Armoricaine
.jpg) | |
 Cows and calves | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Armorican |
| Country of origin | France |
| Distribution | Brittany |
| Use | dual-purpose, meat and milk |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Skin colour | pale |
| Coat | red with some white markings |
| Horn status | horned in both sexes |
| |
The Armoricaine or Armorican is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. It originated in Brittany in the nineteenth century. It has a red coat with white markings, and has short horns.
History
[edit]The Armoricaine was created in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding animals of the local Froment du Léon and the now-extinct Pie Rouge de Carhaix breeds with imported Durham (now known as Shorthorn) stock from the United Kingdom.[4][5] A herd-book was started in 1919,[2] and the Armoricaine breed name came into use in 1923.[6]
The Armoricaine was used, with Meuse-Rhine-Issel and Rotbunt stock, in the creation of the Pie Rouge des Plaines breed of dairy cattle in the 1960s.[7] In the later twentieth century it became rare; by 1978 there were no more than forty cows remaining. Following the discovery of a reserve of frozen semen in the 1980s, a programme of recovery was launched.[3]: 113 In 2001 there were 61 cows registered, and 10 bulls; semen from 18 bulls was preserved and available for artificial insemination.[5]
The breed was listed by the FAO as "critically endangered" in 2007.[1]: 136 The population was estimated in 2005 to be in the range 230–248 head,[4] and in 2020 was reported as 301 cows on 81 farms.[8] The population reported for 2023 was 1799 head in 82 farms; this included 597 breeding cows and 50 active bulls.[2] The conservation status of the breed in 2025 was "at risk/endangered-maintained".[2]
Characteristics
[edit]The coat is red, with some white markings. The horns are short. Cows weigh about 650 kg, and stand about 138 cm at the withers.[2]
Use
[edit]The Armoricaine is a dual-purpose breed, and may be raised both for meat and for milk. Cows produce some 4500 kg of milk in a lactation of about 305 days.[4] The young grow quickly, and mature animals fatten fast.[8]
References
[edit]
- ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Breed data sheet: Armoricaine / France (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
- ^ a b c d Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ a b c d Étude de la race bovine: Armoricaine (in French). Bureau des Ressources Génétiques. Archived 17 May 2015.
- ^ a b Breed description: Armorican. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. Archived 15 October 2007.
- ^ Armoricaine Cattle Breed. Slow Food Foundation. Archived 22 December 2024.
- ^ Breed data sheet: Pie Rouge des Plaines / France (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
- ^ a b Beef breeds: Conservation breeds. Institut de l'Elevage et Races de France. Archived 27 October 2020.