LOW MAINTENANCE
While most people start with Highlands because of their visual appeal, the reason breeders stay with the Highlands is their docile temperament, their meat quality and their hardiness, or low maintenance.
Many people comment on how quiet the animals are, especially those who have had a lot to do with cattle. Highland cattle are naturally quiet and can be easily halter trained. Many breeders consider this characteristic to be paramount to the future of the breed. Beyond their looks are some incredibly hardy characteristics that mean you do not have to fuss with them too much.
They appear to be disease resistant compared with many other breeds—for example they rarely get pink eye (an eye infection that can result in blindness), or eye cancers because their dossan (fringe) covers their eyes and protects it from the sun and flies.
They calve easily, because of lower birth weights, and so it is uncommon to come across birthing problems.
They are generally well put together animals, and because of this excellent structure, they are less likely to break down as they get older. Highland cows are well known to have a calf each year until they are 15—20 years old or more.
Can any other bovine breed lay claims to being as productive and fertile for this sort of time span? Economically, this means at least double the number of calves per breeding female over their life span, compared with other commercial breeds.
The cows have excellent mothering abilities. While they will fiercely defend their calves from predators, with time and trust they will allow you near their calves. You may even notice a cow in the fold butting away another cow’s calf. This helps teach the calf that the only one who will look after them is their own mother.
Their hardiness also extends to their appetite. While they still need feed to survive, they appear to forage better than other cattle. That is, they eat a lot wider variety of plant species - all the grass species, some weeds, bushes and trees. Some Highland cattle are known to eat thistles, box thorn and even prune any overhanging trees.
Basically, in the tougher country, they will do better than European breeds and the other British breeds because they are used to eating the rougher plants and converting them to energy. Just think what they are used to doing in the highlands of Scotland with nothing but heather to survive on.