Ayrshire

What do Ayrshire cattle look like?

The Ayrshire is a middle-sized dairy cow. A grown animal weighs in the region of 540 kg. The coat is a patchwork of red and white, and the red shifts from a bright orange tone to a deep brown-red, so the shade differs from cow to cow. Horns belong to the original picture: long, curving, and able to reach 30 cm (12 in). They were long treated as the breed's signature, but most calves today lose them while young so the animals are simpler to handle. On the milk side, an ordinary cow gives about 12,000 pounds over a year, while the strongest performers go past 20,000 lb (9,100 kg).

Where does the Ayrshire come from?

The breed took shape in the Scottish county that gave it its name, in the south-west, sometime before 1800. Earlier labels were Dunlop and, after that, Cunningham; both are places inside County Ayr, and the modern name came last. Where the stock first came from is a puzzle. Some historians argue the ancestors were Dutch, and interbreeding with other stock around 1750 is credited with the brown markings that set these cows apart. The Highland and Agricultural Society accepted the Ayrshire as a breed in its own right in 1814. From 1822 animals began shipping to the United States, chiefly to Connecticut and nearby New England states, whose climate and countryside resembled Scotland's closely enough for the cattle to settle in.

What the Ayrshire is known for

Breeders point to three working qualities: the cows live long, stay healthy on modest keep, and calve without much drama. These are usually explained by the hard ground and weather of the breed's home country, which favoured anything tough. In day-to-day management the cattle are self-reliant. Turned out on pasture they find their own feed and need little interference, which sets them apart from Holstein-Friesians, typically housed and given a prepared ration through the winter. On temperament, studies give a mixed picture. Crosses carrying Ayrshire blood came out top of the pecking order in a Polish trial, were pestered least by herdmates and took a change of group in their stride, while pure Ayrshires recorded more hostile encounters than four other familiar dairy breeds.

How the Ayrshire is bred and kept

The Highland and Agricultural Society's decision of 1814 gave the breed official standing, and recording has continued ever since; 63,356 Ayrshires were on the UK register in 2008. North American breeders organised early too: the American Ayrshire Breed Association goes back to 1875. For a stretch from the late 1930s it ran the Approved Ayrshire Milk scheme, which put a stamp on milk from purebred herds and advertised it as healthier and better tasting before the idea was dropped. Crossing is part of the picture as well; researchers have mated Ayrshires with Polish Black-and-White cows and studied the F1 daughters. Stock raised in Canada has meanwhile drifted some way from the Scottish model, shaped by local taste and pay structures.

What the Ayrshire is kept for

Milk is the whole point of the breed. A typical cow turns out roughly 12,000 pounds in a year, and the best give 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) or more. The milk carries a good deal of fat, and this matters commercially: Canada pays dairy farmers partly on components, which flatters Ayrshire milk, and it helped make the breed the country's second dairy cow in 2001, with only the Holstein above it. In the United States the same equation runs the other way. Holsteins give larger volumes, so farms chasing sheer output have moved away from Ayrshires, and their knack for looking after themselves on open grazing counts for less in modern systems.

The land and climate of the Ayrshire

The breed comes from a mild, wet corner of south-west Scotland and handles rough going well. It is at home outdoors on pasture, where the herd can wander and feed itself with a light hand from the farmer. New England appealed to early exporters precisely because it felt like home; Connecticut and its neighbouring states took the first big shipments from 1822.

The Ayrshire at fairs and festivals

The breed's most famous representative never gave a drop of milk. At Highfields, in Queensland, Australia, stands the Big Cow: an Ayrshire sculpted at about seven times the size of a living animal. It puts a small Australian town on the itinerary of anyone following this Scottish dairy breed around the world.

Keeping Ayrshire cattle

Most calves are de-horned while young, which keeps handling simple later on. Otherwise the breed asks for little: it thrives on outdoor grazing and copes with hard weather and modest keep. The breed society counts easy calving among its selling points, so difficult births should be uncommon.

Related breeds and crosses

The Holstein-Friesian is the constant comparison: it out-yields the Ayrshire but is usually housed and fed bought-in rations, where the Ayrshire manages on grazing. Jersey, Brown Swiss and Guernsey sit alongside them as the familiar dairy breeds. Ayrshire blood has also gone into crossbreeding, with Polish Black-and-White cows producing F1 daughters used in behaviour research.

Numbers, conservation and the herd book

Britain remains a stronghold: 63,356 Ayrshires were registered there in 2008. The United States tells a different story. Numbers have slid since the 1970s, when Holsteins began winning farms over with sheer milk volume, and by 2001 only about 28,000 head were left, roughly 0.3% of American dairy cattle; the breed's self-reliance matters less on modern farms. Canada is the brighter spot: payment rules that reward milk fat suited the breed, and in 2001 it ranked second among Canadian dairy breeds, though the cattle there have grown some distance from the Scottish original. Two societies speak for it, the Ayrshire Cattle Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the American Ayrshire Breed Association, founded in 1875.

From the Ayrshire

Questions people ask about Ayrshire

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Ayrshire cattle on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data