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Post by magnumwheelman on Dec 6, 2022 12:16:29 GMT -5
we had been wanting to start with some cattle, for a while... I'm starting to get enough pasture fenced up for our sheep rotation, so we started this fall... I wanted a bull, from the Scottish Highland breed ( for so many reasons ) anyway, we ended up committing on this calf... he's quite an exotic brindle color, more brilliant than any I've seen... here he's about 5 months old, with MRS feeding him some animal crackers... his name is Wooly Bully   We are intending to cross breed to get "Highbred vigor" ( grow bigger & faster than either parent ) with some red Dexter Cows we just bought our Dexters, & they haven't been delivered yet, but to start with, One red Dexter cow, with her bull calf, a little younger than "Wooly", we're going to make him a steer, & hope to butcher him next fall, & will likely get a 2nd Red Dexter heifer or young cow from the same local source... then let nature take it's course... anyone here play with Scottish Highland or Dexter cattle |
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Post by bula on Dec 6, 2022 12:22:31 GMT -5
Not having a farm background, I stopped at Labrador retrievers. But that little beast is some kinda cute ! My wife would want one or twelve. Growing up she had chickens and rabbits and her brother had Angus. Think you are being wise.
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Post by clintsfolly on Dec 6, 2022 12:59:32 GMT -5
Remember the highlands are cold weather critters! They need shade in the summer time. My buddy had them and in time of high heat he would find them in the pond swimming/ wading.
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Post by magnumwheelman on Dec 6, 2022 13:18:58 GMT -5
yep, we live in Minnesota, most of my pastures have at least a few trees... both the Highland & Dexter sources we got ours from, are outside, unsheltered all year long... heat of the summer cold of the winter
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Post by bigbrowndog on Dec 6, 2022 14:43:38 GMT -5
Very cool little bull, when I hunted Scotland they were all over. The BnB I stayed in on Loch Ness had a big brass or bronze memorial to one.
Trapr
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Post by kevshell on Dec 6, 2022 15:25:42 GMT -5
Exactly what my wife wants.
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Post by magnumwheelman on Dec 6, 2022 15:34:26 GMT -5
so the Scottish Highland, are a little smaller breed ( this one is just a baby )
the Dexters are supposed to be one of the smallest, but the ones this guy had were pretty big ( not mini's ) the bull must have gone about 1800 - 2000 lbs... cows around 1500 lbs... the father of our little Highland bull calf, probably went around 2500 lbs... but he was a 7 year old bull
I'm hoping our butcher cattle will be between 1500 - 1800 lbs at about 2 years
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Post by simple45 on Dec 6, 2022 15:34:30 GMT -5
I raise highland cattle pure bred no mix. you made an excellent choice. they are serious foragers. Very very hardy. they will swim for sure I fenced my ponds off due to it but that’s pretty common for cattle in the summer. Be aware they are slow growers but they calve young and have small calves. I actually just had a calf born a month ago a bull. if your use to angus their short. can’t think of anything bad to say about them. easy on pasture will eat most anything drink about ten gallons of water per day per head. My bull is three now and still not fully grown. been breeding since around 18 months. Very docile breed. No the cold ice snow doesn’t bother them in the least. enjoy
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Post by kings6 on Dec 6, 2022 17:49:48 GMT -5
I had highland cows for many years and crossed them with lowline angus bulls and hit great calves. I switched to grass finished and changed my entire calving and butchering schedule once I switched to grass finished. Since you want grass finished animals to be gaining weight when they are butchered I switched to lard June butcher dates and waited until until the cattle where either two of three years old. I also switched to calving in May or June so the mommas had great grass feed when they birthed their calves. Doubt you will get beeves the size you listed with the Dexter Highland cross but you sure will get great beef!
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Post by clintsfolly on Dec 6, 2022 19:51:17 GMT -5
My Dad raised Holstein/Angus cross with a few full blood Holstein now and then. The most of them came home hours old and we bottle fed them till we weaned them. After weaning they got a quart of ground feed and all the hay/ grass in season and water they could drink. Salt and mineral lick was free range. The crossed animals would finish out at 24-26 months and the full blood Holstein in 28-30 months. The last years he had cows a local butcher shop bought all his sale animals for high dollar that week.
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Post by gunsbam45 on Dec 7, 2022 21:01:42 GMT -5
Charlie Goodnight got a little ahead of you on the breeding program, but show us what you come up with.
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JM
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,428
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Post by JM on Dec 8, 2022 19:14:21 GMT -5
...his name is Wooly Bully... That's a fine name! |
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pete
.30 Stingray
Posts: 237
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Post by pete on Dec 12, 2022 1:51:47 GMT -5
He's a handsome little fella
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Post by magnumwheelman on Dec 23, 2022 16:23:24 GMT -5
Just came in from an hour out in the blizzard, from doing chores… lil Wooly Bully looked like a bison in the mountains of Yellowstone… but, he’s smart boy, standing behind and right up against one of the grain bins… 40-50 mph winds, and 50 below windchills… the sheep and the calf all looked good… had to break the ice cap on all the heated waterers, the surface was freezing in the brutal winds… gave the sheep some whole corn for energy to weather the storm, Wooly Bully got several hand fulls of animal cookies just because, and everyone got fresh hay, that wasn’t covered in snow…
This is a big and dangerous storm, you all be careful out there… nothing is really worth getting trapped out there
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