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Author Topic: highland cattle  (Read 13598 times)

shetlandpaul

  • Joined Oct 2008
highland cattle
« on: July 18, 2009, 08:02:23 pm »
any info please. i have chance of buying some what are they like. the wife says they are friendly but they look like hairly killers to me.

The Chicken Lady

  • Joined Mar 2008
  • Cheshire
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2009, 08:05:51 pm »
I have 4. They are lovely. Depends if they are used to being handled. Mine don't like strangers at first but once they know you are friendly they are OK. They would not attack. They are more likely to run away from you. They don't like dogs!
Karen

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2009, 08:40:36 pm »
Why not get Shetland cattle, shetlandpaul? That's what I would have if I was getting cattle. They have horns, but little dinky horns.

shetlandpaul

  • Joined Oct 2008
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2009, 09:24:28 am »
we were wanting to keep them out. Shetland cows end up being in for about 6 months.we really don't have a cow shed just an old byre which was used for Shetland cows. but it really is not suitable.

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2009, 12:22:39 pm »
I know a family who have Highland cows both must be about 7 years old now and they are the family pets  :cow:

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2009, 01:20:06 pm »
Hubby worked with highlanders for a while and loves them - just big cuddly teddy bears according to him. The ones he looked after had been used to seeing quite a few people, but even Hamish the bull was very placid and liked being petted.
I suppose it just depends on their nature - go and see them, suss out what they're like and take it from there. But they're definately NOT hairy killers  ;)
On a more practical (?) note, the meat is rumoured to be very nice - quite gamey with a nice marbling of fat (if that makes the prospect of keeping them any more appealing)
They're on my wish list - as soon as I have spare (LOL! ;)) cash !
Go on, get them & tell us all about it (making me VERY jealous in the process)  ;D

Tullywood Farm

  • Guest
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2009, 12:19:20 am »
Hi,

I would love to keep Highland cattle, I have a good friend that keeps about 20 and they have NO problems at all with them.
I have been in the fields with them loads of times and they would only see me once or twice a month with no problems at all.
I would recommend that you be extra carefull around them as you could easily get hit by a Horn when inside small spaces BUT I would have to say that it would be by accident with the animals I have seen.
NOW on a more serious note IF they did decide to have a go then you would need to be able to get well out of the way, But this is the case for all animals.(Just these have very long horns)
I hope if you get some you post pictures
Kindest regards
Joe

MM

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2009, 09:43:32 am »
I was brought up around Highland cattle and found like any other animal, if kindly handled regularly they were the most gentle of beasts.
As for the meat, wonderful. Dark, flavoursome and well marbled with fat. The meat tasted even better if the cattle had access to the heather clad hills but I expect they found all sorts of herbage up there.

Bodger

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2009, 09:16:18 am »
I was accidentally spiked by an English Longhorn when it got over enthusiastic as I was putting silage down for it. It ripped through the back of my wax proof and left a nice red wead up the centre of my back. I think that I was very lucky indeed.

I've not kept Highland cattle but would urge any new comer to cattle keeping to consider a polled breed ( hornless) especially if you intend housing them in the winter.
The other thing to consider, is that you will need to medicate them from time to time and that the designers of cattle crushes havent fully taken cows with humungus sets of horns into consideration.

Do as I say though and not do as I do. My first cattle were the English Longhorn, so I do speak with some experience of dealing with long horned cattle. I found the dexters that i had later far easier to deal with. There carcasses were also far more freezer friendly but then thats another story.

Hardfeather

  • Guest
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2009, 09:06:19 pm »
I have to work with Highland cattle at work, but they are very seldom handled and, as a consequence, are more like wild animals than domestic cows.

Kept this way they can be very dangerous, especially with calves at foot. They tend to react as a herd to any perceived danger to their calves, and must be treated with much respect. A newly calved cow will be protected by all the other cows in the herd.

They have trouble seeing with all that facial hair, and can be very reactive in close confines. We have a handling system which was designed for them, with a head yoke, which helps, but they are very fast with their heads/horns and can easily cause injury if handled by inexperienced persons. At times they have to be haltered for such things as tests and bolus administration, and at such times they can get very het up.

I always work very quietly with them, but they have this habit of swirling round in the pens, getting their horns locked in the process, and are often difficult to move through the race effectively. Like wild oxen, they always have the calves within the protective ring of flesh and horns. We had a chap helping us once who was very quick off the mark and inclined to dart around harassing them, and they would just crash through fences and flatten gates if not allowed to see their way............you can't put too much pressure on them when moving them around.

Last week they had to come in for the bull to be drawn off as he was going on a working holiday to another fold. Despite the fact that nothing had changed since their last time in, they were very reluctant to go into the holding pen. The bull was nearest to me, with the cows behind him so they had to go in first. As they moved away from him, the bull turned and leapt right through the rylock and rail fence into a pony paddock, wrecking the fence in the process, then wouldn't take his eyes off me long enough to see his way out of the gate I'd opened for him.

I pushed the cows up the race, leaving the pen free for the bull, and went through the gap in the fence to turn him toward the gate but, as he raised his head and swung his quarters away from me, I got the feeling he was too dangerous to approach in the open. I stood off and let him have a look and he drew back to the cows and entered the pen. However, when I opened the gate to go into the pen to move him into the next area where I could load him into the trailer, I knew he was not for complying.

My boss had appeared on the scene by now and enquired why I was outside the pen trying to encourage him to move. By now I had a hazel stick in my hand and, as I climbed onto the gate to tap his nose with it, he dropped his head and charged me. He was incredibly quick as he covered the eight or ten feet between us, blowing and snorting and, as I jumped off the gate, his horns came right through the gaps, coming to within a few inches of my groin/lower torso as he rattled the gate with his head.

As he backed up, thinking he may have another go, I cracked him on the skull with the stick and he turned and ran right up the race, so he knew where he was going right from the start.

He is a young bull, and has been handled before by dint of a ring in his nose, but he has reverted to his wild state through lack of handling. It's now very difficult to get hold of the ring as he is so quick with his head.

Another aspect is their behaviour with young calves. The very young calves lie prone and often hidden in a clump of nettles, or alongside a fence, and the cows can be quite a distance away from them at times. It's often many days before you'll actually see them being suckled as the cows seem to feed them in the early morning and late in the day, ignoring them between times. Go in to inspect the calf, though, and it will 'clap' like a deer calf, relying on its ability to remain undetected. Great care is needed then as the mother and other adult females will be quickly making in toward you like Spanish bulls spoiling for a fight.

I have worked with cattle for many years, dairy and beef, without any incident, but these Highlanders are very different. They can be very placid and easily handled if they are started off right and frequently worked with, but they can be extremely dangerous otherwise.

I have no wish to put anyone off keeping heilan coos, but I feel it's important for novices to know the potential dangers.  ;)

« Last Edit: September 06, 2009, 09:12:45 pm by AengusOg »

Leri

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Trefriw, near Llanrwst, Conwy
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2011, 12:22:20 pm »
We have highland cattle - they are beautiful and docile :-) (if handled and halter trained)
Did you get some? How did you get on?

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2011, 09:12:42 am »
Why not get Shetland cattle, shetlandpaul? That's what I would have if I was getting cattle. They have horns, but little dinky horns.

i suppose there is an optimum length for attack, lol , im looking forward til my shetties horns have at least turned forward and away from my face  :o

do all abattoirs take with their horns, or is there an horn size/ age limit?
« Last Edit: July 15, 2011, 09:15:32 am by princesspiggy »

Hermit

  • Joined Feb 2010
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #12 on: July 15, 2011, 11:13:13 am »
Ask Mrs Laird she used to keep them.
 Why dont you get Shetlands on from your next door neighbour in return get half a side ? A lot easier than buying, treatments and handling responsibilities. We have nothing to do with the cows on our land but get beef in return for grazing, simple. If you want your own and dont have buildings then why not buy in Spring to fatten up and then get the butchers to collect in Autumn, they take them away and to slaughter for you, dont think you can do that with Highlands though as they mature longer I believe. Also as said check with the slaughter house and see if they take them, the new one being built may but the old one may not.There are only a few Highlands up here for a reason and thats why he may be selling at this time of year. I would ask our cattle neighbours for advice on Highlands, they will advise on what can be kept on your place esecially E as he has lots of breeds, he is also a slaughterman and a cattle transporter. If he cant help you no one can.

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #13 on: July 15, 2011, 08:54:10 pm »
we were wanting to keep them out. Shetland cows end up being in for about 6 months.we really don't have a cow shed just an old byre which was used for Shetland cows. but it really is not suitable.

obviously i dont live on shetland so i dont know ur weather but my shetties lived out all winter on jusy haylage and did very well. they just had free access to a stable which they used at night but they were away all day.   ;) :)

shetlandpaul

  • Joined Oct 2008
Re: highland cattle
« Reply #14 on: July 17, 2011, 09:20:37 am »
thanks hermit the question was posted two years ago. untill the shetland pony numbers drop there is no space for anything. as we told you we are thinking of trying a couple of veal calves. but even that is not in the near future
princess you really can't keep them out up here.mainly because they damage the ground. Shetlands were always kept in over winter by the crofters they did not do stuff for fun.

 

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