Piè Rouge of the Plain
Piè Rouge of the Plain
La Piè Rouge of the Plain is a French bovine breed (Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758) from Brittany, with a dual aptitude for meat and milk production.
Systematics –
From a systematic point of view, it belongs to the Eukaryota Domain, Animalia Kingdom, Subgenus Eumetazoa, Superphylum Deuterostomia, Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata, Infraphylum Gnathostomata, Superclass Tetrapoda, Class Mammalia, Subclass Theria, Infraclasse Eutheria, Superorder, Laurasiatheria, Clade Ungulata, Order Artiodactyla, Suborder Ruminantia, Infraordine Sheep, Family Bovidae, Subfamily Bovinae and therefore to the Genus Bos, to the Species Taurus and to the Piè Rouge of the Plain.
Geographical and area distribution –
The Piè Rouge of the Plain (in French Pie Rouge des Plaines) is a not very common breed, bred in purity only in north-western France. We find it mainly in Brittany (80%), in Upper Normandy, in the center and also in the area of the central massif.
Origins and History –
The Piè Rouge of the Plain is a breed of recent creation (around 1966), originating in the plains of West France (in particular Brittany). This breed was obtained from the ancient Armoricaine breed with the use of the Frisona Pezzata Rossa (MRY) and the German Red Pezzata della Pianura.
Later, around the 80s, blood from the Holstein was added to improve the breed’s dairy capacity.
This breed boasts about 35,000 heads, of which 10,000 are registered.
Morphology –
La Piè Rouge of the Plain is a breed characterized by a red spotted mantle tending to the Fromentino. The limbs and the ventral region are generally white, with a normally red head with spots on the forehead.
The muzzle is flesh red and the horns are short and waxy yellow, like the hoofs.
They are medium-sized animals with smaller size than the other spotted red ones.
Adult females have a weight of 600-700 kg and height at the withers of 135-140 cm.
Production aptitude –
This bovine breed has a dual aptitude with a slight prevalence for milk production.
The average production per head for the controlled cows is 5,370 kg, with peaks of 7,500 kg per lactation, with a fat content of 3.86%, proteins 3.34%.
The breed in general has good fertility and good somatic earliness and ease of childbirth.
As for the production of meat, which is of excellent quality, it is more than discreet.
Guido Bissanti
Authorities-
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Roberto Parigi Bini, 1983. Cattle breeds, Pàtron editore, Bologna.
– Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon, 2010. Atlas of native breeds. Cattle, horses, sheep and goats, pigs bred in Italy, Edagricole-New Business Media, Bologna.