All good looking cattle. I've always wanted to raise a few longhorns. Not the fancy 10k a calf type, but the good woods longhorn. I've never been around em but would like to hear some of you guys experiences with raising them.
To me, people breeding longhorns for bigger horns or more color are taking away from the breed. That kind of single trait selection will ruin a breed fast. Polled Herford is another good example of a breed gone bad due to single trait selection. I like the old school Spanish type longhorns but I don't see them often. Moderate horn length and not as flashy of colors (more roans, brindles or solid colors). 800-900lbs We have always had a few around. They don't raise the kind of calf that a 1400 lbs braford cow will but they dont eat as much and can perform on lower quality forage better. They are good mommas, no calving problems, No bad bags, no cancer eyes, Don't get crippled. Always fertile when they get adequate ammounts of forage. They might not breed back if you are short on forage and try to make up with more suppliment. That sort of feeding program does not really work on them for some reason like the does the continental breeds. The biggest problem with longhorns, unless you figure out a way to get solid colored calved out of them, is the fact that you will get discounted allot on price just because of the color even if it is a quality calf. The longhorn cross steer I posted up the thread was discounted ~50 cents a lb. compared to if he had been solid red or black. We cull cows when they dont breed back and the longhorns always seem to stick around.
Waylon
