Milking Shorthorn cow

[Farmerboy]

My family and I are getting a cow in the spring for family use, and my dad wanted a dual purpose type. Cow for milk, and any extra calves can go to the freezer when they are big enough. So, did some reading and asking around, and I came up to 2 breeds- Milking Shorthorn and a Brown Swiss. I think a Milking Shorthorn will be better for us than the Brown Swiss, as they are smaller, mature earlier and hardier. Also they are easier to milk for they have better teats then most dairy breeds. I have asked the owner of the local feedmill where to find one, and he knows a farm that has Milking Shorthorn, and will give me the name and number of the owner in a few days. I was glad for they are rare in our area.
I want to know more about this breed, and I would like to read your experiences with Milking Shorthorns, and please post pictures here of your cow/herd.

Thanks!

 

[Royd Wood]

Shame you had no replies - I'm obsessed with Galloways but admire and worked with Shorthorn (Beef)

 

[brentr]

No direct experience...my uncle kept a few milking shorthorns. I loved the roan coloring, and they seemed to always be in fine flesh. Seemed like a good dual purpose animal. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I see brown swiss as a more true dairy breed. I think you'd be more pleased with the beef you put in the freezer from a shorthorn than a brown swiss. Just my opinion, though.

 

[Cricket]

The dairy I work at has 4 milking shorthorn out of 200 going thru the parlor (we are supposed to be primarily Jersey). One is deep red, serene, and remote. One is mostly white and can be kicky. The other 2 are first calf heifers, so have short teats and are pretty twitchy. I think you need to find a breed you really like and then see if it makes sense for your situation--we all have our favorites and it doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with others--just lost our hearts somewhere else! Feel free to PM me if you'd like and if it is appropriate.

 

[kelsey2017]

I just got a milking shorthorn crossed with a jersey. She is only a heifer but for an animal that had not been handled she was fairly tame. She likes to be brushed and lets me pretend to milk her. I don't know how she'll milk but I am sure it will be plenty for for our family. Her color is not as pretty as her mom or her sister but I am keeping my fingers crossed for a loud colored calf. She is bred back to a jersey. I already posted these but here goes. The mom and sister aren't mine. I found out the day I picked her up at the peoples place they told me they were going to make her mom into burger! I almost fell over, she was really sweet and tame. If she had been bred I think I would have rather had her.

mom on left and sister (both shorthorns)

My heifer when I got her home

 

[Cricket]

She is CUTE! If she already likes to be brushed you're more than halfway there! You could always breed her next time to a short horn and see what you get for color. The jersey I had 15 years ago had horns like that--as she got older they curved inwards--really pretty. But kind of a pain (and potential danger) at this point.

 

[Farmerboy]

Thank you for all the replies, pictures, and please keep them coming! I was beginning to think that Milking Shorthorn is too rare.

I have still not have found one yet. Still looking, I have found quite a bit of the beef type on Craigslist, but no milking types. Another breed that I would like is Icelandic cattle, they too are dual type, and are very interesting. But they are so rare, that I do not think that they are in the U.S at all. :/ I have Icelandic chickens, and it would be fitting to have an Icelandic cow too.

 

[Cricket]

Did you find the farm that the feedstore told you about? I guess you're going to have to decide at some point if you want to get into raising a certain breed or if you just want to have beef in your freezer. AND how much money you're going to be able to spend! Have you looked at Milking Devon? There's a holstein farm a few towns up that also have Devon steers--they are just beautiful, but don't see them often. If you aren't sure you're really going to have time to milk and just want to kind of give it a go, you could talk to the folks with the dairy farm with shorthorns. At the farm I work at, we sometimes have to ship what seem (to me!) to be perfectly good cows, they might just not be giving enough for a commercial dairy, or only 2 titted and both on the same side so the milking machine doesn't stay on--there's a # of reasons. That way you could try hand milking at the barn and see if it's going to work, check for mastitis (I wouldn't take on one of them if I were you), and I would think get it at beef price. Then if you find you bit off too much, you could just hamburg the cow and wouldn't lose anything. (And hopefully get one that is bred back). I just wouldn't buy anything at auction. Also try looking at some of the beef breeds--did someone mention they are milking highlanders?

 

[Open Sky Farm]

We just bought a small herd of Milking Shorthorns/Devons a year ago. I don't have any real experience with cattle so I don't have anything to compare them with but they seem like good animals. We didn't milk them last year because we had too much going on but we're going to milk a few this year. We're probably going to transition the herd to beef because our situation doesn't work well with a grassfed dairy.

There are extremes in every breed so I think it's more about the particular animals you are looking at and the person/place you're getting them from. I like heritage/rare breeds but sometimes it makes more sense to go with someone down the road that you know and trust. We've done it both ways. Just be mindful if you go too far away that there is often a rough transition period where the animals need to adjust to the new environment (weather, forages, etc).


Because I'm a new member it won't let me post any pictures or links to pictures of my cattle......... They are on our Facebook page though, just look up Open Sky Farm.

 

[Farmerboy]

Sorry for not replying here for so long. I was not able to find any Milking Shorthorn in our area, But We found and brought a 2 years old Angus/Guernsey cross heifer that is due in a few weeks to a month for her 1st calf. She was bred to an Angus or a Lowline Angus bull. Angus- beef breed plus Guernsey- dairy breed= dual purpose type.

One of my 5 sisters.

Me giving her a back scratch. I am 5' 8 1/2'' tall, so she is not a very big heifer.