CATTLE BREEDS ID

ANGUS

Ayrshires are red and white, and purebred Ayrshires only produce red and white offspring. Actually, the red color is a reddish-brown mahogany that varies in shade from very light to very dark. On some bulls, the mahogany color is so dark that it appears almost black in contrast to the white. There is no discrimination or registry restriction on color patterns for Ayrshires. The color markings vary from nearly all red to nearly all white. The spots are usually very jagged at the edges and often small and scattered over the entire body of the cow. Usually, the spots are distinct, with a break between the red and the white hair. Some Ayrshires exhibit a speckled pattern of red pigmentation on the skin covered by white hair. Brindle and roan color patterns were once more common in Ayrshires, but these patterns are rare today AYRSHIRE

BEEFMASTER

BELTED GALLOWAY

Braford cattle are approximately 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Hereford. BRAFORD

All the Bos indicus cattle are characterized by a large hump over the top of the shoulder and neck. Spinal processes below the hump are extended, and there is considerable muscular tissue covering the processes. The other characteristics of these cattle are their horns, which usually curve upward and are sometimes tilted to the rear, their ears, which are generally large and pendulous, and the throatlatch and dewlap, which have a large amount of excess skin. They also have more highly developed sweat glands than European cattle (Bos taurus) and so can perspire more freely. Bos indicus cattle produce an oily secretion from the sebaceous glands which has a distinctive odor and is reported to assist in repelling insects. BRAHMAN

Their genetics are stabilized at 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus BLACK BRANGUS

Braunvieh are various shades of brown, predominately mousy brown, but ranging from light brown with gray to very dark brown. The border of the muzzle is very light, as is the poll, and often a lighter colored dorsal stripe is seen. The udder and inside of the legs and underline also being the lighter shade. A darker, smokier shading is often evident around the shoulders and neck compared to the rest of the body. The switch of the tail is dark brown to black. The skin is pigmented, the muzzle is black, and the hooves are dark and very hard. BRAUNVIEH

BROWN SWISS

The French have long selected their cattle for size and muscling. They selected for bone and power to a greater extent than was true in the British Isles. The French breeders stressed rapid growth in addition to cattle that would ultimately reach a large size. These were men that wanted cattle that not only grew out well but could be depended upon for draft power. Little attention was paid to refinement, but great stress was laid on utility. The Charolais of France are white in color, horned, long bodied, and good milkers with a general coarseness to the animal not being uncommon. CHAROLAIS

The breed is red in color, with strong skin pigmentation, and horned. Polled cattle have developed in the United States from the use of naturally hornless foundation females. Proponents of the breed claim the breed has superior fertility, calving ease, mothering ability, and growth rate of the calves GELBVIEH

GUERNSEY

HEREFORD

HOLSTIEN

Cows show very marked refinement about their heads and shoulders, carry long, straight top lines, and usually carry out long and level at the rump. For their size, they are usually deep in the body and full and deep in the barrel JERSEY

LIMOUSIN

At the beginning of the 19th century, the cattle in this region were large, well- muscled animals with light red coats spotted with white. MAINE ANJOU

POLLED HEREFORD

RED ANGUS

RED BRANGUS

SANTA GERTRUDIS

SHORTHORN

SIMMENTAL

TEXAS LONGHORN