Swedish Red Pied
In its own language: Rödbrokig Svensk Boskap
A red and white Swedish dairy breed, extinct, merged into the Swedish Red-and-White
A humpless taurine dairy breed from Sweden, the Swedish Red Pied had a red and white coat and horns in both sexes. It was merged with the Swedish Ayrshire in 1927 or 1928 to form the Swedish Red-and-White, and is now extinct.
- A Swedish dairy breed, now considered extinct
- Red and white coat; horns in both sexes
- A herd book was established in 1892
- Merged with the Swedish Ayrshire in 1927 or 1928
- FAO listed it as extinct in 2007
What do Swedish Red Pied cattle look like?
The Swedish Red Pied was a dairy breed from Sweden, and it is now extinct. Both cows and bulls carried horns, and the coat was red and white, the pattern that gives the breed its English name. It was humpless taurine cattle, the same broad family as the Ayrshire and Shorthorn animals that helped make it. The cows were milked, and milk was the reason the breed was kept, rather than meat or work. In the 1920s there were still many of them, though the Swedish Ayrshire was gaining ground.
Where does the Swedish Red Pied come from?
The breed began in the nineteenth century, when Swedish farmers crossed local cattle with Ayrshire and Shorthorn animals brought in from outside the country. A herd book opened in 1892. Sometime between that year and 1928, three older Swedish types, the Herrgård, Skåne and Småland breeds, were folded into the Swedish Red Pied, and those three are counted as extinct in turn. In 1927 or 1928 the breed was combined with the Swedish Ayrshire to make the Swedish Red-and-White, or SRB, a leading dairy breed of Sweden.
How the Swedish Red Pied is bred and kept
A herd book was started in 1892, so breeders registered their animals and selected within the breed. The foundation came from local cows crossed with Ayrshire and Shorthorn stock brought into Sweden. Later, three older regional types, the Herrgård, Skåne and Småland breeds, were gathered into the Swedish Red Pied. In 1927 or 1928 the whole population was merged with the Swedish Ayrshire to create the Swedish Red-and-White, and breeding carried on under that new name.
Swedish Red Pied, drawn
What the Swedish Red Pied is kept for
Milk was the whole point of the breed, and it stood among the dairy cattle of Sweden. In the 1920s it was numerous, but the Swedish Ayrshire competed with it for the same place in the byre. The outcome was a merger: in 1927 or 1928 the Swedish Red Pied joined with the Swedish Ayrshire to become the Swedish Red-and-White, or SRB, which ranks among Sweden's main dairy breeds. Milking was the purpose throughout; no draught or beef role is described.
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
In the 1920s the population was large, though it faced competition from the Swedish Ayrshire. FAO listed the breed in 2007 as extinct. The two Swedish breeds were combined in 1927 or 1928 into the Swedish Red-and-White, which became one of Sweden's two principal dairy breeds. The older Herrgård, Skåne and Småland breeds had already been absorbed into the Swedish Red Pied between 1892 and 1928, and they too are counted as extinct.
Questions people ask about Swedish Red Pied
Where does the Swedish Red Pied come from?
It comes from Sweden. It arose in the nineteenth century, when local cattle were crossed with imported Ayrshire and Shorthorn animals. A herd book followed in 1892, and the older Herrgård, Skåne and Småland breeds were later folded into it.
What was the Swedish Red Pied kept for?
For milk. It was a dairy breed, and in the 1920s it was numerous, though it had to compete with the Swedish Ayrshire. In 1927 or 1928 the two were merged into the Swedish Red-and-White, still a leading dairy breed in Sweden.
Does the breed still exist?
No, it is considered extinct, and FAO listed it as extinct in 2007. Its blood continues in the Swedish Red-and-White, the breed created when the Swedish Red Pied was merged with the Swedish Ayrshire in 1927 or 1928.
What did the Swedish Red Pied look like?
It had a red and white coat, which gives the breed its English name, and horns in both cows and bulls. It was humpless taurine cattle, with Ayrshire and Shorthorn animals among its ancestors.
How did the Swedish Red-and-White come about?
In 1927 or 1928 breeders merged the Swedish Red Pied with the Swedish Ayrshire. The new breed was named Svensk Röd och Vit Boskap, shortened to SRB. It became one of the two main dairy breeds of Sweden.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Swedish Red Pied", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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