Longhorn cows

[furbearer365]

I've wanted to get a couple (3-4) Longhorns for a while now and have been doing quite a bit of research trying to learn about them. From what I've read, they really seem like the perfect cow. Docile, Hardy, and all around fairly healthy. In fact, from what I've read, most breeders shy away from any shots because they are such a healthy breed. I'm just wanting them for pets, lawn art, and grazers to limit keep my hay fields down. Was just wondering if anyone here has experience with Longhorns and could have some dos and donts..

[KFhunter]

they take special handling considerations, if you want to eat them they're good, hides and horns have some value as well. 

The problem with them is they look good from the sides, but look at them from the front or back and they nearly disappear   

They're also fleet footed (fence jumpers)

the carcasses are narrow and doesn't hold a lot of beef compared to a beef breed that are wide, deep and heavy   


I'd recommend you get *very* docile ones that are hand reared and imprinted on people  ie: bottle baby's if you can find them, especially if you don't have the infrastructure to handle them.

There's other easier breeds to start with

[HUNTIN4SIX]

They don’t give them shots cause they are hard to handle in a standard chute.  In my opinion all cattle should be wormed and vaccinated.  You may have to get a special set up.  They don’t have the best carcass either.  More of a novelty breed. 
All boils down to what yer into.  Some people have a lot of Pomeranians

[KFhunter]

you can't run em in a standard chute or squeeze, they use heavy "gates" to pinch them and it's not a one man operation to use those gate style squeezes, nor are they as restrained as a good squeeze chute...and good luck doing preg checks 

vets are getting real sticky on preg check cages





I recommended a very docile tame herd that's imprinted on humans because you can do most things with a bucket of grain, right out in the pasture and if it's a bit more than that a strong lead rope and tree

[KFhunter]

They have their place, on scrub lands, eating cactus 

[Zardoz]

Very cool looking animals, but,..WOW..

[WapitiTalk1]

Very cool looking animals, but,..WOW..

Agree, they are awesome looking critters.

[AL WORRELLS KID]

furbearer365, Spotting your Herd out in the Field, will be a real head turner!

 https://www.blybooks.com/2021/10/longhorn-cattle/

[Alchase]

Oklahoma has wild long horns in the Wichita Mount game reserve in SW Oklahoma
.they can be quite intimidating when wild, lol

Pretty cool animals though.

[Igottanewknee]

They don’t give them shots cause they are hard to handle in a standard chute.  In my opinion all cattle should be wormed and vaccinated.  You may have to get a special set up.  They don’t have the best carcass either.  More of a novelty breed. 
All boils down to what yer into.  Some people have a lot of Pomeranians

Not much meat on a pomeranian though...

[PolarBear]

As someone who has been in the cattle industry for decades, I wouldn’t touch a longhorn with a 20’ pole. They are definitely not the breed to start off with. They get hung up in fences and equipment, are hell on trailers, are hard to handle, etc. If you have a lot of land and do not plan on handling  them or letting kids around them, go for it. Otherwise not a great choice and the beef is not great.

[nwwanderer]

Decent yard ornaments, as stated, tough to care for and slow to produce marginal beef.  Unless you are dead set on wide horns you might look at speckled park or angus lowline if you want something different.

[jackelope]

I’m going with these guys.

[Machias]

You might contact these folks.  They are in North Idaho and advertise on Craigslist quite often.

https://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/d/registered-texas-longhorn-cattle/7504455383.html

[Buckmark]

I would do a few highlanders, cool looking and are not bad to eat, take a bit longer than some breeds to be ready to butcher.
Might also look at Dexters, not real fancy looking but good temperment from my experience with them and eat well.

[Special T]

I would do a few highlanders, cool looking and are not bad to eat, take a bit longer than some breeds to be ready to butcher.
Might also look at Dexters, not real fancy looking but good temperment from my experience with them and eat well.

Have a buddy that raises Dexters, mini Angus! They aren't intimidating, cool and different.

[furbearer365]

Thanks for the replies.  There is a place up the road from me (about 10 miles) that has some Longhorns.   Someday I'll pull in a talk with the owners. There is a breeder down in Oregon called A and S Land and Cattle that breeds and sells all ages and types of Longhorns. I'm not a guy that jumps right in without all the info I'll need, so I'll definitely converse with people that have them to learn specifics on how they care for them.

[kselkhunter]

KFHunter and PolarBear have good inputs, I would heed those well.   Also talk to your vet about their rules on working on longhorns and specifically squeeze chutes.   Longhorns have their logistical challenges due to those horn lengths.  And as has been mentioned are not as efficient for meat production.   Getting input from the breeders/ranchers that have them is good.  Ask them specifically what they do about veterinary care. 


Personally I wouldn't recommend the longhorn breed but if you're dead set on it, continue to educate yourself and at least know what you're getting into.   If you want the "cool" factor you can also consider scottish highlander, belted galloway, santa gertrudis, belgian blue, maine-anjou, etc. without getting the really long horns (and better meat production).   

[Boss .300 winmag]

Horned cattle are a pain in the you know what, everyone I ever had has an attitude.🤬

Always rubbing them on something tearing it up, and when you get in the pasture to work/be around them they always shake them horns at you.🤯

But hey they look cool.🤣

[papaonthemountain]

As anyone who has raised cattle knows, when a bull wants to roam, it is dang near impossible to keep them home.  When your longhorn bull visits the neighbor's herd pleasantries might not be exchanged.  Any calf produced from a tryst will be cut out and docked by the feedlot buyers.  Spoken from experience as I raised cattle for 30 some years and worked at the auction yards in Tonasket and Okanogan.  However, that may never develop given where you live.

All that being said, they are a breed of cattle that draw a second look and have the added benefit of cool euros at the end of their life. 

Good luck in your endeavor.

[AL WORRELLS KID]

They're also fleet footed (fence jumpers)!
    I'd recommend you get *very* docile ones that are hand reared and imprinted on people  i.e.: bottle baby's if you can find them, especially if you don't have the infrastructure to handle them.

KFhunter, We learned this lesson the hard way. The 4 Wild Range (Whiteface Calves) we bid on at the Auction were real docile until their Drugs wore off in the morning. 
As soon as they saw us walk into the barn they all went crazy, jumping/climbing over the tall stall they were in and shooting out the barn door. The four strand barbed wire fence didn't slow them down and they were soon out of sight somewhere down in the neighbors 200 acres of woods.  (Them Cowboys may not use Drugs, but they sure know how to use them.)
Moral of the story...at the "Cattle Auction", you really do get what you pay for!

[LDennis24]

Lots of good advice from folks on here who obviously have cattle. Also alot of opinions on here about raising them for meat but if your interested in longhorns I would say your into them because of the unique features of the breed. Cool hide patterns and of course, long horns. Nobody picks longhorns cuz they produce well on a butcher block. Then again, some folks think you can taste the difference in meat from certain breeds. It's a marketing ploy. It's all about what your feeding them. And of course some breeds have different muscle patterning than others. Like Wagyu or Belgian Blues. If your wanting to produce beef for your own freezer and you have acres to throw them on they are almost self sufficient but if your feeding them all year you will never profit from cattle if that's your intention. Especially not with current hay prices.

[Alchase]

A couple months ago there was a thread about he price of hay skyrocketing. At that time the large rounds were going for $75 a round here. I just heard now the price is $275-$350 a round 

[HUNTIN4SIX]

A couple months ago there was a thread about he price of hay skyrocketing. At that time the large rounds were going for $75 a round here. I just heard now the price is $275-$350 a round 

Holy cow seriously!!!  Drought?  I have about 600 big bales in stack of good hay I would love to get 75 a piece.  Maybe hay haulers can start hauling in from other states?  Even with high diesel prices one could make folks a good deal.

[Southpole]

I think the original point of this thread is he wanted grass eaters and something cool to look at in his pasture and wasn’t looking at raising cattle for meat at all. With that said, it’s definitely a novelty item that would be tough to get rid of if it didn’t work out. I second the highlanders for cool factor and fairly okay resale value.

[furbearer365]

I think the original point of this thread is he wanted grass eaters and something cool to look at in his pasture and wasn’t looking at raising cattle for meat at all. With that said, it’s definitely a novelty item that would be tough to get rid of if it didn’t work out. I second the highlanders for cool factor and fairly okay resale value.

   I own 11 acres on the Cowlitz River, most of which is pasture/hay.  I have no use for the hay so I let a buddy and his family hay it and keep it.  But when I bought the property, getting a couple cows was part of the plan. I'd like to put in a small barn and fence off 4-5 acres around my house. I'm not really thinking about raising for meat right now, just wanting a good breed that pastures well, low maintenance, and since they will be close to the house, yes I do like the "look" of Longhorns. From what I've read and guys that know the breed, they like the way they graze.  Seem to feed more like a goat, and less picky than other breeds.

[deereman]

Nobody who owns a Ferrari will tell you it is garbage just like every beef breeder will tell you his “breed” is best. With that I will add my opinion to the pile! My neighbor bought 3 longhorn cows and a bull. He couldn’t keep them in his fence. Great irrigated pasture with plenty of green grass. They had no respect for a hot wire or a split rail cedar fence. They would flip up the wires and rails with their horns and roam around the property. I usually got a call in the middle of the night to help him. Not fun herding a long horn at night in the dark. He finally got so frustrated he gave them away to the neighbors where they were turned into tacos I’m sure!
 My brother has a few highlanders as yard art around his place. They will eat anything, just like a goat. Low maintenance and easy calvers. He has never got a decent price on the yearlings he has sold at the auction yard.
 I raise black angus. Look great in a pasture and taste great on my plate. You will always get a fair price for an angus at auction if you decide cattle are not your thing and decide to go another route. Just my opinion and good luck in whatever exciting venture you lean towards.

[Southpole]

Nobody who owns a Ferrari will tell you it is garbage just like every beef breeder will tell you his “breed” is best. With that I will add my opinion to the pile! My neighbor bought 3 longhorn cows and a bull. He couldn’t keep them in his fence. Great irrigated pasture with plenty of green grass. They had no respect for a hot wire or a split rail cedar fence. They would flip up the wires and rails with their horns and roam around the property. I usually got a call in the middle of the night to help him. Not fun herding a long horn at night in the dark. He finally got so frustrated he gave them away to the neighbors where they were turned into tacos I’m sure!
 My brother has a few highlanders as yard art around his place. They will eat anything, just like a goat. Low maintenance and easy calvers. He has never got a decent price on the yearlings he has sold at the auction yard.
 I raise black angus. Look great in a pasture and taste great on my plate. You will always get a fair price for an angus at auction if you decide cattle are not your thing and decide to go another route. Just my opinion and good luck in whatever exciting venture you lean towards.

Also good advice.

[KFhunter]

If I were to get beef again...

I want easy on fences, single strand of electric hold em fine
I want easy handling, follow you to the corral, or new pasture
I want very docile, walk up and halter, doctor them right in the pasture

I want smaller carcasses that I can pull a side off a meat hook by myself.  Last steer I done was 1350, the sides were heavy, the splitting sucked and its a lot of work.   I like doing hogs compared to beef, so why not a hog sized beef? Lol!

And above all I want a top notch flavor profile, so I would plant certian grasses and crops just for that perfect flavor profile.  I don't care if my steaks are half size, I'll just eat 2!

I'd be a small beef snob producer 

[LDennis24]

I have Lowline Galloway crosses. They are cool to look at, my bull is hand tame and so are my cows. I only run six mature animals at a time on about ten acres of sub irrigated grass ground. They are self sufficient throughout the summer. Easy on fences, and they finish well on just grass but you can grain finish them as well. Galloway's and Highland's are both old world breeds that are low maintenance. Purebred Galloway's will get as woolly as a highland in the winter also so they are cold hardy. I have the crosses cuz they are easier to handle. Smaller frame.

[HUNTIN4SIX]

Wow lotsa cattle guys on here.  Maybe we need a cattle thread.

[LDennis24]

Some of my Lowline Galloway colors I've had. White park is the white with black points and spotting. Summer coats smooth and winter coats longer. This first bulls hide is at Fuson's taxidermy being tanned right now. It's gonna be a cool one. The rest of him is in the freezer! Second pic is my current bull who is "tame" . If he wants to do his own thing or act up he does and you need to get away from him. Otherwise he's gentle.

[LDennis24]

Some more pics of the herd a few winters ago. If you cross the white park color with a black lowline angus they seem to get more spotting also. You can see that the bull is quite short on the pic of me standing by him.

[Birdguy]

To the OP, I hope you get a couple of beautiful well behaved pasture pals!! My son wants to have a couple someday as well!

LDennis24, beautiful herd you have there! The hair on Galloways is something else. We would have gone that direction if they were available locally. We considered the mini Herefords but they are super proud of them. A small Hereford for $2500 does not make sense when a full sized bred one or cow calf pair is $1500.

Great thread even if it got a little off topic for a few.

[PolarBear]

Wow lotsa cattle guys on here.  Maybe we need a cattle thread.

Agree

[Romulus1297]

The last calf for the year 3 days old