Friday, July 5, 2019

Here Is Information On 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.

When the breed is crossbred with Brahmans, the hybrid that is produced is referred to as Charbray. Charbrays are recognized as separate breeds in some countries around the world. The first introduction of Charolais into the United States happened in the year 1946. The introduction was done in the Southern states of the US border with Mexico.

The breed was later introduced in the New England state in the northern part of the US from Canada in the year 1965. Charolais is the second most abundant cattle breed in France after the Holstein breed. In 2014, about 4.22 million animals were in France. Currently, there are about 730,000 million heads in the whole world. Countries with the highest population of these animals are Mexico and Czech Republic. The US also has significant numbers.

The physique of these animals is quite huge and they usually have large muscles as well. The bodies are covered in a white coat whereas their muzzles are pink in color. Their hooves have a pale color. These characteristics are common in the first generation but subsequent breeds have different colors. Nowadays, it is possible to find animals with black and red coats.

The breed is usually horned with long bodies. They have broad, but short heads, with visibly muscled haunches and loins. During winter, their coats become longer and thicker. The coat becomes sleeker and shorter continuously as the weather becomes warmer in summer. Mature cows weight about 900 kilograms while bulls can reach 1, 100 kilograms.

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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