Overview of Cattle and Sheep Breeds

Shorthorn

White/red/roan; high milk, good temperament, efficient roughage use; ➖ Coarse, low-quality carcass

Sussex

Red color

Hereford

Red body; white face, breast, belly, legs

Aberdeen Angus

Black, hornless; cold-tolerant, good mothers, early maturity; ➖ Small size

Galloway

Smaller, black, polled, long thick coat; ➖ Not heat tolerant

Zebu Types

Hardy under PH climate, lower carcass quality

Brahman

Silver-gray; heat and tick resistant, good mothering; ➖ Not cold tolerant, late maturity, low fertility

Sta. Gertrudis

Cherry red; excellent beef conformation, heavy hindquarters, heat/disease/insect resistant; ➖ Nervous, low reproduction, late maturity

Beef Master

Red; thick/beefy, heat/disease tolerant, good mothers; ➖ Bad disposition, thin hindquarters

Brangus

Black, polled; Angus × Brahman

Charbay

Cream white; rapid growth, parasite resistant; ➖ Long, shallow body, long legs

Charolais

White; excellent muscling, cold/heat tolerant; ➖ Calving difficulty, breed variation

Holstein Friesian

Black/white; highest milk, low fat, fast growth; ➖ Not heat tolerant

Jersey

Cream/brown; high fat, yellow milk; ➖ Yellow body fat

Guernsey

Brown with white limb/udder; docile, high solids; ➖ Small, not heat tolerant

Brown Swiss

Brown; hardy, docile, high milk & fat; ➖ Stubborn

Kerry & Dexter

Black with udder spots; Dexter = offshoot

Tharparkar

White/gray; dual: milk + working

Milking Shorthorn

(Yorkshire, England)

Devon

(England)

Red Poll

(Norfolk & Suffolk, England)

Sahiwal

(Punjab, Pakistan)

River Type

(milk-oriented) - Indian Buffalo, Murrah, Nili Ravi, Kundi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Egyptian, Mediterranean, Caucasian, Bulgarian, Buffalypso

Angora

White; small; 1.02 litter average

Jumnapari

Mixed color; Roman nose, long drooping ears; 5-6% milk fat

Boer

White w/ red head; Roman nose; 3 kiddings every 2 years

Anglo-Nubian

Africa; all colors; heat-tolerant; long ears

Saanen

Switzerland; white/cream; high milk (816-907 kg/year)

American Merino

Spain; "Golden fleece"; Types A, B, C (C = less wrinkles)

Rambouillet

France/Germany; Large, white; meatier than Merino; fleece grows ~3.5 in/year

Southdown

Gray/mouse brown face; early maturing

Hampshire Down

Black face; fast-growing lambs

Shropshire

Small; dark face; 150% lamb crop

Dorset Horn

White face/legs; horned/polled; muscular

Cheviot

White face; black nostrils; crimped wool

Corriedale

NZ; medium-large; good fleece (4.1-6.8 kg)

Suffolk

Large, blocky; black face/legs; no wool on head

PH Sheep

Merino (Spanish era) + recent US/AUS imports

Leicester

White, no wool on face
Even wool in length and diameter

Romney

Compact fleece, marshy-area adapted

Black-Faced Highland

Scotland; small; dual-layer coat

Karakul

Asia; black/brown face; coarse, wiry wool

New Sheep Breeds

Columbia, Romeldale, Targhee, Panama, Debouillet, Montadale, Laguna