Chianina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Chianina calf is the prize awarded to the winning team at the calcio fiorentino traditional football competition in Florence.

Chianina (pronounced key-a-NEE-na) is an Italian beef breed of cattle. It is the largest and one of the oldest existing cattle beef breed in the world^[1]. The famous "Fiorentina" steak is produced from its meat.

1 History
2 Breed Description
3 References
4 External links
5 Bibliography

[edit] History

One of the oldest breeds of cattle, originating in the Chiana Valley in Italy, the breed dates back to the time of Roman Empire.

[edit] Breed Description

Chianina are characterised by white hair and a black switch. They have black skin pigmentation. Chianina are heat tolerant and have a gentle disposition. They the largest breed in size, bulls generally standing 6 feet (1.8m) tall and weighing up to 4000 lbs. The cows stand at 5 feet (1.5m) or so and weighing in at up to 2400 lbs.

They are used in breeding programs for their growth rate, high quality meat and heat tolerance. They are also great foragers. Chianina are also tolerant to disease and insects to a greater degree than many other domesticated cattle. Thanks to these qualities the Chianina breed is present in many countries like Brazil where there are many thousands.