.

susie

anvoj · #11 05/26/10, 10:27 PM

Genebo, your dexter cross looks exactly like my uncle's beltie x highland cross- with the dark around his eyes, toward the hooves and the tip of his tail.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
I asked the same question on another board (sorry for moonlighting) and several people said that if you don't settle them by 2 it can be hard to do so going forward. Anybody know anything about that? True? False?
I saw a highland heifer at a petting zoo last year that was about 15 I think. I swear she was the size of a holstien. I could hardly believe how big she was.

crowinghen · #12 05/28/10, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anvoj

Genebo, your dexter cross looks exactly like my uncle's beltie x highland cross- with the dark around his eyes, toward the hooves and the tip of his tail.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
I asked the same question on another board (sorry for moonlighting) and several people said that if you don't settle them by 2 it can be hard to do so going forward. Anybody know anything about that? True? False?
I saw a highland heifer at a petting zoo last year that was about 15 I think. I swear she was the size of a holstien. I could hardly believe how big she was.

I would say it depends on the cow, as far as settling by age 2. If the cow is too fat maybe it would be less likely to conceive, and have more troubles... I bred my Dexter cow at around age 2 ( not really sure of her age) but she was at least 2, and she did not have any problems, and it was her first breeding. I don't see any point in waiting, but if she hasn't been bred by two I wouldn't automatically assume she will have problems settling.
Now if she's been in a pasture with a bull and she's two years old, and not pregnant I'd say there is a problem.

Susie

SpaceCadet12364 · #13 05/30/10, 07:23 PM

Yes, if you wait too long with a heifer, you run the risk of them packing on too much weight and then conception will be difficult if not impossible.

We had one of our highland heifers, that after numerous breedings (with witnesses no less) nothing ever took. When she went to freezer camp. she was somewhere around 4 years old. Some VERY fatty meat, between the processors and our vet's opinion that is likely why she did not conceive. She was full into prepping mode to have a calf by packing on some weight (and we pretty much just grass feed ours) but with no calf to help use up some of that weight it kept accumulating.