fishtv Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Thought I'd introduce you to our latest addition to the family, 3 Highland Cattle. Two of them are fullblood Rising 2 year olds while one is a P5 10mth old calf. They are NZHCS reg and the older two will be put to a fullblood bull within the next 3 months. They arrived a little over a week ago and already are quiet enough to pat, albeit quickly. Meet Nessie And Catie And finally the calf, Seren Does anyone else share our passion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 WOW! They are the coolest cows ive ever seen! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Ohh Shucks :lol: Thanks! We think so too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaffen Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Cool cows! They look a bit emo, with the long fringe :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Haha, Thats true! They are such a placid animal, not flighty at all, just happy to roam around in the paddock with you. After only a week they are running up to the gate to greet us and calling out to us as we walk up to them. Hopefully soon we will be able to get close enough to start grooming them, they need it with their winter coats starting to fall out and looking a little patchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Cool cows! They look a bit emo, with the long fringe :) :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Are these for meat or their "wool"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 At this stage they are merely for breeding. They are pure highland cattle and can fetch fairly high prices. However they have a beautiful meat that is marbled yet very low in fat and cholesterol, there are a few select butchers now that ONLY use highland cattle to stock their shelves due to the quality of the meat. These animals are worth more to us as breeding stock than meat but we will most likely buy a steer to fill our freezer (this will be hard for me and the animal would have to be grazed in my parent's beef herd to stop me getting attached). As for their coats, this is a fairly new market, their coats are not thick enough to provide a lot of fibre however animals used for meat are now having their hides made into rugs, not really my cup of tea however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 can I ask how much weaners go for (if you ever decided to sell any?) as they would be great for a lifestyle block. Am genuinely interested and they would just be for pets too. We tried to "grow our own meat" but no-one in the house could do it, so we just sold them on and continue to buy meat from the supermarket :oops: :lol: :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Love the cattle, just beautiful! Those big eyes poking out thru the fringe are SOOO cute! Will the lighter coloured one stay that colour or darken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 DonnaM- The little one will stay that way, she is Yellow and may even lighten as she grows, her mother was white so hopefully when mated to a white bull she will throw white calves. Farmchick- That all depends... If you just want them as pets and glorified lawn mowers you can get them at really reasonable rates. Steers can go for anything from $300 which is very close to all other meat breeds. However if you are looking to bred and what to buy full blood heifers and cows it can get very costly. There is a big difference between animals that are registered with the New Zealand Highland Cattle Society and those who are not. Keep an eye on Trademe and maybe even visit www.highlandcattle.org.nz, tons of information there. They are perfect for lifestyle blocks due to their hardy nature and the fact that they were raised on the rough high hills and consequently do not require much feed at all, but do very well on very little (our cattle were put into a paddock that Dad, a dry stock farmer all his life, claimed would only last them a day and were shifted out 6 days later still with feed to spare). They are also a very docile animal that is happy to become a pet. We are still over 12 months away from having animals available and even then we will be keeping any heifer calves but selling bull/steers, if you are looking for something sooner, let me know and I will put you in touch with someone with a larger fold who is willing to sell stock. Thanks for your interest guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 We are still over 12 months away from having animals available and even then we will be keeping any heifer calves but selling bull/steers, if you are looking for something sooner, let me know and I will put you in touch with someone with a larger fold who is willing to sell stock. Thanks for your interest guys! YES PLEASE!! We would probably only want 3 or maybe 4 max as we have 5 horses as well. Perfect for x-grazing and pasture management Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I use to have horses too and know what a mess they make of paddocks, highlanders will eat dock and any other weeds that horses wont touch, this means that your paddocks are left clean and tidy and no feed is wasted. Would you be willing to truck the animals from Cambridge to you? I know of a great breeder who has many many steers for sale all at different stages of growth and genetics. He is a great guy and would be happy to send photos of his sale stock and offer a choice of colour etc. They come in a few colours, black was the traditional colour, followed by red (Catie), Brindle (Nessie), Yellow (Seren), White and Dun. I personally like a range of colours and hope to breed both a dun and white animal within the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 They look more like muskox than cows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 I use to have horses too and know what a mess they make of paddocks, highlanders will eat dock and any other weeds that horses wont touch, this means that your paddocks are left clean and tidy and no feed is wasted. Would you be willing to truck the animals from Cambridge to you? I know of a great breeder who has many many steers for sale all at different stages of growth and genetics. He is a great guy and would be happy to send photos of his sale stock and offer a choice of colour etc. They come in a few colours, black was the traditional colour, followed by red (Catie), Brindle (Nessie), Yellow (Seren), White and Dun. I personally like a range of colours and hope to breed both a dun and white animal within the next few years. Would definitely truck them or horse float them :lol: The neighbors borrow my float all the time for cow transport (but never clean it :evil: ) We wouldnt be fussed at all about colours, they are all really cute regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Have pm'ed you a number to contact, good luck and be sure to post some pics when they arrive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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