Belgian Red Cattle
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The cattle breed Belgian Red is a breed from Flanders in Belgium. The breed is in danger of extinction.
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[edit] Characteristics
The animals are unicoloured red with potentially a few white spots on head, chest, abdomen and legs.
There are two lines in this breed: a dual-purpose breed and a meat breed.
Bulls: weight => 1,200 kg; height => 153 cm Cows: weight => 700 kg; height => 138 cm
[edit] Performance
The milk performance of the cows in 1986 was about 5,000 kg milk with 4.03 % milk fat content and 3.35 % protein.
[edit] History and extension
The breed's original region is Flanders. In the 19th century, through crossing with Shorthorn, the new breed was developed out of the local breed of the region. In 1920 a stud book was introduced.
In 1986 there were still about 50,000 Belgian Red cows. But the population decreased rapidly. In 2001 there were less than 100 cows left.