Angeln cattle

Angeln

Country of origin	Germany
Distribution	world-wide
Use	milk
Traits
Weight	Female: 650 kg
Coat	deep red
Cattle Bos primigenius

The Angeln is a German breed of cattle originally from Angeln in Schleswig-Holstein. They are first mentioned around 1600, however some people think that they may have existed for over 5000 years. ^[1] Breed management has been practiced since 1830. Angeln cattle are red in color and were one of the founders of the larger Danish Red Cattle breed. They are noted for the high milkfat level of their milk. Angeln cows produce an average of 7570 kg of 4.81% fat milk.^{[ citation needed ]}

Characteristics

The breed is considered particularly noble and has been referred to as the "Arabian among cows". The animals typically have a uniform reddish-brown coat, although white markings may occur on the udder and abdomen. Some breeding lines display black facial markings and black legs. Cows reach a live weight of 450–650 kg with a withers height of 1.26–1.42 m. ^[2]

Traditional Angeln cattle show about 15% higher utilisation of roughage compared to other breeds. This means the animals can be kept with little to no concentrate feed and still achieve a good milk yield with a fat content of around 5%, without adverse effects on their overall health. One breeding objective of this breed is a strong response to feeding: good and poor feeding conditions primarily affect the amount of milk produced, but not the overall health of the animals. This makes the breed particularly well-suited for organic farming. ^[2]

Due to their size and medium weight, the cattle cause relatively little damage to grass swards and are also suitable for sloped terrain. Their body structure also facilitates calving. ^[2]

In addition to its high fat content (4.5–6%) and protein content (3.2–4%), the milk of the traditional Angeln cattle has excellent cheesemaking properties, such as shorter coagulation and firming times, faster gel formation rates, greater gel strength, higher cheese yield (up to 6%), improved cheese quality, and greater heat stability. Due to its high fat content, the Angeln cow was also known as the "German butter cow." ^{[2] [3]}

The meat is fine-fibered and tender, with a low content of connective tissue and a good water retention capacity. Due to a high level of intramuscular fat, the meat is very flavorful. In part because of this taste, the traditional Angeln cattle breed has been included by Slow Food in the Ark of Taste. ^[2]

References

1. "Breeds of Livestock - Angeln Cattle — Breeds of Livestock, Department of Animal Science". afs.okstate.edu. 16 February 2021.
2. "Project for the Preservation and Breeding of the Traditional Angeln Cattle". anglerrind-az.de (in German). Preservation and Breeding Project in Everode. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
3. "History". anglerrind-az.de (in German). Preservation and Breeding Project. Retrieved 2025-08-13.