In the world, many beef breeds of cows have been bred, which differ in appearance, productivity, and other characteristic features.
This article will discuss one of these breeds - the Galloway breed, its description, advantages and disadvantages.
History of origin
Work on breeding Galloway breed occurred in Scotland, in the county of Galloway in the XVIII century.
We advise you to get acquainted with the most popular beef cattle breeds: Sharolese, Kazakh white-headed and limousine.
It is known that Scottish cows were involved in breeding, from which the Galloway cows adopted the main features of their appearance. The initial results of breeding did not give stable results - the animals were outwardly not similar to each other, and also differed by different productivity.
It is now accepted that the true Gallowian cow has an exclusively black color, but initially the results of selection gave a red or red-and-white shade of wool. 
Almost final results on the formation of external characteristics and productivity were obtained at the end of the XVIII century. Good results are attributed to the climate of Scotland, mild and snowless winters, as well as rich pastures. To create the breed, the best animals were chosen, with ideal external qualities, strong, hardy, actively growing, having good fat deposits.
As a result, a breed was obtained that was excellent for grazing, with high meat productivity results, without the need for regular intervention in the growing process.
Read about how to properly formulate a diet for dry and dairy cows, and also find out what grass cows eat, how to feed cows with silage, and what to do if a cow does not eat well.
Description and appearance
Each breed has its own characteristics, thanks to which its representatives can be distinguished from other breeds, therefore we will consider a detailed description of the appearance of the Galloway bulls, cows and calves.
Bull
Features of the appearance of bulls are as follows:
- the average weight of the Galloway male is about 1000 kg, individuals are quite large, have a massive head, with a developed frontal lobe and occipital crest;
- height at withers - 150 cm, chest girth - 230 cm;
- the body of the males is covered with thick black hair;
- individuals downed, well-fed, with strong bones;
- Representatives who have reached the age of 3 years are characterized by a maximum slaughter yield;
- male meat is very fat, with a low percentage of muscle fiber.
Cows
Characteristics of cows:
- the average weight of a female govorian is 500 kg, in rare cases larger specimens can be found;
- in height in withers a cow reaches 120 cm, characterized by an elongated, rounded body barrel333 +
- individuals have a short, dense neck, on which large folds are thickly scattered;
- chest wide, girth - 2 m;
- females are characterized by black color, in rare cases there are red and gray colors of the skins;
- hair is long, thick and wavy, up to 20 cm in length;
- The first calving falls in the third year of the female's life.
Calves
Calves are characterized by such indicators:
- at birth have a small mass, about 25 kg, which is a positive feature and allows females to settle without complications;
- with each subsequent day, calves gain at least 800 g, which is possible due to favorable environmental conditions;
- In the year of life, the calf weighs on average 400 kg, its height is 100 cm at the withers, the suit is black, the chest is wide, the body is strong.
It will probably be useful for you to learn the rules for keeping and feeding newborn calves at home, what to do if the calf does not eat or drink, and also read what vitamins the calves need for rapid growth.
Meat and Dairy Indicators
The productivity of the Gallevean cow, namely meat and dairy indicators are presented in the table.
| Indicator | Characteristic |
| Milk production per year | 1000-1500 l |
| Taste of milk | Pleasant, slightly sweet. |
| Milk Fat | 5% |
| The protein content in milk | 3,6-4% |
| The earliness of weight gain | The maximum weight is reached at the age of 2.5-3 years, early breed. |
| Slaughter meat | 70% |
| Meat quality | Quality meat, juicy, soft, with enough fat. |
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages of Gallouean cows are:
- low susceptibility to common diseases;
- a long period of animal life;
- high taste of meat;
- easy adaptation of animals to changes in weather conditions;
- unpretentiousness to feed and care;
- maximum adaptability to year-round pasture keeping;
- pronounced maternal qualities in females.
Important! Gallovean cows have a good combining ability, due to which individuals cross with other species to produce new breeds.The disadvantages of the Galloway cows include:
- a sufficiently long period of weight gain, which causes late maturity of individuals;
- minimum yields;
- large amounts of fat and bones in the carcass.
