Canadienne cattle, also known as Black Canadienne, French Canadienne, and Black Jersey, are the only breed of
dairy cattle developed in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. They originated in the 16th century, when French settlers brought cattle over for foundation stock to settle
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The Canadienne were the most common breed of domestic cattle in Canada until the late 19th century, when other breeds began to displace them. Today, the
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
and
Holstein have become the most common types of cattle in Canada. The Canadienne, though still found on farms and ranches across the nation, is now comparatively rare except in certain areas of the province of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Efforts by an active breed society and the Quebec government have been made in recent years to preserve the breed from extinction.
History
The Canadienne breed can be traced back to cattle in present-day Quebec that came from the
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and Brittany regions of France in the 1600s. The breeds that came in are unknown; the melting-pot effect took over until the breed took on its own appearance and type. It is believed that Canadienne cattle come from the same general ancestry as
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
,
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
and
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
cattle. They developed into a hardy, compact dairy breed that could survive the harsh environment of Quebec. The cattle also provided draught work and meat, which was important to the colonists.
In 1850, the Canadian Parliament discovered that the vast majority of cattle in Quebec were Canadienne, so they began to discourage its breeding and soon the breed received competition from other breeds. In 1886, a couple of men created a herd book; the French Canadian Cattle Breeder's Association was formed in 1895 to prevent the breed from becoming extinct. The breed later gained recognition in 1901 for being the most profitable dairy breed in the Pan-American show in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
.
In the early 1970s, the Ministry of Agriculture became concerned about inbreeding within the Canadienne breed and the lack of improvement in milk production, so they introduced
Brown Swiss
The Brown Swiss or American Brown Swiss is an American breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the traditional triple-purpose Braunvieh ("Swiss Brown") of the Alpine region of Europe, but has diverged substantially from it. It was selectively bre ...
genetics. The use of Brown Swiss genetics was uncontrolled and had to be stopped to preserve the purity of Canadienne cattle. In 1999, the Canadienne cow was given official heritage status by the
Government of Quebec
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and its breeding program is supported to preserve the breed.
Uses
The main use of Canadienne cattle is for milk production. They are efficient milk producers; their milk contains high levels of butterfat and protein, making it an excellent choice for cheese production.
They have also been raised for meat production; meat produced by these animals tends to be lean.
Their hardiness and quiet nature made them good animals to use for farmwork.
Characteristics
The Canadienne breed is small to medium-sized; cows weigh between 400 and 500 kg and bulls weigh on average 800 kg.
This breed has been developed to survive in the harsh Canadian environment. Their small size makes this breed an excellent candidate for intensive pasture management as well as it allows for the animals to remain on pasture for longer periods of time in early spring and late fall because their light weight does not cause as much damage to the soil compared to heavier breeds.
If horns are present, they will be long and upturned with darker coloured tips.
Most cattle have black, brown or russet coats with a lighter coloured topline, udder and muzzle; shades varying between black and brown comprise the colouring for other parts of their bodies. When calves are first born they have light coat colours, and following 4 months of age coat colouration, the colour becomes permanently established.
Associations and breed societies
* Canadienne Cattle Breeders Association
* The Association for the Development of the Canadienne Cattle Breed in Charlevoix
See also
*
Hays Converter
The Hays Converter is a breed of cattle native specifically to Alberta, Canada. Named for Harry Hays, the agriculturalist and politician who developed the breed, it was the first pure breed of cattle created in Canada. Work on breeding the Hays Con ...
*
Canadian Speckle Park
The Speckle Park is a modern Canadian breed of beef cattle. It was developed in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from 1959, by cross-breeding stock of the British Aberdeen Angus and Shorthorn breeds; the spotted or speckled pattern for which ...
References
Genetic Diversity among Canadienne, Brown Swiss, Holstein and Jersey cattle based on mitochondrial D-loop sequence variationAssociation de mise en valeur des bovins de race canadienneBeyond Factory FarmingBreeds of Livestock Retrieved 2009-11-08
{{North American heritage cattle
Dairy cattle breeds
Cattle breeds originating in Canada
Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy
Cattle breeds