Saturday, July 6, 2019

Useful Information Regarding Charolais Cattle

By Linda Campbell


There are numerous breeds of cattle which have been bred over the years in order to boost the production of meat across the globe. There are certain breeds which are very old, having originated many years ago. Despite there being tremendous achievement in this industry, more research is being conducted to develop better animals which are capable of producing more and better meat. Among the cattle breeds which have existed for quite a while now are the Charolais cattle.

The origin of this breed is the Charolais region in Burgundy, France. The purpose of developing this breed was meat production. The breed was previously widely used as draught animal. Over the years, this breed has been introduced to many nations around the world, including the US. Also, it has been crossbred with other breeds around the world like Angus and Hereford in order to come up with other new breeds.

Charbray breed is produced when Charolais is crossbred with Brahmans. Some countries consider Charbray to be a separate breed. Charolais breed was first introduced in the United States in 1946. The breed came from Mexico and was introduced into the US through the states in the southern border.

Later in 1965, the breed was introduced into the northern state of New England from Canada. In France, Charolais hold the second position in terms of abundance. The first position is held by the Holstein. France had about 4.22 million heads of these animals in the year 2014. The global population of the breed currently stands at around 730, 000 million. Czech Republic and Mexico are the countries with the highest numbers of these animals. United States has substantial numbers too.

In terms of physique, the animals have generally large bodies and muscles. The bodies are covered with a white coat. They have pink muzzles with pale hooves. However, these characteristics are mostly found in the original breed. Today, this is no longer the case since the animals have been crossbred with other breeds and there has been continued breeding. That is why one can come across animals with different coats other than white. Black and red coats are particularly very common.

This breed has long horns and an elongated body. The heads are broad and short, with distinctive muscled haunches and loins. In winter, their coats usually become thicker and longer. However, as the weather gets warmer in summer, the coat becomes continuously shorter and sleeker to prevent overheating. The weight of a mature cow is around nine hundred kilograms while that of bulls is about one thousand one hundred kilos.

The cattle are known to have high growth rate and uniformity. They are strong and hardy animals which can survive harsh climatic conditions. Since they have a calm temperament, they are quite easy to handle. However, there are instances where the bulls are known to be aggressive and should be handled with care.

Normally, cows are sometimes protective of their newborn calves. They can be very aggressive against animals and people who come close to their newborn calves. There are no known complications that arise from the calving process. Calves are usually born with much weight. A few hours after the calves have been born, they are ready to move around since they are hardy. Calves normally grow at a fast rate.




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