Highland Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Highland cattle breed is one of the oldest registered cattle breeds that originate from Scotland.
They are a fairly large breed which is quite a common sight in the Scottish countryside. Big fluff balls of a cow that look like stuffed teddy bears that are often seen grazing happily on steep slopes. They are well known for their long hair complete with fringe that almost if not completely covers their eyes. They have the cutest little calves with tufts of shaggy hair that tends to stand up all over the place.

HIGHLAND BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
Highland cattle tend to be the teddy bears of cows with their thick long shaggy coat of hair
Country of Origin:	Scotland
Other Names:	Kyloe, Scotch Highland Cattle, Hairy Cow and Scottish Highland Cattle
Main Purpose:	Beef
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Recovering
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	Highland Cattle Society, American Highland Cattle Association, North Central Highland Cattle Association, and Northwest Highland Cattle Association
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to the Highland Cattle Society, American Highland Cattle Association, North Central Highland Cattle Association, and Northwest Highland Cattle Association for more information on the Highland cattle breed.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Highland Cattle Society, American Highland Cattle Association, North Central Highland Cattle Association, and Northwest Highland Cattle Association for more information on the Highland cattle breed.
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	Highland cattle breed is thought to live longer and produce more calves than most other cattle breeds. They are native to the areas in Scotland that are close to the Arctic circle and thus have adapted to the harsh climates and environments that occur that close to the Arctic. They are also fully adept at wondering the mountainous regions of Scotland happily climbing the and or grazing on the steep slopes as if they were flat ground. Not many if any other cattle breeds have a coat quite like the Highland Cattle breeds coat. It consists of a few layers with the outer layer being long, coarse hair. The inner layer consists of a shorter softer and more woolly type hair. Their double coat protects them against the high rainfall, strong winds, and the icy cold by acting as a natural insulator. They have a long fringe that covers their eyes and is called a ‘dossan’. The fringe helps to protect their eyes against the harsh elements. The meat of the Highland cattle breed tends to be a lot leaner as they do not put on extra layers of fat as they have a thick coat to protect them. They also do not increase their feed intake until the temperature drops to well below -18 degrees F. Other breeds have been noted to increase their feed intake at temperatures of around 32 degrees F. They have been known to get to running speeds of up to 40 km/h and they usually live from between 15 to 22 years of age.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Scottish Highland cattle have to be one of my most favorite breeds. When I was traveling the Scottish Highlands, I had to stop and get out to get to get a look at them. I was, of course, just lazily started at while they continued to munch away on their food. They are a wonderful breed that has long wavy or some might say shaggy hair, appear quite thick of girth so tend to be more rounded in figure than the normal blocky cattle figure. They have medium round faces with their eye covered by a fringe and their ears are fluffy and of medium size. They have medium length sturdy legs that are sometimes covered in their shaggy fur.

Size:

Medium

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Red, White, Yellow, Black, Silver and some may even be brindled	Red, White, Yellow, Black, Silver and some may even be brindled
Breed Weight:	500 kg	800 kgs
Breed Height:	90 to 106 cm	106 to 120 cm
Horns:	They have long horns that grow out from the sides of their head and then turn up in a lyre-type-shape	They have long horns that grow out from the sides of their head and then turn up in a lyre-type-shape
Temperament:	Docile, calm and quiet	Docile, calm and quiet but always remember to give a bull a wide berth and keep an eye on them. The bulls are known to get aggressive when they are sire bulls.
Matures at age:	6 to 8 months or 9 + months	6 to 8 months or 9 + months
Puberty Age:	6 to 15 months	9 to 1o months
Breeding Age:	13 to 15 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Cow breeding & Milking Info	Cover 25 to 30 Cows in 1 season

COW BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
Most Cattle produce milk but not all of them are used in the dairy Cattle capacity for their milk. Cows only calve once a year and should have 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. They are not used as a dairy cow, but their milk is high in butterfat and very nutritious for their young. They have high fertility, birth with ease and regularly with little to no birthing problems. They are an excellent mother with good maternal instincts and are quite protective of their babies.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 6 to 24 hours Most ave. 12 to 16 hours Cows usually come on heat every 21 days.
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days to 24 days Heifer – usually ave. 20 days Cows – usually ave. 21 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 279 to 287 days but most gestation is 283 days. Cows that are carrying bull calf’s their gestation period is usually a little longer than cows that are carrying heifer calves.
No. Calves/Litter:	1 calf at a time. Cows rarely have twins or triplets, but it can happen
Lactation Period:	Cows lactation period can last for up to about 10 months (305) days.
Milking From:	1 to 6 weeks after Calving
Drying off Period:	The cow should have a 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. Drying off period for around 60 days before she can calve again.
Milk Quality:	Good
Milk Ideal for:	Calves
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CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Highland beef is slow maturing cattle thus they make for premium beef which is well marbled, low in fat and cholesterol and is lean and very tender. Criteria which is very much in demand in today’s market place.

Meat Production?

N/A

CATTLE ⇒	VEAL	BEEF
Ave. Maturity Age:	6 to 8 months	9 months up to 4 years

CATTLE SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Most meat Cattle will have a skin by-product, and these are usually used in some form or just as a hide. Their hides have been to known to produce top quality sought after goods./td>

Skin Production?

Yes, Quality: Top quality

Skin is used to Produce:

Calf/cow skin leather products such as shoes, car seats, fine leather coats, gloves, handbags, belts, furniture, rugs, etc.

CATTLE ⇒	CALF	ADULT
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months for Calf skin	1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

HISTORY

The Highland cattle breeds early history is a bit lost in time and as such quite spotty in places. There are records of the breed being improved upon in the 1800s. The improvement on the breed was made solely by selection and no other breed was introduced to the bloodline.

They were kept on small islands close to the Highlands and in the Highlands too. The breed is sometimes called Kyloes as in order to get to the market places the breed would have to be herded across the straits or Kyloes. The breed became really popular in the UK with the first breed herd book being established in England in 1884.

In the 1880s Highland cattle were imported to America for the first time. Importations to America of the Highland cattle breed continued through the 1900s with the breed having a small loyal following of American and or Canadian breeders/farmers.

The breed popularity is once again on the rise as farmers are seeing how economical this breed is. They are great foragers and love to east various weeds or noxious plants. They are being used to manage and diversify marginal lands without the negative impact that most other heavier breeds are known to cause.

With today’s consumer’s demands for a leaner beef lower in fats and cholesterol you cannot get a much better meat that the Highland cattle breed.