Highland breeding Question for you Highland Guys!

[ufo_chris]

Hello,
I have a 7 month old Heifer ,a 7 1/2 month bull and my Herd Bull ,their Daddy, all together with their Moms also. I'm wondering when I should seperate the Heifer to not get her pregnant(too young AND Dad and Brother)
I have heard from several people around here that Highlands mature so slowly that you don't have to separate,that they will breed when ready ,at the right time.
Well ,I normally would not believe that but my one cow was with a bull since she was 15 month and did not get pregnant till she was 2 1/2 years old (no cysts or nothing, had her checked).
So what do you Highland Guys say?
Thanks for any info!
Chris

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I say let her be. Highlands are a breed apart. They have not been genetically tampered with like a lot of other breeds have. They DO mature slower and she will cycle when she is naturally ready. Don't expect her to start cycling until the end of her second summer, and she will calve her third year.
We have had highlands for 10 years and that is our primary breed.

Also, don't be afraid to breed her back to dad. That is called line breeding, and the first and second generation crosses tend to bring out the attributes of what you are breeding. However, if they are poor specimens, you might bring out the faults.

[lakeportfarms]

Yes, you have a long time to go for your heifer. Our Highland heifers on calve at 3 to 3-1/2 years old for the first time. I love the breed but I hate the wait!

[ufo_chris]

Thanks Guys! So you are saying you keep yours with the bull even when young and they still don't calve till later ,right?
That's good to know,thanks so much.
Chris

[lonelyfarmgirl]

We never separate our bulls. The only downside is a lot of times we are dealing with winter calving. But it's mostly with the non-highlands.

[KMA1]

Well,

I have been told the same thing a lot of times, but I had a 7.5 month old breed and calve late last summer. She probably would have done all right with the calf, except it had one front leg back. I ended up with a vet call and loosing a calf, but the heifer was ok. She is expecting again. So I have started seperating my heifers.

My experience, but yours may vary.

KMA1

[Rocktown Gal]

I do not separate mine from the bull either. I have several different ages out there in the field. My 3 year olds were bred this year. I believe it will be December babies (if my count is right) that is the only problem with leaving them in with the bull all the time you just have to be ready for calving in every season.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

KMA1, if your heifer was a pure highland, then it was a fluke. It is not normal for them to cycle that young.

[KMA1]

lonelyfarmgirl,

Yes she is 100% highland. I have been told and read that female highlands don't reach sexual maturity before 1.5 years, but like I said, that was my experience. I thought that crosses might also become mature later, so I have crossed a Highland with Black Angus (BA3/4, Herford 1/4). They grow out a lot faster than highlands and tolerate our summers a lot better, but the first heifer I have also bred at 8 months. Still waiting on the results.

KMA1

[lonelyfarmgirl]

Our highland pinzgauer crosses are top notch and they tend to cycle younger than a pure highland. I am very happy with the results we get from crossing.

[SpaceCadet12364]

Yes, they USUALLY don't cycle before about 15 months or so. Key word here is USUALLY.

Are you running registered stock? If not, it wouldn't matter as much for the most part. If you are running registered stock, without referring to the breeders guide, I think it is around 8 months they say its possible for there to be breeding activity, so you would want to only have one bull in with the ladies to save from having to DNA everyone involved to prove a calf's lineage. The other would need to have his own place. If you are thinking of steering the young bull, you could go ahead and have that done, at least you would know who the sire would be if the girls get settled down.

Line breeding can work well, as it was mentioned previously you stand a good chance of bringing out the better attributes, but you don't want to cross the heifer'/new cow's heifer offspring back to their sire/grandsire. More chance of problems, I think, when you do that.

When line breeding doesn't work, it's called in-breeding. I'd imagine the beef would eat the same though.

[KMA1]

Space Cadet,

Yes, usually was the key word. And it cost me a vet call and lost calf. Had she been older and larger, I think that she might have been able to have the calf anyway. But that is history.

No, my highlands are not registered, but are full blooded. I am only interested in beef and fooling around with something not often seen where I am. And I was also read and heard from a number of sources that the highlands could help me clean up some rough pastures.

Saw in your other post you have some different colors. Mine are all black, though 1 cow, and all her calves so far have retained redish brown long hair around their ears and sides of their frock, or whatever the long hair on the forehead is called.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

all black? thats cool/odd I guess. We have black, red blond, red brown, red, blond, brindle, white, chocolate and silver. we started with red browns and later got the rest.