Commercial Cattle
These are the results of our breeding
programme. They are bred on
commercial principles, with the main
criteria being; beef production from the
steers and females to go on to be hardy
suckler cows - with a long breeding life
and capable of producing calves of
quality when mated to a terminal sire.
Due to the nature of how they are bred ,
these cattle have hybrid vigour in
abundance.
Highlanders
We had decided that native cattle were to
be our forte, and following much debate,
highland cattle came out on top. The
Redrullion Highland Fold was started in
1997, following a visit to Oban livestock
market. The fold name was crafted after
we found that the``Ryehill `` name had
already been taken, our cattle were red.
Rullion is an old scots word meaning rough
craggy man or beast. The two were simply
put together.
Shorthorns
Our interest in shorthorn cattle began with the
purchase of a young bull to chase up the
highlanders. The quality of his progeny
demanded that we used him on pedigree
shorthorns. We added a small number of
females to the farm, after much studying of
bloodlines and the viewing of cattle privately
and at shows. We were not to be disappointed
with the results and have retained all the female
stock, with only an odd bull released for sale.
The Redrullion name is also used for our
pedigree shorthorns.
Copyright Ryehill Farm 2010
RYEHILL
farm & fishing
Tel: 01659 50632
Highlanders
From the beginning we had a clear picture of
what type of Highland cattle we wanted to
breed and set about purchasing foundation
cattle with specific bloodlines to assemble a
genetic pool that we considered would serve
us well as breeders.
The main principles of beef cattle have been applied at all times.
Well balanced cows with a little bit of length, a good backend and a leg
on each corner.. not forgetting the 3 core Ts - tits , toes and
temperament.
Should any of our stock not meet these requirements they have been
culled. This policy has allowed us to breed and retain high quality
animals throughout the fold .
Redrullion has released very few animals over the period, choosing to
retain its best for breeding its replacements for the pedigree fold and
the commercial cross cattle respectfully.
Showing has never been our forte, but from the cattle released, many
breed championships have been won.
We hope you find our Highland Cattle of interest.
Shorthorn Cattle
Our interest in Shorthorn cattle came in 2001when we
considered buying a bull to chase up the highland cattle.
Margarets choice of a bull was Stormtrooper, bought privately
aged 13 months in 2002.
Margaret had viewed and admired him as a calf in 2001. This
bull was big enough to be used despite his youth to chase up the highlanders. The
following spring 5 cows calved to him. They were like peas in a pod. The following year
he got all the highlanders to serve. Again, the crop of calves were like peas in a pod, and
all with exceptional carcasses.
The resultant years were mirrored and it was evident that the bull who had been allowed
to run on naturally was of exceptional quality. It was decided that although he was
providing cross cattle for the farm his exceptional qualities should be used for pedigree
breeding .
We added a small number of selected Shorthorn females to the farm and the Redrullion
herd of pedigree shorthorns was born. Our principles of breeding / selection are identical
to that of the highlanders fold, beef cattle with good carcase and with the very important
3 x Ts. To date we have released only one bull that was considered to meet our very high
standard. The females have been outstanding and are retained to create a much
admired genetic pool at Ryehill.
Commercial Cattle
Our commercial cattle herd consists of home bred beef
shorthorn x highlanders. This is a traditional cross, which at
present is enjoying a healthy revival. In years gone by,
Scottish Estates would put the best of the highland cows to a
pure bull and the poorer ones to a beef shorthorn or whitebred shorthorn; with the
resultant heifers retained as suckler cows for the commercial herd on the Estate.
Luing cattle as a breed, was created by line breeding from crosses such as these until a
type evolved that was accepted as breeding true.
Our only deviation, if it may be called one, is that we bred from the best of the highland
cows using top quality shorthorn bulls and applied the same rigorous standards of what
we consider suitable to be a suckler cow.
To date we have put these cows back to a shorthorn bull. The offspring don't lose any
quality and the steers seem to gain weight a little quicker. The last batch weighed an
average of 400kgs at 11 months, which is good considering we do not creep feed.
We are considering the use of a Red Angus or Simmental in the future.
We normally sell a draft of bulling heifers each year and the bullocks store at 11-13
months.
