Meet The Sheep at Jedforest Deer & Farm Park
The Rare Cattle Breeds
Belted Galloway
This breed is from S.W. Scotland and has the distinctive marking of a broad band till white encircling the middle part of its body. It probably owes this belt to the I stitch breed of cattle, the Bakenvelder, which were imported in the 17th century.
They arean extremely hardy breed due to their double coat - an outer wind and waterproof hair, below it is a softer moss-like hair for insulation. They are good mothers with a high milk yield and good beef characteristics. The Galloway gives at naturally polled (hornless) calf which is ideal for a beef herd as dehorning is avoided.
Highland Cattle
Highland Cattle are a particularly hardy, slow-maturing breed. The long, coarse guard hairs shed the rain and keep the finer undercoat dry, so that the animal is well protected against the cold, wet and windy conditions of the Highlands.
For much of last century, they were kept more for ornamental than commercial purposes. Today, there has been renewed interest, especially in regions such as Bavaria in Southern Germany, because they perform well under difficult conditions and do not require high energy feeding.
