The Droughtmaster is an Australian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of beef cattle. It was developed from about 1915 in North Queensland by crossing zebuine cattle with cattle of British origin, principally the Beef Shorthorn. It was the first Australian taurindicine hybrid breed; it is approximately 50% ''

Bos indicus The zebu (; ''Bos indicus'' or ''Bos taurus indicus''), sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised by a fatty ...

'' and 50% '' Bos taurus''.

History

The Droughtmaster was developed from about 1915 in North Queensland by crossing zebuine cattle with cattle of British origin, principally the Beef Shorthorn. Other British breeds, mainly

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 ...

, were later used. Much of the development was done by one breeder, R.L. Atkinson. In 1956 breeders decided to focus on red cattle only; the Droughtmaster name proposed by Atkinson was adopted. A breed society, the Droughtmaster Stud Breeders' Society, was formed, and a herd-book was started. From 1969, five Droughtmaster bulls were used for cross-breeding with the local Bhagnari in the

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

province of Pakistan, leading to the creation of the Nari Droughtmaster. It has also been exported to other countries, among them New Guinea, Nigeria, Samoa and Taiwan.

Characteristics

Droughtmasters have good walking and foraging abilities, coupled with lower nutritional requirements to give them the ability to retain condition and keep breeding, irrespective of the prevailing conditions. Their short coat is generally red in colour, although variations from golden honey to dark red can occur. The red pigmentation in Droughtmasters helps protect the cattle from cancer eye, sunburnt udders and photosensitisation. The cattle may be either horned or polled; the majority are polled and exhibit only a moderate hump. They have an extended dewlap.

Use

It is a beef breed, and is reared particularly in areas with a high incidence of drought, heat, tick-borne disease and sun damage.

History

Characteristics

Use

References

Further reading