Shorthorns?!

Bodacious

I never have had one, but bought in a ch heifer with a June born blue grey shorthorn heifer calf at foot.

Had planned to sell calf but left her on there as she was late calf but she growing well and quiet comical will land into the yard herself looking for meal.

Dam is a big leggy char x heifer with good milk, calf herself is a polly also so half thought I'd leave her a year and see how she goes?

Are shorthorns really good cows?! Had only a small cow that had less than 1/4 shorthorn in her but she was a cracker to calve, breed and rear calves... Just seeing what ye thought on the breed?

Thanks

roosky

a sh cow is a great suckler when mixed eg sh x lm or x ch
they are a real docile milky cow that give all o the calf might not be the best looking suckler but she will go in calf easy calf easy and rear a good calf

greysides

Keep her, she's already under your skin. Good to like the animals you keep.
Practically, she should be at least as good as an average suckler cow and may well throw a calf that might be mistaken for a BB, by colouring.

mallethead

A home reared heifer like that is worth more than buying in .
she's worth giving a chance

Bizzum

Why not. She could be the makings of a good one. We have 2 Lim cows out of SHX cows, one is an exceptionally good breeder and the other is middling.
Where is the polly coming from?

Bodacious

greysides wrote: »

Keep her, she's already under your skin. Good to like the animals you keep.
Practically, she should be at least as good as an average suckler cow and may well throw a calf that might be mistaken for a BB, by colouring.

yeah you probably right.. I getting fond of her

pakalasa

I bought one once, with the plan to take replacements from her. Every year she had a bull. Murphy's Law, I guess.
They have a lovely temperament. They're one of Irelands oldest breeds. The kind you'd see in an old photograph, being milked in the corner of a field with a 3-legged stool. :rolleyes:

Bodacious

Bizzum wrote: »

Why not. She could be the makings of a good one. We have 2 Lim cows out of SHX cows, one is an exceptionally good breeder and the other is middling.
Where is the polly coming from?

I thought the same... Is there any polled shorthorns going? I know that polled gene is dominant but she came down off the side of a mountain and was never disbudded maybe it's in the dam too as she brown/silvery so prob AA in her along the way.

She not going to break the bank either way so I reckon I'll leave her on there for the winter and see how she shapes out next summer

towzer2010

I have a few shx cows. I find they are great for breeding replacements, easy to feed, very docile and fertile. Dad always had a few and they are fairly popular round our area where the land is marginal.

CZB from Dovea is polled. I've tried him on 4 LM heifers this year so I'll see what sort of calves they have come march.

Bizzum

towzer2010 wrote: »

CZB from Dovea is polled. I've tried him on 4 LM heifers this year so I'll see what sort of calves they have come march.

I wasn't aware that he was polled. I was only looking at CZB the other evening and wondered what sort of cattle he'd bring.
He looks a decent bull on paper anyway. I'd be interested to hear how your heifers go with him!

Birdnuts

I've recently gained access to a few more acres near my place in North Mayo and would love to have one or 2 of these on it - thing is I'm not sure they would be as hardy as the likes of AA etc. given the fierce battering form the elements we get up here most of the time. How do they take to heavy land and the like

greysides

Wasn't the Blue-Grey (Sh X AA) cow a great favourite at one time in your parts?

Birdnuts

greysides wrote: »

Wasn't the Blue-Grey (Sh X AA) cow a great favourite at one time in your parts?

You could well be right GS given that I only acquired these few acres within the last few years through my wifes family(I'm a soft Kildare lad myself;) - must do some research on this topic since I'd love to have a few around the place:cool:

towzer2010

Bizzum wrote: »

I wasn't aware that he was polled. I was only looking at CZB the other evening and wondered what sort of cattle he'd bring.
He looks a decent bull on paper anyway. I'd be interested to hear how your heifers go with him!

I'll put up a few pics if all goes well.

towzer2010

Birdnuts wrote: »

You could well be right GS given that I only acquired these few acres within the last few years through my wifes family(I'm a soft Kildare lad myself;) - must do some research on this topic since I'd love to have a few around the place:cool:

Sh and AA would be on a par with regard to hardiness in my opinion. I know scottish buyers always wanted blue shx when buying here in the north west.

There was an article about them in the farmers journal (link below). As I'm in a similar position in that my farm is quite high and exposed I like the idea of a cow made for her environment


http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-A-cow-made-for-her-environment-12507.html

HillFarmer

Does anyone know where to source shorthorns for commercial breeding ( cross to char or simm)

I've been looking the last few months, seem very expensive at the shorthorn ales, probably because their all purebred and registered.

We dont see any going through the marts down around here.

Saw a few on done deal from time to time but they were all asking 4 to 500 with the weight

bogman_bass

out wesht is where you want to go for shorthorns. I think there is a good few knocking about in Leitrim

Bodacious

bogman_bass wrote: »

out wesht is where you want to go for shorthorns. I think there is a good few knocking about in Leitrim

very few that I see anyway in Galway/Mayo area. There used to be alot more of them about in years gone by IMO

Bodacious

I weaned her today anyway.. will hold her for the winter anyway and see how she works out after a Summers grass..not a great photo she standing at a funny angle in it she squarer behind her than that.

Tough yoke though i threw her in with 4 other stronger heifers that i keeping and she can hold her own at the trough!!

Bizzum

Bodacious wrote: »

I weaned her today anyway.. will hold her for the winter anyway and see how she works out after a Summers grass..not a great photo she standing at a funny angle in it she squarer behind her than that.

Tough yoke though i threw her in with 4 other stronger heifers that i keeping and she can hold her own at the trough!!

I wouldn't have to think twice about keeping her for the bull. A Lim out of her would make a top class cow too!

flatout11

up north cafre (teagasc equivilent) operate a hill farm the suckler herd is based on a aa x shorthorn x hereford system its ment to be simple but impressive (in terms of output) system operating on marginal land

Bodacious

Bizzum wrote: »

Bodacious wrote: »

I weaned her today anyway.. will hold her for the winter anyway and see how she works out after a Summers grass..not a great photo she standing at a funny angle in it she squarer behind her than that.

Tough yoke though i threw her in with 4 other stronger heifers that i keeping and she can hold her own at the trough!!

I wouldn't have to think twice about keeping her for the bull. A Lim out of her would make a top class cow too!

I'll keep her on for a year anyway and see how she goes but I kinda have too many heifers kept as my cows are young but this one could be kept over one of the other bb x or ch x that I had intended bulling. Pity can't keep them all !

towzer2010

Bizzum wrote: »

I wasn't aware that he was polled. I was only looking at CZB the other evening and wondered what sort of cattle he'd bring.
He looks a decent bull on paper anyway. I'd be interested to hear how your heifers go with him!

First heifer that I had bulled to CZB calved two days ago. Had a big pull with the jack but both ok.

Here is a pic of the calf about half a day later

Min

One would be doing a lot better than the Derrypatrick herd with the shorthorn for the suckler herd.
Have some blue friesians, blue montbeliardes due to the past history of having shorthorn in the herd from my father's time.

Bodacious

I sold my little blue grey SH yesterday :-(

She not gone far though so I can keep an eye on how she breeds.

johngalway

We had a mostly angus cow with a little shorthorn in her, fantastic cow, quiet as a pet, good calves, never short of milk, you could leave the gap open and herself in the field alone and she'd stay put.

Rabbit1989

I have a Blue Grey at home by pure chance, asked a dealer to get me a few yearlings and she was one of them.

Unbelievable animal, produces the best weanling every year over a heard of SHxLM and Black Whiteheads, her calf is always polled and never thirsty.

She must weigh close to 700kgs.

I am starting to think this Angus cattle are small is a myth, we have never had a minute one!

On the hunt for more of them now!

Bodacious

Bodacious wrote: »

I weaned her today anyway.. will hold her for the winter anyway and see how she works out after a Summers grass..not a great photo she standing at a funny angle in it she squarer behind her than that.

Tough yoke though i threw her in with 4 other stronger heifers that i keeping and she can hold her own at the trough!!

My little shorthorn made a fine heifer im told, must call out get a pic sometime as a good friend of mine bought 2 off of me that time, calving down in feb/mar 2014


I saw her last summer and she was a big heifer going to the bull but her dam is huge, she a foot bigger than my other cows

KatyMac

I actively try to breed blue grey heifers. They come from a shorthorn crossed with an angus from a friesian mother! Have a lovely one who will be ready to bull this year and have several (hopefully) on the way. From this cross they don't normally have horns. They are great to keep - quiet, not too small, have good calves and are very good mothers.

Brown Podzol

Dairy farmer here, but a number of years ago I used some Murray Grey ai. They are a cross between AA and Shorthorn. The only reason I used them was because of the very short gestation. Supposed to be very hardy and good suckler dams.

haybob

I bought 8 shorthorn heifers for a bit land that's away from the house I gave the various ai bulls the first year and averaged 800 for them at the shorthorn sale in Ennis that year. Got a bull for em after that they averaged 950 in kilfenora this year.

They are lovely cattle to handly

just do it

haybob wrote: »

I bought 8 shorthorn heifers for a bit land that's away from the house I gave the various ai bulls the first year and averaged 800 for them at the shorthorn sale in Ennis that year. Got a bull for em after that they averaged 950 in kilfenora this year.

They are lovely cattle to handly

Was it a shorthorn bull you got for them?