CATTLE: Ayrshire

County of Origin

Ayrshire, Scotland

Australian Status

Uses

Dairy

Breed Traits

Easy calving. High protein, high yielding milkers. Red and white, with the red colour a lighter or darker hue on some animals. The red sometimes takes the form of speckles, and sometimes the skin is specked under the white hair. A low somatic cell count means they have good immune response to mastitis causing pathogens, so the milk is excellent quality and clean. Moderate butterfat. A well shaped udder is a pride of the breed.  They give a high yield of milk but are not expected to yield the extremes of some dairy cattle that see them gain problems and need much extra feed. For the farmer, they are a good trouble free breed which frees his time up after milking.

Known to be hardy and disease free. Known for their good ability to thrive on a variety of country, being great foragers with the ability to efficiently convert feed to milk. As they like to go and graze, they need less supplementary feeding, their hardy Scottish roots see them out foraging rather than hanging about waiting for a hand feed.

The small particles of fat (more fine than other breeds) and kappa casein in the milk gives it a smooth creamy taste that is sought after, and which makes beautiful butter, yoghurt and cheeses. The milk invariably wins milk tasting competitions for its smoothness and clean flavour. The carcass fat is not yellow, unlike many dairy breeds, which increases sale value for meat animals.

Once known for their beautiful, upward sweeping, lyre-shaped horns. Most are now dehorned after birth. Horned Ayrshires are a beautiful sight. The gentle nature means they are no threat, and crossbreds were once favoured by bullockies for their spectacular horns.

History

Developed in the County of Ayr, Scotland.

Breed Organisation

See Australian Ayrshires

Australian Population

2022  101 bulls;  2701 cows

Photo Credit

Ayrshire cow by Alex Caputi, WikiMedia Commons.

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