Gasconne

Last updated

Gasconne
Gasconnes Antignac (11).JPG
Cow and calf
Conservation status
Other namesGascon
Country of originFrance
Distributionprincipally Occitanie
Usebeef
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    1000–1150 kg [3] :182
  • Female:
    650–750 kg [3] :182
Height
  • Male:
    average 145 cm [3] :182
  • Female:
    average 135 cm [3] :182
Coatgrey
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus

The Gasconne or Gascon is a French breed of beef cattle. It is named for the historic region of Gascony and is particularly associated with the Haute-Garonne, in the south-east of that region.

Contents

Two different types are distinguished, the Gasconne à muqueuses noires and the Gasconne aréolé, these were combined in 1955 into a single herd-book, but separated again in 1999. [4]

History

The Gasconne is named for the historic region of Gascony in south-western France, and is thought to have originated in the area of Saint-Gaudens, in the département of Haute-Garonne in the south-east of that region. [3] :182 It was originally bred in the French Pyrenees, where the harsh climate and limited resources led to the adaptations found in this breed. Because of these adaptations, Gascon cattle can survive and work hard in basically any condition. [5] Because they spend their winters in the low lands and their summers high on the Pyrenees, they are used to huge changes in the climate. [6]

The cattle are found mainly in the former regions of Languedoc-Rousillon and Midi-Pyrenées, now joined to form Occitanie. [3] :182 Some have been exported; small numbers are kept in Canada, in the Czech Republic and in the United Kingdom. [7]

Characteristics

The Gascon have many characteristics that make them different from any other breed of cattle. For example, their hard coat enables the Gascon to tolerate cold weather better than other cows; it is also very thick and sheds water well. The ease of calving is another. Gascon cows have a much shorter labour than other breeds. Another characteristic of the Gascon is that their calves get stronger and gain more weight faster than other types of cows. [4] [5]

Gascon cows have lower feed consumption than other types of cows. This is due to adaptation as their food sources are often scarce. However, they are still able to keep in good condition and become pregnant easily. Gascon cows have a gray coat, but are born red - the coat changes colour at about the fourth month of life. Bulls are grey, with black shading underneath. [5] Average height at the withers is about 145 cm for bulls and 135 cm for cows; body weights are the ranges 1000–1150 kg and 650–750 kg respectively. [3] :182

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Blue</span> Belgian breed of cattle

The Belgian Blue is a breed of beef cattle from Belgium. It may also be known as the Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique, or dikbil. Alternative names for this breed include Belgian Blue-White; Belgian White and Blue Pied; Belgian White Blue; Blue; and Blue Belgian. The Belgian Blue's extremely lean, hyper-sculpted, ultra-muscular physique is termed "double-muscling". The double-muscling phenotype is a heritable condition resulting in an increased number of muscle fibres (hyperplasia), instead of the (normal) enlargement of individual muscle fibres (hypertrophy).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charolais cattle</span> French beef cattle breed

The Charolais or Charolaise is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galloway cattle</span> Breed of beef cattle originating in Scotland

The Galloway is a Scottish breed of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated during the seventeenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guernsey cattle</span> Cattle breed

The Guernsey is a breed of dairy cattle from the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is fawn or red and white in colour, and is hardy and docile. Its milk is rich in flavour, high in fat and protein, and has a golden-yellow tinge due to its high β-carotene content. The Guernsey is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds; the other two are the Alderney, which is now extinct, and the Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Grey cattle</span> Breed of cattle

The Murray Grey is an Australian breed of polled beef cattle. It originated between 1905 and 1917 in the upper Murray River valley, on the border between New South Wales and Victoria. It is similar in appearance to the Aberdeen Angus, from which it largely derives, but is grey, silver or dun in colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corriente</span> American breed of cattle

The Corriente is an American breed of small cattle, used principally for rodeo events. It derives from Criollo Mexicano stock, which in turn descends from Iberian cattle brought to the Americas by the Conquistadores, and introduced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to various parts of what is now Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belted Galloway</span> Scottish breed of cattle

The Belted Galloway is a traditional Scottish breed of beef cattle. It derives from the Galloway stock of the Galloway region of south-western Scotland, and was established as a separate breed in 1921. It is adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. The exact origin of the breed is unclear, although the white belt for which they are named, and which distinguishes the breed from black Galloway cattle, is often surmised to be the result of cross-breeding with the similarly-coloured Dutch Lakenvelder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Gertrudis cattle</span> American breed of cattle

The Santa Gertrudis is an American breed of beef cattle. It is a taurine-indicine hybrid breed, descended from both zebu and European cattle. It was bred in the early twentieth century in Texas, and received official recognition in 1940. It has been exported to many countries including Australia, Brazil and South Africa, and has contributed to the development of a number of modern breeds, among them the Barzona and the Droughtmaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blonde d'Aquitaine</span> French breed of beef cattle

The Blonde d'Aquitaine is a modern French breed of large domestic beef cattle. It was created in 1962 by merging three blonde draught breeds of south-western France, the Blonde des Pyrénées, the Blonde de Quercy and the Garonnaise. Since about 1970, it has been selectively bred specifically for beef production. It is the third-most numerous beef breed of France, after the Charolais and the Limousin. It has been exported to many countries round the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aubrac cattle</span> Breed of cattle

The Aubrac or Laguiole is a French breed of beef cattle. It originates on the Plateau de l'Aubrac in the Massif Central in central southern France, from which it also takes its name. It has a wheat-coloured coat and dark hooves, switch, muzzle and eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungarian Grey</span> Hungarian breed of cattle

The Hungarian Grey, also known as the Hungarian Grey Steppe, is a Hungarian breed of beef cattle. It belongs to the group of Podolic cattle and is characterised by long lyre-shaped horns and a pale grey coat. It is well adapted to extensive pasture systems and was formerly raised in very large numbers in the Hungarian puszta. In the twentieth century it came close to extinction, but numbers have since risen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bazadaise</span> Breed of cattle

The Bazadaise or Grise de Bazas is a French breed of beef cattle. It takes its name from the town of Bazas in the département of the Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France, and originates in the low-lying areas to the south of the River Garonne near that town. A festival, the Fête des Boeufs Gras, is held each year in Bazas to present fattened Bazadaise stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lourdaise</span> French breed of cattle

The Lourdaise is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. It is named for the town of Lourdes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées département of the region of Occitanie, and originated in the surrounding country, particularly in the cantons of Argelès, Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Ossun. It was formerly a triple-purpose breed, kept for its milk, for its meat and for draught work. It was widely distributed in the Pyrénées of south-western France. It came close to extinction in the 1980s, but has since recovered following conservation efforts. It remains critically endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalmyk cattle</span> Cattle

Kalmyk cattle is a breed of beef cattle of the former Soviet Union, now found in the Russian Federation, in Kazakhstan and in Tajikistan. It is believed to have originated in Dzungaria, and to have been brought into south-eastern Russia by migrating Kalmyks in the seventeenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armoricaine</span> French breed of cattle

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parthenaise</span> French breed of cattle

The Parthenaise is a French breed of beef cattle. It is named for the town of Parthenay in the département of Deux-Sèvres, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of western France. It was formerly a triple-purpose breed, raised for milk, meat and draught work, but is now raised mainly for beef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corsican cattle</span> Breed of cattle

The Corse or Corsicana is a French breed of cattle indigenous to the island of Corsica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrenean donkey</span> French breed of donkey

The Pyrenean, French: Âne des Pyrénées, is a French breed of domestic donkey. It is distributed in a large area of south-western France, covering the whole of the regions of Aquitaine, Midi Pyrénées and Languedoc Roussillon. The largest concentration is in Aquitaine, which is a large part of the historic region of Gascony. The Pyrenean donkey breed unites two quite different types: the short and powerful Gascon type, and the taller and more elegant Catalan type, which is the French population of the Catalan donkey breed, approximately 20% of the total number of which is in the Roussillon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Béarnaise cattle</span> Breed of cattle

The Béarnaise is a French breed of domestic beef cattle. It originates in the area of the traditional province of Béarn, in the east of the département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the northern Pyrénées in south-west France. It was merged with other breeds in 1920 to form the Blonde des Pyrénées, which in turn was fused with the Blonde de Quercy and Garonnaise breeds to create the Blonde d'Aquitaine in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirandaise</span> French breed of cattle

The Mirandaise is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle from the département of the Gers, in the historic region of Gascony, now part of the region of Occitanie in south-western France. It is named for the commune of Mirande, in the Gers. The Mirandaise is characterised by an unusual colouration of the areas around the anus and vulva, which are dark in the centre and pale towards the edges. This areola has given the breed its other name, the French: Gasconne aréolée. It is a different breed from the smaller Gasconne, which does not have the same colouration.

References

  1. 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. Breed data sheet: Gasconne / France (Cattle) . Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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 "Gascon". Department of Animal Science. Oklahoma State University Board of Regents. 2 September 1997. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Gascon Cattle". Gascon Cattle Society website. 16 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  6. "Gascon beef. (Livestock). " Farmers Weekly. (13 Feb 2004): 2. General OneFile. Gale.
  7. Transboundary breed: Devon. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2024.