Blue Grey
Encyclopedia
Blue Grey is a type of beef cattle popular in Scotland and the north of England
.
It is traditionally produced by crossing a whitebred shorthorn bull with black Galloway
cows. The offspring gain beefiness from their sire and hardiness from their upland dams, and their colour is a blue roan
which is regarded as attractive by many farmers.
Due to the genetic origin of roan colouration in cattle, this colour does not breed true. This is because roan is the result of incomplete dominance between white and solid colour. Roan is produced consistently only in the first-generation cross between these. On average only half of the offspring of two blue roan cattle will be blue roan themselves, with the other half being either solid white or solid black.
The Blue Grey cross became so popular that a special type of Shorthorn was developed to produce white Shorthorn bulls – the Whitebred Shorthorn
.
They are well-suited for rough grazing land and will utilize coarse grasses other breeds would shun. They are able to maintain good condition on less than ideal pasture and do not graze so intensively as sheep.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It is traditionally produced by crossing a whitebred shorthorn bull with black Galloway
Galloway cattle
The Galloway is one of the world's longest established breeds of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated. It is now found in many parts of the world....
cows. The offspring gain beefiness from their sire and hardiness from their upland dams, and their colour is a blue roan
Roan (color)
Roan is a coat color found in many animals, notably horses, cattle and dogs. It is defined generally as an even mixture of white and pigmented hairs that does not "gray out" or fade as the animal ages...
which is regarded as attractive by many farmers.
Due to the genetic origin of roan colouration in cattle, this colour does not breed true. This is because roan is the result of incomplete dominance between white and solid colour. Roan is produced consistently only in the first-generation cross between these. On average only half of the offspring of two blue roan cattle will be blue roan themselves, with the other half being either solid white or solid black.
The Blue Grey cross became so popular that a special type of Shorthorn was developed to produce white Shorthorn bulls – the Whitebred Shorthorn
Whitebred Shorthorn
Whitebred Shorthorn is a British type of beef cattle originating in north west England and south west Scotland. It is derived from Shorthorn cattle, but is always white, rather than being the range of colours found in other Shorthorns...
.
They are well-suited for rough grazing land and will utilize coarse grasses other breeds would shun. They are able to maintain good condition on less than ideal pasture and do not graze so intensively as sheep.