About Killochries Highland Cattle

Killochries Highlanders are reared in to two locations. The main mob resides at Killochries Fold, located on the hills forty minutes west of Glasgow.  The ground ranges from rough heather-clad hill ground to lower grassland pastures. This large mob (currently 66 breeding cows) are wintered out. 

We have a smaller fold located at Shieldaig Croft in the North west Highlands of Scotland.  Shieldaig Croft sits in undoubtably one of Scotlands’s finest scenic areas.  All the Highlanders that graze here come from Killochries Fold.  The Croft is a family run business, tenanted by Iain & Sheena’s daughter, Mairi McLellan. It spans some 1000 acres, rising from the sea in Badachro Bay to the top of the Torr, over to the Shieldaig Bay paddocks and up the Stalkers track to Lochan Fuar.

All Killochries and Shieldaig Highlanders are Hihealth accredited and live in their natural environment, out-wintered.

Although we have many measurements of how we would describe the perfect cow, our primary selection is always the cows ability to grow a good calf (200 day milk, see breeding policies). Once a competent, commercial cow is established then only the cows with the best breed characteristics are allowed to remain in the group. Particular emphasis is given to conformation and head.

In some cases where horns are damaged and genetics of the animal were known to be good, an animal may be kept in this breeding group otherwise animals not meeting the highest standard are taken out of the herd and either crossed with the Shorthorn or are sold for beef.