Hearty Highlands Moo-ving to Manitoba
CTV
The Highland cow, a Scottish breed popularized by travel videos and social media, is finding its way to the Canadian Prairies.
The Highland cow, a Scottish breed popularized by travel videos and social media, is finding its way to the Canadian Prairies.
The short, stocky cows, known as the "cutest" breed, are also extremely resilient, which bodes well for Manitoba's very cold winters and hot summers.
Shelden Van Den Bussche breeds cattle near Holland, Man. He bought his first animals in 2018 after discovering the value in Highland cows.
"We decided to go with Highlands because we have just a small acreage," he told CTV National News. "Highlands feed well off the sticks and scrub that's kicking around here."
The farm now has 25 animals, and even in the January cold, the herd seems satisfied.
"They have an undercoat of really soft fur, like downy, and then they have another coat, the top coat," Monique Van Den Bussche said explaining the benefit of the Highland cow's shaggy coat. "It is really long hair and that's where they keep oils. It's oily so the rain and the snow just drips off."
The fur acts as an insulator protecting them from the cold. The fringe, practically covering the cow's eyes, protects them from insects in summer, and their large horns ward off predators.
