Cattle Breed: Mandalong Special

Status: CRITICAL 

Country of Origin: Australia.

International: Only found in Australia. Once in Russia too.

Population: 2022 - 55 cows, 4 bulls with 2 breeders (thank you to Yan Kleyhans for census details).

Beautiful photo of Mandalong Specials on Charlton Park Beef Cattle stud. Permission kindly given to use here; they're on Facebook, a good active page.

History: Developed in NSW from the early to mid 1960's by Rich Pisaturo on his property Mandalong Park, near Sydney. By 1980 he was selling purebreds of the new breed he'd formed. 

Charolais, Chianina, Shorthorn, British White, Brahman used. The percentage of those foundation breeds:

• 62.50% Continental Breed
• 18.75% British Breed
• 18.75% Bos Indicus

Many had been exported to Russia and a herd of 50,000 bred up there, but after the Soviet Union ended this herd disappeared. 

Showed at Canberra Royal 1994.

Breed Traits: Beef breed. Fast growing. Good milk supply. Easy calving - low birthweight calves grow rapidly, usually gaining 8 kilos a day., Big size when mature. At 16 months of age – liveweight 527kg, chilled carcass 349kg, yield 66.22% ( The highest any breed by 2.39%) - from Rick's website, Royal Easter Show Sydney result.

Good evenly muscled body, plentiful muscle. Fat evenly distributed over carcass. 

Most are polled. Some have short blunt straight horns.

Colours - cream to deeper yellow dun shades to red.

Organisation: None found. Rick's website has information -  Rick Pisaturo Mandalong Special, information 

Yarrow Station Mandalong Specials - please note their email address returns emails, it doesn't work.

Charlton Park Beef Cattle are on facebook - an excellent page.

Additional comments: A tremendous Australian breed; sadly fast disappearing.

Page by Janet Lane 2022. Additions, corrections etc welcome.