Aubrac (bovine race)

History

This race belongs to the fawn-coloured branch of the brown Rameau. It is the downward one of a race come from North Africa and arrived in Spain then in the south-west of France with the Arab . It exists for a very long time on the plate of the Aubrac where the hard climatic conditions forged a reputation of rusticity to him. The first traces of its breeding go back to the 17th century: the monks Benedictine S of Aubrac started to carry out a rational management of their herd. With the Revolution, the goods of clergy are sold. After one period when each stockbreeder manages his herd individually, a real common dynamics is born from the creation of the Company of agriculture of the Aveyron in 1840. Contests are organized, and a selection takes place towards a well defined standard of race. These efforts lead in 1893, with the creation of the genealogical register (Herd-book) manpower is then very important, around: 300000 heads of cattle. The selection relates then to the dairy capacity of the cows for the manufacture of the cheese Laguiole and butter. Raised out of cattle shed the winter, the herd transplants the summer on the plate. There, the cows give a milk rich and scented which is used to work out a cheese in the Buron S. the males feed a flourishing market of ox raising of work. After 1945, manpower decline: the cheese is produced starting from more productive races (brown, holstein,…), will burons them are given up and mechanization replaces the attachments. Manpower fall then to: 55000 heads, of which only: 2500 are registered.
Le revival will come in the Années 1960 to 80, with the reconversion of the cows the dairy ones with nursing and production of calves. The current French livestock of race aubrac rises with approximately: 100000 heads, of which: 35000 cows and: 1600 registered bulls.

Morphology

It wears a fawn-coloured dress. The skin is black, which is visible with naseaux and around the eyes. The neck of the bulls is darker, like the ends (ears, low of the legs and tail). The horns are white at the black end. The shoes are black and hard.
C' is a Vache of average format (1,30 m height to the garrot and 550 to 650 kg for the females and 1,40 m and 950 kg for the males).

Aptitudes

It is an old mixed race become nursing. The race rustic, is worked by its mountain, between: 1000 and: 1500 m of altitude: let us onglons hard, aptitude for walk, strength to the short thermal amplitudes, life in the open air in extensive system, strength to the moisture of the natural Tourbière S of Aubrac.
La cow is fertile, vèle with facility, even with a crossing with a bull with meat. It has a good longevity: it is not rare to find some of more than eleven years. In addition to all that, this race is productive in intensive breeding.
Ses recognized qualities has allowed to him essaimer in all the area. (Aveyron, Lozere, Cantal, Haute-Loire), but it presents aptitudes for mediums other than that of its origin: adaptation to heat and the dryness, a poor food and resistance to the Trypanosome. Several French races were exported in French Guiana, in hot and wet medium. Only the aubrac was there profitable. It was also exported in several countries, in particular in Russia and with the the United States. In France, it appeared in the Languedocien scrubland, for the maintenance of the rural areas to replace the sheep, with an aim of producing a better developed meat.

Diagrams of selection

Selected at the origin for work and the dairy production, it underwent a change of production to become nursing. In crossing with bulls charolais, it gives calves very quite formed which profit from the label " the flower of Aubrac".
Actuellement, the selection relates to two aspects:

selection of bulls quite formed, ready to give pretty calves in pure race.
selection of cows " mould with veau" , which combines all maternal qualities of the race.

Thus, the stockbreeders work either in pure race to select reproducers, or in crossing for the production of calves bound for the French market or Italian.
Un group of dairy stockbreeders set up a programme of safeguard of the dairy stock of the race, with the assistance of the academy of the regional biological inheritance of the Midday-Pyrenees.

Notes and references of the article

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