Miniature Galloway Cattle - the Solid Coloured Coats
The breeders of Miniature Galloway cattle are working on raising their profile in 'Galloway world'. Most people have seen or heard of the distinctive Belted Galloway cattle and more and more people have seen or heard of the unquie Miniature White Galloways. But, not many people realise that the other beautiful little black, dun and red cattle out in the paddocks with them are Miniature Galloways too!
The Galloway is one of the world's longest established breeds of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated. Galloway, was an ancient regality or lordship lying in the south-west of Scotland. The word is derived from Gallovid, which in old Scots signifies "a Gaul". The Gauls are said to have been the first inhabitants of this part of Scotland. The last of the old line of rulers was Alan, Lord of Galloway. When the Romans marched through, what was then a heavily forrested area, they feasted on wild cattle. It is generally accepted that the cattle roaming in the area were the progenitors of the modern breed of Galloways.
Now found in many parts of the world, the Galloway was introduced in Canada in 1853 (first registered in 1872), and the first Galloway registry was introduced in the USA in 1882. Galloway Cattle imports were first recorded in Australia in 1951, however there is evidence to suggest that the breed existed within our shores long before 1951.
The Galloway is naturally hornless, and instead of horns has a bone knob at the top of its skull called the poll. This breed's shaggy coat has both a thick, woolly undercoat for warmth and stiffer guard hairs that help shed water, making them well adapted to harsher climates.
The Galloway breed comes from the cattle native to an entire region of Scotland, and originally there was much variation within this breed, including many different colours and patterns. The original Galloway herdbook only registered black cattle, but the recessive gene for red colour persisted in the population, and eventually dun Galloways were also allowed into the herdbook. As a result, although black is still the most common colour for Galloways, they can also be red and several shades of dun.
Black Miniature Galloway cattle are well suited to the colder climates as the colour and their double coat is well suited to keeping them in tip top condition throughout any cold weather that the Australian climate can throw at them. Breeders of black Galloways in parts of Australia where the Winters are cold and the Summers can be very hot, say that their cattle cope well with both.
Red Miniature Galloway cattle are are well suited to the colder climates as the colour and their double coat is well suited to keeping them in tip top condition throughout both the hot and cold weather that the Australian climate has to offer.
Dun covers so many different shades it seems unfair to just say any miniature Galloway is 'dun'. There are silver dun, but there are also so many different shades of dun - from dark chocolate dun to an almost white silver dun
