Scottish Highland Cattle

[Gordo 56]

Why can't they be polled?
I can see why this needs the horns for his "games".....so they look like the real deal, but your not interested in that. Perhaps you could leave the horns on the bulls but have the cows polled.

I don't know, maybe they can have the horns removed. Anyone know if you can have the horns removed?

 

[Depmandog]

I don't know, maybe they can have the horns removed. Anyone know if you can have the horns removed?

Dehorning is preferred for all aspects of cattle raising except for aesthetics. Perhaps leave the bull horned - just because he looks studly all horned up

Dehorning is best done when the calves are young, when they are worked, ie castrated. This will cause the least stress on the animal. You can dehorn older cattle, but it will set them off / back 3-6 months, is more painful and is more susceptible to infections.

You will find that horned cattle are harder to truck (haulers don't want the liability of delivering a gored animal), sale barns don't like horned cattle and could charge you a premium for handling and some slaughter plants (large volume) won't take horned animals. Your local custom processors shouldn't care though.

I love the pictures!!

 

[Gordo 56]

Dehorning is preferred for all aspects of cattle raising except for aesthetics. Perhaps leave the bull horned - just because he looks studly all horned up

Dehorning is best done when the calves are young, when they are worked, ie castrated. This will cause the least stress on the animal. You can dehorn older cattle, but it will set them off / back 3-6 months, is more painful and is more susceptible to infections.

You will find that horned cattle are harder to truck (haulers don't want the liability of delivering a gored animal), sale barns don't like horned cattle and could charge you a premium for handling and some slaughter plants (large volume) won't take horned animals. Your local custom processors shouldn't care though.

I love the pictures!!

Thanks for replying Depmandog, how do you remove the horns? Do they use bolt like cutters or do they have a dehorning paste you can put on. I would love to hear the best way to dehorn young cows. I know other Highland owners will thing I am crazy to want to dehorn them, when that is part of their charm.

 

[Gordo 56]

We have some and they sure can clean up a place in a hurry. Attached are few pictures. Yes they love to eat brush or just about anything. We have one my granddaughter named Oreo because it's colored black white black. -robert

Hi Robert, thanks for replying. I have never seen one that is black and white like the one you call oreo. Is it cross bred with a belted Galloway or something?

Nice pictures.

 

[Airedale]

Back when I was looking to raise a few head of cattle I looked into the Highlands but went with Irish Dexters instead, relatively small they are much the same as Highlands in that they take the cold well and do fine on poor forage and like eating brush. Bulls will hit close to 850 to 1000 lbs when full grown, the cows will go 600 to maybe 700 lbs. Other than mineral blocks and an occasional protein block they are grass fed and produce nice lean meat.

Al

 

[Depmandog]

Thanks for replying Depmandog, how do you remove the horns? Do they use bolt like cutters or do they have a dehorning paste you can put on. I would love to hear the best way to dehorn young cows. I know other Highland owners will thing I am crazy to want to dehorn them, when that is part of their charm.

It's been years and years since I worked for a vet (back in the late 70's). We used an electric debudder. They also have scoops and paste. The problem with the paste - it can get places you don't want it (it's caustic). I think it may be outlawed in certain places.

I would recommend you have the vet do it a time or two until you are comfortable with the process. The elec debudders have to be held in place for 45 seconds or so. All the while the calf is bawling loudly. One done and another to do. The scoops are more like surgery and can get bloody quickly. Probably not the easiest one for a newbie. The paste is the easiest, but can burn an udder or get into a calfs eye if things go wrong.

The vet won't charge that much, more head than you will run - have the vet do it. And yes, they have bigger tools to lop off horns, but I am assuming you will treat the calves, and all they will have are buds at that young an age.