Anyone own Scottish Highlands?

[kingscalls]

If you own these, I was wondering how you like them? Please tell the good and the bad of owning them as I am considering buying some. Thanks

 

[mommy_2_parks]

Hi! we own 18 purebred scottish highlands and we love them!!! They are very docile and hearty and will eat what a lot of cattle will pass up. They need very little, if any assistance calving (from what I've heard, we are about to have our first calf anytime soon!). But we've had a hard time getting ours to breed. I really don't think it's a normal problem with this breed, I think it's something to do with our inexperience. Check out our website for some pictures of our herd and some more info. www.coblehighlandranch.com

 

[Royd Wood]

If its not too late then consider pedigree Galloway cattle - its always good to look at other options but I must say Highland ticked alot of boxes for me when choosing and another close runner was Dexter.
Good luck with your future herd

 

[amysflock]

Hi there,

We have six Highlands with two more calves on the way, and just love them! Pretty easy to handle (but watch the horns, the slightest tap from them will cause a nasty bruise), do well with no feed supplementation other than minerals and grass hay or haylage when your pasture isn't adequate, and their small size makes them pretty easy to deal with. The beef is excellent, too, whether you grass or grain finish.

As far as "the bad," we have yet to see any. They mature more slowly than other cattle breeds, so you won't want to breed a heifer until she's 2 (to calve around 3), and animals are generally raised to 24-30 months old before butchering. My husband and I are thrilled with our breed choice and are looking forward to expanding our herd further over the years.

If you haven't already done so, I would recommend checking out the Highland Cattle Association in your region. There is some good information on the American Highland Cattle Association website, too (http://www.highlandcattleusa.org).

 

[Nicki]

I raise highlands and even being very inexperienced with cows when we started they have been very easy to handle. We do have a mature bull and he is also a joy to be around he loves to be brushed and scratched just as much as the rest. Depending on where you live they do usually need some sort of shelter in the summer to provide shade they get hot with that hair. But when it comes to winter they love to sit and bask in giant snow banks. As a added bonus even with the poor economy we had no trouble selling our first calves this year something we were very nervous about.

 

[Little Cow]

Hi there! We raise Dexters but I had to share these pictures of our son on one of the Scottish Highlands cows at our local Scottish Games. I had no idea that the guy was going to put our son up on his cow but they imprint train their animals and they are very sweet. She was well-behaved enough to be led in the parade along with her calf. I was impressed. The breeder is from South Carolina and makes the trip down to Florida every year for our festival.

Our son's first ride was on a woolly cow! LOL!

 

[Oreo]

I'm hoping to get some one day-- haven't had any yet. Looked at a herd that was basically (though not officially) for sale in Alaska when we visited 4 years ago-- the owners, in their 70's, had been raising them for many years, and said that even when it was 40 below outside, the Highlands played and frolicked and didn't bother going into the barn. They also said they had never had a predator attack although they had found bear tracks within a quarter mile of the farm. They lived near Palmer, one of the more concentrated agricultural areas of Alaska.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Just wanted to say I LOVE these cattle. I'm just afraid to consider them here. Over 100 many days here this summer with fairly high humidity. I have to work hard to keep rabbits and llamas, so wooly cows would probably not be a good choice. If I ever move further north or back to the mountains though ...