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What breed of cattle are these?


IronHorse
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I don't have a picture of one but I am sure somebody knows what they are by a simple describtion.

 

They are banded around the mid section in white,,Head and foreleg is black as are the hind quarters.

 

I am seeing more and more of this breed showing up around here and am interested in finding out more about them.

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Belted Galloways?

Thanks thats what they are :D

They sure seem to be growing in popularity around here.

I assume from the ones i have been seeing that they are a beef breed.

Do they have certain atributes as a beef breed?

Or is it basically just the novelty of their markings?

 

(first ones I noticed in a pasture I thought at first it was some kind of a lark that someone had gone out and painted his angus middles white) :rolleyes:

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I'm sorry, I don't know much about cattle in general. My understanding is they are easy keepers. They are more common in the U.K. than they are here. I think they are Scots.

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IronHorse,

The belted galloway is listed by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy conservation priority list as recovering. Here is a link from the ALBC site, which actually takes you to the Oklahoma State livestock breeds site: Belted Galloway.

 

I seem to remember hearing that the breed was more suited to producing pasture-raised beef, so they may be of interest to folks interested in raising grass-fed beef, but my memory may be faulty on that.

 

J.

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It's a "heritage" or fancy breed. They are Irish in origin, aren't they? Or Galloways are, I think? Anyway, both breeds are a homesteader type breed. They are a bit smaller overall, are more suited for natural calf raising than quick growth, and the regular Galloways are supposed to be quite thrifty. I've heard Belteds are a mixed bag - people are out there raising large lawn ornaments and pets and letting the thrify nature of the breed slip.

 

I did some looking into the heritage/homesteading breeds of cattle looking for something to follow the sheep and help with parasite control. I finally decided that cattle were still cattle no matter how small - big mess, big eaters - maybe later when we've got more pasture fenced but not now.

 

If we do go that route we'll be looking for Dexters. They seem to have a stable gene pool and are good beef producers for the size. They aren't pretty but I'm not into pasture ornaments.

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Thanks guys

I'm not into pasture ornaments either but I have been curious as to why I am seeing more of these Galloways showing up around here.

Julie's remark about them being suited to grass fed makes sense.

Actually now that I think more about it i tend to see them on less then the best pastures.

I'll be finding out more about em,just cause I am a curious type and it gives me a good reason to strike up a convo at the sale barn.

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