Highland Cattle Info

Sford13 · #1 06/27/14, 11:56 AM

Ok I have been looking into getting a couple highland cattle. I think that we are going to pick up a couple heifers this fall. They are this years calves and will be weaned by then.

What I am looking for is people that have highlands now. What are some of the things you know now you wish you knew going into it. I have had goats, pigs, ducks, turkeys, and of course chickens. And I have an associates degree in agriculture but this will be my first time raising and caring for cattle.

Just looking for advice as a newbie coming into it. That way as I start to build fences and everything to prepare I can do it with confidence.

nosqrls · #2 06/27/14, 04:02 PM

Just make sure you deal with a reputable breeder. And not buying someones outcast. If buying don't pay registered prices for unregistered. Any animal over 2yo has to be dna tested to be reg. along with sire and dam. all bulls have to be dna tested. This all came about because a few breeders thought they could pull a fast one. Be willing to drive a distance for a unrelated bull. Dun bulls can throw any color ours has 6 of the 7 solid colors. If you keep your own bull make sure he can be handled you don't want him if he is mean. I have seen up to 64 inch horn spread tip to tip and 1800lbs behind it. There are 2 highland cattle face book pages. I know of 2 breeders banned from the AHCA (American Highland Cattle Association). I have sold to breeders in Texas,Penn., Ohio, Ind., KY., Tenn. ,W va., Va., S.C., and I live in Ky. Forget Barbwire they will rub(scratch) on bardwire. Electric, they need shade and a wind break and a good source of water. Contact nearby breeders and go look at what they are doing. As for hay rings tombstomb style (horses) or the pvc one with large openning. this just some of the stuff I can think of. Good luck with your fold of fuzzy coo's.

haypoint · #3 06/27/14, 08:05 PM

Highlands were more popular 20 years ago, around here. I have a friend that raised a few. I read about them in Rodale's magazine, Farm, 40 years ago. I know that contrary to promotions, they do not thrive on weeds, brush and poor pasture.
I have seen those that give up on raising Highlands take a licking at the livestock sale barns. They never bring much money.
But if you like how they look and won't ever sell any, they are interesting additions to the pasture, if you can't afford Yaks

WildRoots · #4 06/27/14, 11:26 PM

I know a few people that have them and love them. I have two highland crosses. One with jersey the other Simmental. The highlander jersey cross dropped a beautiful bull calf, gives tons of milk and she's a easy keeper. Plus it looked like the calf has her long hair. A bonus for the winter. Every breed has it's good and bad. To each their own.

Wild Roots Farms Pompey, NY.

Patchouli · #5 06/27/14, 11:38 PM

They can jump like deer.

They are great cows. Excellent beef and good mothers and they are easy calvers. Ours were browsers compared to our other cattle and they do like weeds and bushes. They thrive on poorer pasture than the average beef breed. They are more stand offish until they get to know you. Get some that have been well handled or have very secure fencing for when you bring them home.

Their beef sells at a premium price in the grassfed market. Obviously taking them to the sale barn is not the way to sell a specialty breed. The sale barn buyer just wants the cow of the year which would be mainly Angus or Hereford or their crosses.

The horns are not just ornamental and they can create some logistics issues. They are also smart cows and they can use their horns to do things like lift a gate off it's hinges. I agree that electric wire is a good idea.

Spamela · #6 06/28/14, 05:25 AM

All I can say is... highland calves are the cutest calves on the face of the earth.

Tex- · #7 06/28/14, 05:44 AM

I am not a fan of them at all and for every positive someone can name, I can name a negative. Each breed has their own good and bad points though, so I am probably not the guys who's opinion you would want. Just be sure that you buy some that have been handled and are easy going. Those horns can and will hurt you if you are not careful. As has been stated already, selling through a salebarn is not the place to get the most money. Start thinking of ways to market what your cattle produce and build yourself a brand and reputation.

Tex

ufo_chris · #8 06/28/14, 09:44 PM

The highland bulls I have owned and seen are much much calmer than other bulls .
I will never own any other.
Of course there are always exceptions.
And highlands don't usually use their horns in a bad way. I had my first calf dehorned and I will never ever do it again !

Sensiblefarmer · #9 06/29/14, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex-

I am not a fan of them at all and for every positive someone can name, I can name a negative. Each breed has their own good and bad points though, so I am probably not the guys who's opinion you would want. Just be sure that you buy some that have been handled and are easy going. Those horns can and will hurt you if you are not careful. As has been stated already, selling through a salebarn is not the place to get the most money. Start thinking of ways to market what your cattle produce and build yourself a brand and reputation.

Tex

I do like the breed, yet this is very good advice. Any cattle with horns can learn to use them in a bad way, so do not be fooled by general advice to the contrary. They are not the breed for the novice, and everything that you have experience with so far is going to be very different from dealing with cattle, Highlanders even more. Yes, they can jump like deer. I've seen breeders who were afraid to enter a pasture near their cow with a calf, and a bull that should have never been taken out in public at a show. At a minimum I would make sure that the breeder is doing a lot of hands on work with them, and that they can be handled and haltered. You really need to spend some time around some horned cattle to see what it is like. It's completely different from seeing those beautiful animals out in the pasture. I recommed that you pick up a couple of cheap dairy calves and raise them up for at least six months or a year, just to see what it's like working with them. You can even get a few now and get experience over the summer. It's better than going in cold turkey with no experience. Making a mistake with a large goat is able to give you some bruises at worst. Making one with horned cattle may put you in the hospital, or worse.

opportunity · #10 06/29/14, 12:19 PM

I love my highlands but they are not as easy to deal with as other cattle. Mine have jumped 4 foot fences flat footed. They will rub on barbwire. We have had to make our fences much stronger. They will learn how to take gates off if they want to. They are amazing mothers and very strong as herd animals. They do like weeds but can do a real number on the trees that my other cows wouldn't touch. They can learn to move into most any feeder with even the longest horns but they have to learn the heifers always seem to be dumb about it. The bulls are tamer then most others breeds I have had but they can to major damage and most people are very afraid of them. the other issue I have had is that they are not large enough to have babies as a 2 year old so I usually wait to breed them this can be hard as they will want the bull for a long time before they are really big enough. I do get a premium for the meat but I sell it all as whole or half animals to people we know.

nosqrls · #11 07/01/14, 12:49 PM

We had a cow that wanted through gate But I turned the top hinge upside down. So she just folded the bottom of the gate up.I have seen them eat Honey suckle, trumpet vine,Poison ivy( don't pet them after if you are allergic to it) willow tree, green leaves,
iron weed flowers,thistle shoots and flowers.