The Hays Converter is a breed of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

native specifically to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

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 ...

. Named for

Harry Hays Harry William Hays, (December 25, 1909 – May 4, 1982) was a Canadian politician, 27th Mayor of Calgary, Cabinet minister in the government of Lester Pearson, and Senator from Alberta. Personal life Born in Carstairs, Alberta, 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 Converter began in 1959, and it was officially recognized by the Canadian beef industry under the Canada Livestock Pedigree Act in December 1975. Senator Hays wished to create a cattle breed that would be based solely on production, and as such would mature to market weight as fast as possible.

Characteristics

The Hays Converter is a hardy

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operat ...

breed, meant to stand up to the harsh conditions in Alberta. They are equipped with strong legs and good feet giving this breed increased hardiness. By appearance, they are generally black with some white markings on the face, legs and underbelly. They can also be red and white in colour, but this is a more rare occurrence. Cows typically weigh 1250 to 1500 pounds while bulls can reach a weight of 2300 to 2800 pounds. Hays Converters are an early maturing breed, this feature allows them to breed and produce offspring sooner than other breeds of cattle. Hays chose three particular breeds of cattle in order to achieve the optimal breed of cattle. He achieved this by combination crosses of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

cattle on

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 ...

cattle and

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 ...

cattle. These three existing breeds were chosen specifically for certain traits they carried. The

cattle were chosen due to their good strong feet and ability to produce milk with a high butter-fat content, allowing calves to grow faster. The

cattle were chosen due to their high fleshing rate, meaning that their ability to mature quickly would also be passed onto their offspring. Lastly, the

cattle were chosen due to their perfectly shaped udder and ability to produce milk up until the end of lactation. Once the crosses began, Hays selected for the traits he wanted, and any offspring that did not make the cut in one way or another would have their tails docked and were shipped off to a processing plant. Once all desired traits were achieved in the offspring, the breed was closed off to mating with any outside breeds. By the time the breed achieved

pedigree Pedigree may refer to: Breeding * Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals ** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart) ** Pedigree (animal ...

status in 1975, it had achieved all of the traits Hays had hoped it would. These traits included, high growth rate, sturdy build, good carcass quality, easy calving and excellent milk production.

References

Cattle breeds originating in Canada Cattle breeds {{cattle-stub

Characteristics

See also

References