Breed Recognition II: Livestock Flashcards
Limousin cattle
Size: Mature Limousin females should average 650 kilos and mature males 1000 kilos
Appearance: The Limousin is large, fine and has a strong boned frame. Mature Limousin females should average 650 kilos and mature males 1000 kilos. The head is small and short with a broad forehead, and the neck is short with a broad muzzle.
Coat colour is golden-red and a lighter colour under the stomach, inside the thighs, around the eyes and muzzle, and around the anus and end of the tail. The skin is free of pigmentation.
Limousins with black genetics show a variation in colour. Calves can be light fawn or brown in colour graduating through different ages to a deep black at a fully mature age. Mature black animals can often display black coats fully tinged with brown hairs.
Horns are yellow at the base and darken towards the tips; they are at first horizontal, then curve forwards and upwards.
Common health conditions: —
Highland cattle
Size: Mature bulls can weigh around 1,800 pounds (800 kilograms) in breeding condition and cows 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms)
Appearance: The Highland has the grandest head with a long fringe (that appears to cover the eyes) and the horns that are long and darken towards the tip, it is these features that make them most memorable.
Photo courtesy of Craigowmill Fold, www.highlandcattle.co.uk Highlands have a double coat of hair - a downy undercoat and a long outercoat which may reach 13 inches, and which is well-oiled to shed rain and snow. With the double coat of hair and thick hide, the Highland has been adapted by nature to withstand great exposure. It is not uncommon for Highlands to shed this heavy hair coat when exposed to a hot dry climate and then grow a new one as the damp cold weather returns.
The hair colour can be black, brindled, red, yellow, and dun - there is considerable difference of opinion among breeders as to which is preferable.
Common health conditions: Bad feet are a problem that the breed constantly confronts. The problem stems from weak pasterns and causes the toes to become long, further adding to this altered pastern angle (read more about Foot Problems in Highlands). While you can breed away from this very heritable problem, it takes several generations and some animals just need their feet trimmed now and then.
Long Horn cattle
Size: Cows range in height from 130 to 140cm and weigh 500 to 600kg. Males average 150 cm in height and 1000 kg in weight.
Appearance: English Longhorns are large lean beef cattle with an impressive sweep of horns that curve down to around the nose. These impressive horns are valued in the pedigree. The body may be any one of a wide range of brindle colours (including colours from red to grey) but they all have the characteristic white line or “finching” along the back and down the tail, which is passed onto their cross bred progeny.
Health issues: —-
Aberdeen Angus cattle
Size: cow: 550 kgs bull :850 kgs
Appearance: Aberdeen Angus cattle are naturally polled and can be black or red in colour although black is the dominant colour, white may occasionally appear on the udder.
Health problems : No known health issues. Some Angus does carry a recessive gene that could lead to birth defects if both the cow and bull that sired a calve carry the gene. These four defects caused by this are arthrogryposis multiplex (AM) or referred to as curly calf. Neuropathic hydrocephalus (NH) or called water head. Contractural arachnodactyly (CA) or referred to as a fawn syndrome. Notomelia which is a form of polymelia (or many legs).
Charolais cattle
Size: Charolais cattle are large with mature bulls weighing from 2,000 to well over 2,500 pounds and cows weigh from 1,250 to over 2,000 pounds.
Appearance: The typical Charolais is white in colour with a pink muzzle and pale hooves, horned, long bodied, and good milkers with a general coarseness to the animal not being uncommon. There are now Charolais cattle being bred black and red in colour.
Charolais are medium to large framed beef cattle with a very deep and broad body. They have a short, broad head and heavily muscled loins and haunches.
Health problems: —-
Dexter cattle
average weight of a cow being some 300 - 350 Kg’s and standing 92cm - 107cm at the shoulder.
The Dexter breed is a small breed of cattle. It is a dual-purpose breed, with the average weight of a cow being some 300 - 350 Kg’s and standing 92cm - 107cm at the shoulder. There are two recognized types, short legged and non-short, both of which have their equal merits.
The breed comes in three colours, predominately black, but also red and dun. Most are horned although a very few naturally polled animals are becoming available.
Chondrodysplasia (Dwarfism) and Pulmonary Hypoplasia with Anasarca are 2 genetic problems among Dexter cattle. They can be tested for and avoided.
Hereford cattle
Mature males may weigh up to 1,800 pounds, while mature females may weigh around 1,200.
The modern Hereford is coloured dark red to red-yellow, with a white face, crest, dewlap, and underline. Herefords with white flanks and white markings below the knees and hocks are also common. Most animals have short thick horns that typically curve down at the sides of the head, but there is a polled strain in North America and UK (Polled Hereford).
Mature males may weigh up to 1,800 pounds, while mature females may weigh around 1,200. They are muscular, moderate to long in length of side, adequate in length of leg, large in size, trim, and smooth. They are also well developed in the regions of valuable cuts - the back, loin, and hind quarters or round.
Eye cancer
Dwarfism is known to be prevalent in Hereford cattle and has been determined to be caused by an autosomal recessive gene
Simmental cattle
They have a large frame with good muscling with cows at approximately 135-150cm tall and the bulls at 150-160cm. Their weight can vary on the use of their use but cows can weigh around 700-900kgs and bulls 1300kgs.
Simmental colour varies from gold to red with white, and may be evenly distributed or clearly defined in patches on a white background. The head is white and often a white band appears over the shoulders like the photos above. The majority have pigment around the eyes, helping to reduce eye problems which occur from bright sunlight.
American Simmentals are coloured differently being predominantly black or red like the example photos below, the lighter colours are referred to as Fleckvieh.
Simmental can be horned or polled, if horned horns are up turned, another distinguishing feature is that they have a heavy dewlap.
However, the Simmental may be prone to mastitis because of its dairy background, and to prolapse and other calving difficulties because of its large frame. The breed also has a few genetic defects, which are being closely monitored.
Fresian dairy cattle
A mature Holstein cow typically weighs 680–770 kg (1500–1700 lb)
The Friesian can be one of two coat colour types, white with black patches (the common colour) or white with red patches. They are very similar in size and confirmation to the Holstein.
The Friesian is a renowned dairy breed with some outstanding examples of the breed having 12 to 15 lactations to their credit, emphasising their inherent natural fecundity.
1) Calve more frequently
2) Calve more often in their lifetime
3) Need less replacements
4) Provide valuable male calves
5) Have lower cell counts
6) Have higher fat and protein percent
They are also known for their:
Versatility
Quality milk
High lifetime yields
High quality lean meat
Holstein Friesian temperament
They are good-natured, are easy to handle and can be stabled without any problems. They are also resistant to stress, exhibit a herd mentality and are not solitary animals.
Guernsey dairy cattle
The colour of the Guernsey varies from yellow to reddish-brown with white patches. They have a finely tuned temperament, not nervous or irritable. Physically the breed has good dairy conformation and presents the visual impression of a plain animal bred for utility rather than good looks. The cow weighs 450 to 500 kg slightly more than the average weight of the Jersey cow which is around 450 kg (1000 pounds). The bull weighs 600 to 700 kg. They have an attractive carriage with a graceful walk, a strong back, broad loin, wide rump and deep barrel, strong, attached udder extending well forward, with the quarters evenly balanced and symmetrical. Heifers generally come into milk at about two years of age. The average weaning weight of heifers and bull calves is 75 kg. The Guernsey bull has an attractive individuality, revealing ample vigour and masculinity. It has smooth-blending shoulders showing good refinement, strength and even contour.
Guernseys are efficient converters of feed to product, being of intermediate size, Guernseys produce their high quality milk while consuming 20 to 30 percent less feed per pound of milk produced than larger dairy breeds.
Guernseys are capable of High Milk Flow.
Photo courtesy of The English Guernsey Cattle Society, guernseycattle.com
Guernseys reach reproductive maturity at an early age and can calve at 22 months of age. This provides an early return on investment.
Guernseys produce calves big at birth, which are easy to rear.
Guernseys are well known for having the minimum of calving complications.
Guernseys are adaptable to all climates and management systems and lack any known undesirable genetic recessive’s.
Her fawn and white coat enhances her heat tolerance and reduces heat stress, which adds to her ability to maintain production levels anywhere.
They are docile and have an ideal Dairy Temperament.
Although Guernseys are not as frail as commercial Holsteins, they are still prone to a variety of health problems ranging from lung problems to udder infections. Calves in particular tend to be delicate. Some of these problems are probably due to the increase of inbreeding in this breed.
Holstein dairy cattle
Holsteins are most quickly recognized by their distinctive colour markings and outstanding milk production. Holsteins are large cattle with colour patterns of black and white or red and white.
A healthy Holstein calf weighs 90 pounds or more at birth. A mature Holstein cow weighs about 1500 pounds and stand 58 inches tall at the shoulder.
Holstein heifers can be bred at 15 months of age, when they weigh about 800 pounds. It is desirable to have Holstein females calve for the first time between 24 and 27 months of age. Holstein gestation is approximately nine months.
While some cows may live considerably longer, the normal productive life of a Holstein is six years.
They adapt to all management and utilisation systems. They can be stabled, but are equally suitable for grazing. They can be kept on grassland or in mixed farming systems with bi-annual grazing, or be stabled throughout the year. Neither does it matter whether they are kept in high-lying or low-lying area. Not only are Holstein suitable for low-cost farming systems, they are also eminently suitable as dairy industry cows in intensive farming, which requires the stabling of cows
They are good-natured, are easy to handle and can be stabled without any problems. They are also resistant to stress, exhibit a herd mentality and are not solitary animals.
However, Holsteins, compared to natural breeds, are not as resistant to heat and diseases when in difficult agro-ecological areas. Their reaction to such conditions is a reduced production capacity. Experience has taught that they exhibit divergent adaptation abilities, which should therefore receive attention from a technical point of view when breeding.
Jersey dairy cattle
It is typically light brown in colour, though this can range from being almost grey to dull black, which is known as Mulberry. They can also have white patches which may cover much of the animal. A true Jersey will however always have a black nose bordered by an almost white muzzle.
The Jersey hard black feet are much less prone to lameness.
The Jersey is relatively small in size - about 400 to 450kgs in weight and have a fine but strong frame
Jerseys produces a pound of milk components at a lower cost compared to the other major breeds.
She has little or no calving problems, greater fertility, a shorter calving interval, and earlier maturity.
Jerseys stay in the herd longer than any other dairy breed.
Jersey milk has greater nutritional value, plus the highest yield and greater efficiency when processed into cheese and other value-added products.
Photo courtesy of Covington Jerseys, www.covingtonjerseys.com
Jersey milk commands a premium price in many markets.
Jerseys perform well under a wide range of systems and are well-known for their high feed conversion efficiency
Jersey milk is in many ways unique. As a product it contains:- 18% more protein, 20% more calcium, 25% more butterfat than “average” milk.
Jerseys are well-known to be less susceptible to lameness because of their black hoof colour which makes their hooves very hard. Because Jerseys are a lighter breed this may also give them less problems with lameness.
Good Temperament is important in a dairy cow. In today’s modern parlours rapid throughput is of top priority. An animal misbehaving by continually kicking, off the units will cause unwanted delays and even damage to the expensive equipment. Jerseys are thought to have the one of the best temperaments among, the dairy breeds, although a lot of this depends on the handling the animals receive.
A study from USDA in 2005 showed Jerseys in the United States to show almost a 20% superiority in the number of easy calvings (with very low incidence of very difficult calvings) than other, larger dairy breeds evaluated in the same study, regardless of lactation.
Likewise, figures from the Canadian Dairy Network in 2005 show first lactation Canadian Jerseys to have 96% unassisted or easy pull calvings, while cows in subsequent lactations have 99% unassisted or easy pull calvings.
Health
Results from several investigations lead to the conclusion that Jerseys are less susceptible to mastitis, e.g., in dairy herds of Florida, mastitis and udder disorders were more frequent among Holsteins (51% of cows treated) vs. 22% for Jerseys.
Texel sheep
Appearance: The Texel is a white, hornless breed with a broad head, white face and jet black nose. It is a medium-sized, has a long rectangular body and well pronounced muscles.
Breed attributes: As a terminal sire breed bred to produce lambs for the food chain, the Texel combines pronounced muscling, a long loin and lean meat. It made its mark in the UK as a crossing sire on native UK breeds, but Texel Mule and Texel cross females are increasingly popular as breeding females.
Commercial desirability: The Texel Sheep Society promotes the breed for its suitability for efficient prime lamb production in a variety of lowland and harsher environments, with fast growing lambs that stay lean.
Texel sheep have excellent temperaments. They are docile, easy to work around, and have a curious nature. They tend not to be easily excitable or nervous.
Texels are medium sized sheep with ewes weighing 150 - 200 pounds. They are easy keeping, easy fleshing animals that thrive on grass.
Border Leicester sheep
Appearance: This large, hornless sheep has prominent, erect ears and a Roman nose. It has white, demi-lustrous wool on its body, but none on its face or legs.
Breed attributes: The traits of a Border Leicester include good mothering ability and fast growing, early maturing lambs. These are passed to Mule sheep when then Border Leicester is crossed with a hill breed.
Commercial desirability: The Border Leicester Sheep Breeders Society promotes the breed has being the largest indigenous breed in the British Isles with the ability to produce Mule sheep that are versatile to many farming systems.
The Border Leicester is well known for its sensible temperament. Even the rams are typically well behaved.
A ram at maturity should weigh 175-300 pounds and stand about 32 inches at the shoulder. He should have a wide, level back. Ewes usually weigh 150-225 pounds.
Charollais
Appearance: The Charollais is a large, well-muscled animal. The head is pinkish with creamy/sandy hair but no wool. Animals often have a distinctive white flash above each eye. The fleece is white.
Breed attributes: A terminal sire breed with fine bones to produce a good meat-to-bone- ratio in lambs for the food chain. Traits include ewes that are prolific and easy lambing, rearing fast-growing lambs.
Commercial desirability: The British Charollais Sheep Society claims the breed is the second most popular terminal sire in the UK, due to the excellent fleshing qualities and growth in prime lambs.
On average at maturity, rams weigh 135 kg (300 lb) and ewes weigh 90 kg (200 lb).
Charollais ewes display a docile temperament and good maternal instincts, making them both easy to work with and excellent mothers.
