Hungarian Grey Cattle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hungarian Grey Cattle or Hungarian Steppe Cattle (in Hungarian: Magyar szürkemarha or Magyar alföldi) is an old cattle breed from Hungary.

The breed belongs to the group of the Podolic cattle and is very well adapted to extensive pasture systems. It originates from the Hungarian lowland.

[edit] Characteristics

Hungarian Grey cattle are slender and tall. The bulls reach a height of 145 - 155 cm and a weight of 800 - 900 kg, the cows 135 - 140 cm und 500 - 600 kg.

The fur is hirsute and the color ranges from silvery-white to cinereous. Calves are born with reddish-yellow fur. The Hungarian Greys are robust, unpretentious, easy-calving and long-lived. Their horns are directed upward and are long and curved.

[edit] History

The breed probably arrived with the 9th century Hungarian immigration from the east to the Hungarian lowland. In the middle ages and early modern times the breed was esteemed particularly for its beef, being herded live to the markets of Europe. Nowadays Hungarian Grey cattle are kept mainly as tourist attractions in the Hortobágy National Park, but serve also as gene banks, due to their reported resistance to cattle diseases which affect more highly bred cattle types.