Armorican cattle are a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 breed of cattle. They are a multi-purpose crossbreed developed in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 in the late 19th century. They are red pied with short horns.

History

This breed derives from a 19th century cross which included Froment du Léon

Froment du Léon

Froment du Léon is a French cattle breed. Froment means tan and Léon is an area in northern Brittany.-History:It is an ancient breed from northern Brittany. This breed comes from cross-breeding black Celtic cows and Norman red pied cows. This cross-breeding was made during the beginning of Norman...

, Pie Rouge de Carhaix (an extinct breed), and Shorthorn

Shorthorn

The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other...

 cattle. The breed was developed to increase beef production from dairy cattle. In 1966, this breed was itself included in the development of Pie Rouge des Plaines

Pie Rouge des Plaines

Pie Rouge des Plaines is a French breed of dairy cattle. Its name translates as Lowland Red Pied Cattle.-History:This breed was created in 1966 by crossbreeding Armorican with Meuse-Rhine-Issel and German Red Pied cattle. Pie Rouge des Plaines cattle are bred in the north-west part of France, in...

 (French Lowland Red Pied) cattle, using blood from Meuse-Rhine-Issel

Meuse-Rhine-Issel

The Meuse-Rhine-Issel or Meuse-Rhine-Yssel is a breed of cattle that originated in the Netherlands and Germany. It gets its name from the region in which it was bred - where the three rivers Meuse, Rhine and Issel meet. The breed is known as MRI or MRIJ for short. It was developed in the second...

cattle. Armorican cattle is now rare as a pure breed – in 2004, the breed was represented by only 300 animals (118 cows and 12 bulls were registered)

Description

The colour is red-pied, with short horns. The skin is clear. Cows weigh 650 kg, and are about 138 cm tall.

Uses

It is a multi-purpose breed. Cows produce 4500 l of milk in a lactation of about 305 days. The young grow quickly, and mature animals fatten well. This breed is known for its bad character structure .