The Blue Grey is a cattle

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

traditional in south-western Scotland and north-western England. It is

blue roan Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and " points"—lower legs, mane, and tail—are mostly solid-colored. Horses with roan coats have white hairs evenly ...

in colour, and results from

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...

a black

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

cow to a white

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...

bull. It is reared principally as a suckler cow, and is particularly well suited to upland grazing.

History

In south-western Scotland and north-western England,

bulls were used from the early nineteenth century on black

cows to produce vigorous

calves. If the bull was white, the calf was

in colour; these were easily recognisable and were much in demand. In the later nineteenth century, selection of the

Whitebred Shorthorn Whitebred Shorthorn is a British type of beef cattle originating in north west England and south west Scotland. It is derived from Shorthorn cattle, but is always white, rather than being the range of colours found in other Shorthorns. It has no ...

was begun specifically to supply white sires for production of these calves.

Characteristics

The Blue Grey is

in colour, and is polled (without horns). Cows have high amounts of body fat compared to other hybrids in similar overall condition, and are able to produce adequate quantities of milk even on poor grazing.

Use

The Blue Grey is used principally as a suckler cow on uplands where grazing is sparse, where cows are nevertheless able to produce adequate quantities of milk for their calves. It has been used for

conservation grazing Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi- feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats.

in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

, where it grazes more lightly than sheep and is able to survive the winter on the coarse grasses of the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

hills.Limestone Country Project
Leyburn: Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Archived 9 September 2011.

References

Cattle crossbreeds {{cattle-stub