The Berrichon is a large white-faced, medium boned, well-fleshed sheep originating from the Cher region of France. Its primary role has been that of a terminal sire ( used in a commercial breeding program) , producing quick growing easy fleshed lambs capable of being finished at a range of weights to suit varying market specifications and demands.
Berrichon Traits
Berrichon breeders have concentrated on breeding sheep which can lamb easily and are active at birth being quickly on to their feet and suckling. The Berrichon also has a tight skin and the wool is of a very high standard which has in the past been exported for use in high-class wool products in Japan.
Berrichon Rams
The rams are very active and capable of serving large numbers of ewes both under intensive and extensive systems. They are well fleshed all over with deep gigots and as a result of this Berrichon sired lambs weigh very well.
Berrichon Ewes.
The Berrichon ewes can lamb naturally all the year round and also have the ability to lamb three times in two years under intensive systems. This ability to lamb out of season has led to the Berrichon being introduced to other breeds to produce cross bred females able to lamb earlier in the season to capitalize on the normally higher price spring lamb trade. Berrichon ewes are very protective mothers with strong maternal instincts.
The meat line Lacaune is the result of a Lacaune-based breeding program led since 1970 for meat production qualities. Flocks are managed in sheepfold for part of the year, then turned out to pasture. In most cases, lambs are suckled and raised in the sheepfold. …
The Lacaune is the most numerous sheep breed in France. It has been selected in France for increased milk production under a sophisticated selection program incorporating artificial insemination, milk recording, and progeny testing of sires for longer than any other dairy sheep breed in the …
One of the major meat breeds, the Ile de France sheep is an animal with very high performances, with the best level of genetic guarantee in the world, and which has demonstrated its ability to adapt to all breeding systems and to regions with extremely varied climates.
This breed was developed in the Ile de France region around Paris, a region charged with history, but also an agricultural region, with crops and pasture, grassland sheep and housed sheep. It was a professor at the Veterinary School of Maisons-Alfort who, at the beginning of the 19th century, had the idea of crossing a Merino bloodline, reared mainly for its wool, with Dishley stock, a meat breed of English origin. In 50 years this cross-breeding resulted in a stable breed whose original improvement was due exclusively to empirical means of selection on type. It was after 1960 that breeders made the choice of adopting the modern tools of quantitative genetics to improve their collective selection structure.
The Ile de France is one of the best breeds for meat conformation. Because of its conformation and speed of growth, it is widely used in industrial crossing with hardy breeds to supply the sheep meat industry. Meanwhile, its breed selection programme continues to improve its maternal qualities. In prolificacy and dairy value, the Ile de France is among the leaders of the meat breeds. The Ile de France ewe feeds its lambs naturally without any problems.
It is the result of a cross of local breeds from the West of France with English rams. A long-established breed, the Rouge de l’Ouest combines qualities of breeding with beef qualities. Breeding Skills – The Western Red Sheep produces two lambs in season. Its average prolificacy …
The Normande originated in Normandy, France from cattle brought to the country by Viking conquerors in the 9 th and 10 th centuries. For over a thousand years these cattle evolved into a dual purpose breed to meet the milk and meat needs of the residents of northwestern France.
The present herd book in France was started in 1883. Though the breed was decimated by the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, there are currently 3 million Normandes in France. Their present role in France is to provide rich milk for the cheese industry while maintaining their excellent carcass quality. In other parts of the world such as the US, this breed has been primarily bred for beef but now there is a strong push for it to be used for dairy too.
CharacteristicsIn France, the Normande is associated with the production of such famous cheeses as Camembert, Pont-Lévêque and Livarot.
While the Normande has always been used for dairy, it has always presented strong dual-purpose qualities. In France, the Normande has always been known for its unsurpassed marbling quality, flavour and tenderness, and regularly wins blind tests for its taste. A special label for Normande meat enjoys great popularity in major supermarkets. In the US, Normande bulls have won growth tests at various test stations and carcasses have often ranked first at major beef shows.
The Normande is a red and white cow with occasional sometimes widespread areas of brown hair. Typically, the brown hair has the look of tiger stripes, or brindles, interspersed with the red spots, and there is some degree of balance between the three different hues. However, one colour often dominates, and there is a different name for the dominance of each colour.
Calves do not display their brindles until a few weeks after birth, and altogether, Normande cattle tend to darken as they age.
Normandes are a medium frame size breed with most cows weighing 1,200 to 1,500 lbs. and bulls 2,000 to 2,400 lbs. They possess excellent body depth and spring of rib while maintaining exceptional body length. The cattle are also very clean fronted and carry a strong topline.
Normande females reach sexual maturity early and have good fertility, mammary conformation, mothering ability and production longevity. They have large pelvic areas and calve easily with calves showing excellent vigour and most birth weights in the 70 to 95 lb. range. In France, milk production averages 14,000 lbs. per lactation with 4.2 % butterfat and 3.5 % protein.
Because of the breed’s high muscle mass to bone ratio and their small heads, the Normande has a high percentage yield at slaughter. The carcass is very lean but marbles readily and purebred Normande steers will easily grade choice at 1,250 lbs. The Normande breed won’t produce bulging rear quarters of cheap ground round but will increase the length and width of the top priced loin area cuts.
You can contact us by phone:
+40 726 300 196
+40 726 300 129
The breed originates from the the Aquitaine district in south west of France embracing the area of the Garonne valley and the Pyrenees.
Blondes today are one of the best and most popular beef breeds in France because of their lean muscling, high growth rate, docility and calving ease due to a high tail setting, large pelvic area and light bone. Numbers in France are growing at about 5% per year. They are the third largest breed in France (with over 480,000 cows) and are quickly catching the Limousin and Charolais breeds. An extensive progeny testing program has ensured continual improvement in the breed, which is reflected in its popularity.
Blondes range in colour from nearly white to nearly red. However, the golden wheat colour, often with lighter rings around the eyes and muzzle, on the inner side of the legs, under the belly and on the shins is typical. The Blonde colour is not at all dominant in crosses. Even at the 7/8ths Blonde level, animals will sometimes carry the colouring of the minority breed.
The head of the Blonde d’Aquitaine is long from poll to muzzle. The forehead and muzzle are broad, the face triangular. Horns are light in colour and thick at the base, darkening at the tip.
Easy calving – They are fertile, easy calvers and produce very growthy calves. A number of calf characteristics contribute to easier passage thru the birth canal: (1) the calf’s birth weight is spread over a much longer body, (2) a finer bone structure, (3) light muscling at birth, (4) smooth shoulders, and (5) a small triangular head. Cow characteristics, such as width of the pelvis and an inherited hooks-to-pins slope of the rump, also contribute to calving ease. Tests have shown up to 98% unassisted calving from Fullblood Blonde cows. There are many breeders using Blonde bulls on crossbred cows who find that they have far fewer calving problems than with any breed previously tried.
Rapid growth – Hybrid Vigour and Blonde genetics combine to give exceptional growth under many conditions.
Quiet temperament – Blondes are typically docile and easy to work.
Heat tolerant – Blondes may well be the most adaptable breed in existence. They flourish in all climates in the USA as well as in Canada and the Tropics.
You can contact us by phone:
+40 726 300 196
+40 726 300 129
