Shorthorn

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Red Shorthorn Bull IMG 0077.jpg
A red shorthorn bull
Light Roan Shorthorn Heifer DSCN1872b.jpg
A roan shorthorn heifer

The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emphasised one quality or the other. Over time, these different lines diverged, and by the second half of the twentieth century, two separate breeds had developed – the Beef Shorthorn, and the Milking Shorthorn. All Shorthorn cattle are coloured red, white, or roan, although roan cattle are preferred by some, and completely white animals are not common. However, one type of Shorthorn has been bred to be consistently white – the Whitebred Shorthorn, which was developed to cross with black Galloway cattle to produce a popular blue roan crossbreed, the Blue Grey.

Contents

History

The breed developed from Teeswater and Durham cattle found originally in the North East of England. In the late eighteenth century, the Colling brothers, Charles and Robert, started to improve the Durham cattle using the selective breeding techniques that Robert Bakewell had used successfully on Longhorn cattle. In 1796, Charles Colling of Ketton Hall, bred the famous Durham Ox. [1] The culmination of this breeding program was the birth of the bull Comet, bred by Charles Colling, in 1804. This bull was subsequently sold for 1000 guineas in 1810 at the Brafferton sale, the first 1000-guinea bull ever recorded. Related cattle may have been imported to the United States by Harry Dorsey Gough of Baltimore, Maryland, before 1808. [2]

At the same time, Thomas Bates of Kirklevington and John Booth of Killesby were developing the Teeswater cattle. The Bates cattle were subsequently developed for their milking qualities, whereas the Booth cattle were developed for their beef qualities. Animals taken to Scotland in 1817 from the Booth herd were used to produce the Beef Shorthorn breed. [1]

In 1822, George Coates published the first volume of his herd book; this was the first pedigree herd book for cattle in the world. [3]

Coates published the first four volumes, after which Henry Stafford took over the ownership and publishing of the herd book, retaining the name Coates's Herd Book. The Shorthorn Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1874, and purchased the copyright of the herd book from Stafford. They have continued to compile and publish Coates's Herd Book ever since. The American Shorthorn Herd Book was the first to be published in the United States for any breed and was started in 1846, with the formation of the American Shorthorn Association following 26 years later in 1872.

Tibial hemimelia, a rare genetic disorder, was identified in Canada in 1999 in a small number of Shorthorn cattle, all descended from a single individual. [4]

Distribution

Shorthorn bull, cows & calves Shorthorn bull, cows & calves.jpg
Shorthorn bull, cows & calves

Today, the breed is found mainly in English-speaking countries, and Southern South America. The main countries are: Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. Beamish Museum in north-eastern England preserves the Durham breed.

Australia

Shorthorn cattle were one of the first purebred breeds to be imported into Australia when several cows were brought into New South Wales in 1800. More purebred Shorthorns were imported into NSW in 1825 by Potter McQueen of Scone. [3] Nine months later, the Australian Agricultural Company imported additional Shorthorns, and in the 1930s, Thomas Simpson Hall, the breeder of the Halls Heeler, imported Durham Shorthorns from which he developed extensive herds of Poll Shorthorns. [5]

The breed has a wide genetic base, resulting in the development of several distinct though closely related strains – these are the traditional strains:

The current Shorthorn Society of Australia encompasses the Poll Shorthorn, Australian Shorthorn, and Durham.[ citation needed ]

Shorthorns have contributed to the development of breeds such as the Belmont Red [3] and Santa Gertrudis.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Poll</span> Dual-purpose cattle breed

The Red Poll is a dual-purpose breed of cattle developed in England in the latter half of the 19th century. The Red Poll is a cross of the Norfolk Red beef cattle and Suffolk Dun dairy cattle breeds.

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

The Highland is a Scottish breed of rustic cattle. It originated in the Scottish Highlands and the Western Islands of Scotland and has long horns and a long shaggy coat. It is a hardy breed, able to withstand the intemperate conditions in the region. The first herd-book dates from 1885; two types – a smaller island type, usually black, and a larger mainland type, usually dun – were registered as a single breed. It is reared primarily for beef, and has been exported to several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey cattle</span> British breed of small dairy cattle

The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. The milk is high in butterfat and has a characteristic yellowish tinge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen Angus</span> Scottish breed of beef cattle

The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 17% of the beef production in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holstein Friesian</span> Breed of dairy cattle

The Holstein Friesian is an international breed or group of breeds of dairy cattle. It originated in Frisia, stretching from the Dutch province of North Holland to the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is the dominant breed in industrial dairy farming worldwide, and is found in more than 160 countries. It is known by many names, among them Holstein, Friesian and Black and White.

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

The Brahman is an American breed of zebuine-taurine hybrid beef cattle. It was bred in the United States from 1885 from cattle originating in India, imported at various times from the United Kingdom, India, and Brazil. These were mainly Gir, Guzerá and Nelore stock, with some Indu-Brasil, Krishna Valley and Ongole. The Brahman has a high tolerance of heat, sunlight and humidity, and good resistance to parasites. It has been exported to many countries, particularly in the tropics; in Australia it is the most numerous breed of cattle. It has been used in the creation of numerous taurine-indicine hybrids, some of which – such as the Brangus and Brahmousin – are established as separate breeds.

<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">Dairy Shorthorn</span> British breed of dairy cattle

The Dairy Shorthorn is a British breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the Shorthorn cattle of Teesside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in Northumbria in north-eastern England. The Shorthorn was for this reason at first known as the Durham or Teeswater.

<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">Senepol</span> Cattle breed

The Senepol breed of beef cattle was developed on the Caribbean Island of St. Croix. It has long been thought that Senepol originated from just crosses between N'Dama cattle, imported in the late 19th century, and Red Poll cattle, but it is actually an admixed breed that consists of Red Poll, N'Dama, Criola and a trace amount of Zebu. The Senepol breed combines characteristics of heat tolerance and insect resistance with the docile nature, good meat, and high milk production of the Red Poll. They are polled, short haired, and colored red, black or brown.

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

The Limousin, French: Limousine, is a French breed of beef cattle from the Limousin and Marche regions of France. It was formerly used mainly as a draught animal, but in modern times is reared for beef. A herd-book was established in France in 1886. With the mechanisation of agriculture in the twentieth century, numbers declined. In the 1960s there were still more than 250 000 head, but the future of the breed was not clear; it was proposed that it be merged with the other blonde draught breeds of south-western France – the Blonde des Pyrénées, the Blonde de Quercy and the Garonnaise – to form the new Blonde d'Aquitaine. Instead, a breeders' association was formed; new importance was given to extensive management, to performance recording and to exports. In the twenty-first century the Limousin is the second-most numerous beef breed in France after the Charolais. It is a world breed, raised in about eighty countries round the world, many of which have breed associations.

<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">Beef Shorthorn</span> Breed of cattle

The Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual-purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However, different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than the other, and in 1958, the beef breeders started their own section of the herdbook. Since then, the Beef Shorthorns have been developed as a separate breed to the Dairy Shorthorns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry cattle</span> Cattle breed, native to Ireland

Kerry cattle are a rare breed of dairy cattle, native to Ireland. They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe, probably derived from small black cattle brought to Ireland by Neolithic man. They were probably also the first cattle bred mainly for milk production, with other breeds being developed mainly for draught and meat. The climate of southwestern Ireland was suitable for milk production year-round, and the Celts also stored milk in the form of cheese and butter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Hereford (crossbreed)</span> Breed of cattle

The Black Hereford is a crossbreed of beef cattle produced in Britain and Ireland with Hereford beef bulls and Angus. Black Herefords are not usually maintained from generation to generation, but are constantly produced as a byproduct of a terminal cross. They are one of the most common types of beef cattle in Britain and Ireland, outnumbering many pure beef breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droughtmaster</span> Australian breed of cattle

The Droughtmaster is an Australian breed of beef cattle. It was developed from about 1915 in North Queensland by crossing zebuine cattle with cattle of British origin, principally the Beef Shorthorn. It was the first Australian taurindicine hybrid breed; it is approximately 50% Bos indicus and 50% Bos taurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Red</span> British breed of cattle

The Lincoln Red is a British breed of red-coated beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the county of Lincolnshire in the eastern Midlands of England. It was selectively bred in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by crossing large local draught cattle of the region with Teeswater Shorthorns of medium size. It was at first known as the Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn, and was a dual-purpose breed, reared both for milk and for beef. The polling gene was introduced in the early twentieth century, and the cattle are now usually polled; the word 'shorthorn' was dropped from the breed name in 1960. In the twenty-first century it is reared for beef.

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

The American Milking Devon is an American breed of dual-purpose cattle, reared both for milk and for beef. It derives from the Devon cattle of the United States, which in turn are derived from the North Devon cattle of south-west England. It was established as a separate breed in 1978 with the formation of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association, after the breeding aims of the Devon were concentrated almost exclusively on beef production. It is a rare breed: its conservation status is listed as by the Livestock Conservancy as 'critical'.

The Blue Albion was a British breed of cattle with an unusual blue roan coat. It originated in the English Midlands in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and was a dual-purpose breed, reared both for beef and for milk. It became extinct following the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 1967.

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

The Japanese Shorthorn is a breed of small Japanese beef cattle. It is one of six native Japanese cattle breeds, and one of the four Japanese breeds known as wagyu, the others being the Japanese Black, the Japanese Brown and the Japanese Polled. All wagyu cattle derive from cross-breeding in the early twentieth century of native Japanese cattle with imported stock, mostly from Europe. In the case of the Japanese Shorthorn, the principal foreign influence was from the Shorthorn, with some contribution from the Ayrshire and Devon breeds.

References

  1. 1 2 Friend, John B., Cattle of the World, Blandford Press, Dorset, 1978, ISBN   0-7137-0856-5
  2. Goff, Phillip. The Four Goff Brothers of West Virginia: A New Perspective on Their Lives, pp. 65 ff. Masthof (Morgantown), 2003. Accessed 20 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Beef Breeders' Annual, An Inverell Times supplement, Shorthorn breed arrived with the First Fleet, July 2008
  4. Tibial Hemimelia, Meningocele, and Abdominal Hernia in Shorthorn Cattle, J. M. Lapointe, S. Lachance and D. J. Steffen, Veterinary Pathology 37: 508 – 511, 2000 Retrieved on 10 November 2008
  5. Howard, A. J. (Bert) (1990), "Halls Heelers", in Russel M. Warner (ed.), Over-Halling the Colony, Sydney: Southwood Press, ISBN   0-908219-07-5

Breed associations