Armoricaine

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Armoricaine
Drev chez Yannig Coulomb & Gaelle Kerleguer (cropped).jpg
Dourvarc'h & Veaux Armoricains.jpg
Cows and calves
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): critical [1] :136
  • DAD-IS (2025): at risk/endangered-maintained [2]
Other namesArmorican
Country of originFrance
Distribution Brittany
Usedual-purpose, meat and milk
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    800–1000 kg [3] :113
  • Female:
    600–700 kg [3] :113
Height
  • 130–140 cm [3] :113
  • Female:
    138 cm [4]
Skin colourpale
Coatred with some white markings
Horn statushorned in both sexes
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus

The Armoricaine or Armorican is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. It originated in Brittany in the nineteenth century. It has a red coat with white markings, and has short horns.

Contents

History

The Armoricaine was created in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding animals of the local Froment du Léon and the now-extinct Pie Rouge de Carhaix breeds with imported Durham (now known as Shorthorn) stock from the United Kingdom. [4] [5] A herd-book was started in 1919, [2] and the Armoricaine breed name came into use in 1923. [6]

The Armoricaine was used, with Meuse-Rhine-Issel and Rotbunt stock, in the creation of the Pie Rouge des Plaines breed of dairy cattle in the 1960s. [7] In the later twentieth century it became rare; by 1978 there were no more than forty cows remaining. Following the discovery of a reserve of frozen semen in the 1980s, a programme of recovery was launched. [3] :113 In 2001 there were 61 cows registered, and 10 bulls; semen from 18 bulls was preserved and available for artificial insemination. [5]

The breed was listed by the FAO as "critically endangered" in 2007. [1] :136 The population was estimated in 2005 to be in the range 230–248 head, [4] and in 2020 was reported as 301 cows on 81 farms. [8] The population reported for 2023 was 1799 head in 82 farms; this included 597 breeding cows and 50 active bulls. [2] The conservation status of the breed in 2025 was "at risk/endangered-maintained". [2]

Characteristics

The coat is red, with some white markings. The horns are short. Cows weigh about 650 kg, and stand about 138 cm at the withers. [2]

Use

The Armoricaine is a dual-purpose breed, and may be raised both for meat and for milk. Cows produce some 4500 kg of milk in a lactation of about 305 days. [4] The young grow quickly, and mature animals fatten fast. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN   9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Breed data sheet: Armoricaine / France (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN   9781780647944.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Étude de la race bovine: Armoricaine (in French). Bureau des Ressources Génétiques. Archived 17 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 Breed description: Armorican. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. Archived 15 October 2007.
  6. Armoricaine Cattle Breed. Slow Food Foundation. Archived 22 December 2024.
  7. Breed data sheet: Pie Rouge des Plaines / France (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
  8. 1 2 Beef breeds: Conservation breeds. Institut de l'Elevage et Races de France. Archived 27 October 2020.