Holstein

Information
General info. Things like temperament, health, characteristics and such go here

☀Holstein Friesians (often shortened as Friesians in Europe, and Holsteins in North America) are a breed of dairy cattle originating from the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and what is now Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. They are known as the world's highest-production dairy animals.

The Dutch breeders bred and oversaw the development of the breed with the goal of obtaining animals that could best use grass, the area's most abundant resource. Over the centuries, the result was a high-producing, black-and-white dairy cow.

With the growth of the New World markets began to develop for milk in North America and South America, and dairy breeders turned to the Netherlands for their livestock. After about 8,800 Friesians (black pied Germans) had been imported, disease problems in Europe led to the cessation of exports to markets abroad.

In Europe, the breed is used for milk in the north, and meat in the south. Since 1945, European national development has led to cattle breeding and dairy products becoming increasingly regionalized. More than 80% of dairy production is north of a line joining Bordeaux and Venice, which also has more than 60% of the total cattle. This change led to the need for specialized animals for dairy (and beef) production. Until this time, milk and beef had been produced from dual-purpose animals. The breeds, national derivatives of the Dutch Friesian, had become very different animals from those developed by breeders in the United States, who used Holsteins only for dairy production.

Breeders imported specialized dairy Holsteins from the United States to cross with the European black and whites. For this reason, in modern usage, "Holstein" is used to describe North or South American stock and its use in Europe, particularly in the North. "Friesian" denotes animals of a traditional European ancestry, bred for both dairy and beef use. Crosses between the two are described by the term "Holstein-Friesian".

A healthy calf weighs 40 to 45 kg or more at birth. A mature Holstein cow typically weighs 580 kg (1280 pounds), and stands 147 cm (58 inches) tall at the shoulder. Holstein heifers should be bred by 13 to 15 months of age, when they weigh over 360 kg (794 pounds). Generally, breeders plan for Holstein heifers to calve for the first time between 23 and 26 months of age. The gestation period is about nine and a half months.

General Information
Holsteins have distinctive markings, usually black and white or black red in color. The expression of red colour replacing the black in Holsteins is a function of a recessive gene.[23] Assuming the allele 'B' stands for the dominant black and 'b' for the recessive red, cattle with the paired genes 'BB', 'Bb', or 'bB' would be black and white, while 'bb' cattle would be red and white.The first polled Holstein was identified in the United States in 1889. Polled Holsteins have the dominant polled gene which makes them naturally hornless. The polled gene has historically had a very low gene frequency in the Holstein breed. However, with animal welfare concerns surrounding the practice of dehorning, the interest in polled genetics is growing rapidly.

Heifer Coat Colors

 * Black
 * Brown
 * Red
 * Dark Red
 * Bay

Bull Coat Colors

 * Black
 * Red
 * Dark Red
 * Dun

Markings

 * White 1 (only hooves are white)
 * White 2 (white underside)
 * White 3 (white patches)
 * White 4 (spotted white)