Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk [1]: 136 |
---|---|
Other names | |
Country of origin | Sweden |
Distribution | northern Sweden [3] |
Use | dairy |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Coat | variable |
Horn status | polled |
|
The Fjäll ( Swedish: Fjällko or Svensk Fjällras) is a traditional Swedish breed of polled mountain cattle. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered Bohuskulla breed. [5]: 1775
There have long been small polled mountain cattle in Sweden. A text from 1296 AD describes cattle that are "small, hornless, white or whitish grey, often with dark spots". [6]: 68
The Fjällras was established as a breed in the nineteenth century. [4] A herd-book was started in 1907. [3]
The traditional mountain cattle breeds were very variable. In 1937 a new breed, the Swedish Polled ( Swedish: Svensk Kullig Boskap or SKB) was created with the intention of merging the Fjällras with the Swedish Red Polled ( Swedish: Rödkulla), a quite different breed of mountain cattle. [7]: 307 [3] However, breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before. [8]: 12–13 [9] [10] During the 1970s and 1980s indiscriminate cross-breeding placed the breed in danger of extinction. [4] A breeders' association, the Föreningen Svensk Fjällrasavel, was established in 1996; [8]: 13 a similar association, the Sveriges Rödkulleförening, had formed for the Rödkulla in the 1960s. [8]: 13
Stocks of frozen semen from pure-bred Fjällras bulls born in the mid-twentieth century helped in the recovery of the breed, and allowed the effective population size to be increased. [4] In 1996 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 Fjällras cows. [2] In 2012 a total population of 6836 head was reported. [3]
The traditional Fjäll has divided into two sub-breeds, the Svensk Fjällras [3] and the Fjällnära Boskap. [11]
The coat colour of the Fjällras is variable: it may be almost white; white speckled with red or black; colour-sided red or black with finching; or, occasionally, solid red, black or – more rarely – grey. The skin is white. [4] The cattle are well adapted to the mountain environment and forage well on poor pasture. [12] [13]
The Fjällras is principally a dairy breed. Average milk yield is approximately 5500 kg of milk per lactation; some cows may give 11000–12000 kg. The milk has a high butter-fat content, approximately 4.5%, and a protein content of about 3.6%; it is particularly rich in κ-casein B and is suitable for making cheese. [12]
Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk [1]: 136 |
---|---|
Other names | |
Country of origin | Sweden |
Distribution | northern Sweden [3] |
Use | dairy |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Coat | variable |
Horn status | polled |
|
The Fjäll ( Swedish: Fjällko or Svensk Fjällras) is a traditional Swedish breed of polled mountain cattle. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered Bohuskulla breed. [5]: 1775
There have long been small polled mountain cattle in Sweden. A text from 1296 AD describes cattle that are "small, hornless, white or whitish grey, often with dark spots". [6]: 68
The Fjällras was established as a breed in the nineteenth century. [4] A herd-book was started in 1907. [3]
The traditional mountain cattle breeds were very variable. In 1937 a new breed, the Swedish Polled ( Swedish: Svensk Kullig Boskap or SKB) was created with the intention of merging the Fjällras with the Swedish Red Polled ( Swedish: Rödkulla), a quite different breed of mountain cattle. [7]: 307 [3] However, breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before. [8]: 12–13 [9] [10] During the 1970s and 1980s indiscriminate cross-breeding placed the breed in danger of extinction. [4] A breeders' association, the Föreningen Svensk Fjällrasavel, was established in 1996; [8]: 13 a similar association, the Sveriges Rödkulleförening, had formed for the Rödkulla in the 1960s. [8]: 13
Stocks of frozen semen from pure-bred Fjällras bulls born in the mid-twentieth century helped in the recovery of the breed, and allowed the effective population size to be increased. [4] In 1996 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 Fjällras cows. [2] In 2012 a total population of 6836 head was reported. [3]
The traditional Fjäll has divided into two sub-breeds, the Svensk Fjällras [3] and the Fjällnära Boskap. [11]
The coat colour of the Fjällras is variable: it may be almost white; white speckled with red or black; colour-sided red or black with finching; or, occasionally, solid red, black or – more rarely – grey. The skin is white. [4] The cattle are well adapted to the mountain environment and forage well on poor pasture. [12] [13]
The Fjällras is principally a dairy breed. Average milk yield is approximately 5500 kg of milk per lactation; some cows may give 11000–12000 kg. The milk has a high butter-fat content, approximately 4.5%, and a protein content of about 3.6%; it is particularly rich in κ-casein B and is suitable for making cheese. [12]