ORIGIN
Galloway cattle belong to the Celtic branch, a black cattle that arrived with the Celts in the Neolithic period. It originated from the Galloway region in the southwest of Scotland. It is one of the oldest British breeds, although its herd book only dates from 1862. As of 1997, the herd size is 6000 cows and 196 bulls, 4 of which are available for artificial insemination.
MORPHOLOGY
Galloway cattle have a black thick coat, however, there are red, belted galloway or white variants. Their coat is long and tends to curly. They have no horns and are a small but heavy and muscular breed: 120 cm for a mass of 450-500 kg in the cow and 138 cm for 750 kg in the bull.
ABILITIES
Nowadays, it is mainly a butcher breed, but in the past it has provided milk and leather. It gives a fine, tender, juicy and tasty meat. Tests in the United States have ranked its meat at the top of 11 tasting breeds. It is renowned for its hardiness:
- The cow calves easily on its own and feeds its calf well.
- Winter fleece is made of long hard hairs on which snow and rain glide off. Underneath, a fine down insulates against the cold. This coat texture avoids a layer of subcutaneous fat that can be found in other breeds.
- It efficiently transforms roughage it finds into meat, without a grain finish.
- It is also a breed that knows how to defend itself against dogs. Some shepherds kept one in their flock of sheep to prevent the arrival of dogs. Yet it is also known to be a docile breed with humans that they know.
