Angus Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Aberdeen Angus or just Angus cattle are truly magnificent beasts to behold. They are strongly muscled and usually have a pleasant temperament. They are one of the worlds top beef cattle breeds with a high quality of well marbled, succulent meat.
The Black Angus and Red Angus cattle are regarded as two separate breeds of cattle in the United States of America. In the United Kingdom, however, they are both registered under the same herd book as Aberdeen Angus or Angus in either black or red colors.

ANGUS BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Angus breed of cattle is a medium to large breed of Scottish cattle that are well known for their excellent meat quality.
Country of Origin:	Scotland
Other Names:	Aberdeen Angus
Main Purpose:	Meat
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues. Some Angus does carry a recessive gene that could lead to birth defects if both the cow and bull that sired a calve carry the gene. These four defects caused by this are arthrogryposis multiplex (AM) or referred to as curly calf. Neuropathic hydrocephalus (NH) or called water head. Contractural arachnodactyly (CA) or referred to as a fawn syndrome. Notomelia which is a form of polymelia (or many legs).
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	American Angus Association and the Angus Foundation
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to American Angus Association and the Angus Foundation for more information
Where to buy them?	Please refer to American Angus Association and the Angus Foundation for more information
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The Angus cattle breed has an excellent meat quality and as such most restaurants, butchers or various meat suppliers pride themselves with labeling their meat as 100% Angus beef. Angus cattle have been known to have quite a long life and cows as old as 12 to 13 years are still calving. They are less susceptible to skin diseases such as cancer eyes or sunburned udders. The Angus is highly adaptable to most weather conditions from the vicious winter climate of the Scottish Highlands to the warm Southern Conditions of Southern United States. They thrive under nearly any condition and are quite a low maintenance breed. The bulls can be very aggressive and should never be taken for granted even though the breed is mostly known as a docile compliant breed. When the cows are with calves, they too can be pretty aggressive when protecting their young.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Angus breed of cattle is well muscled with an almost block shaped long body, short powerful legs, and a well-defined square head. Their coat is of solid color and their skin is usually black no matter if their coats are black or red. The cow’s udders are also dark which tend to protect her from being sunburned on them.

Size:

Medium to large

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Black or red	Black or red
Breed Weight:	550 kgs	850 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear	Unclear
Horns:	They are naturally polled	They are naturally polled
Temperament:	Docile and well behaved, easy to manage. They can be a bit overprotective of their young, so it is best to be careful when they have a calf.	Docile, well behaved and usually easy to handle. Even though they are polled they are still extremely strong and can-do substantial damage if charging. Bulls should always be treated with caution.
Matures at age:	6 to 8 months or 9 + months	6 to 8 months or 9 + months
Puberty Age:	6 to 15 months	9 to 1o months
Breeding Age:	13 to 15 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Cow breeding & Milking Info	Cover 25 to 30 Cows in 1 season

COW BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
Most Cattle produce milk but not all of them are used in the dairy Cattle capacity for their milk. Cows only calve once a year and should have 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. The Angus can be very aggressive mothers and have a good milk quality but mainly for feeding her young and produce up until she weans them. They are known for their easy birthing with a good calving rate and healthy calves that stand and suckle almost right away. The cows have a high fertility rate and sometimes have a shorter gestation period than most other breeds.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 6 to 24 hours Most ave. 12 to 16 hours Cows usually come on heat every 21 days.
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days to 24 days Heifer – usually ave. 20 days Cows – usually ave. 21 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 272 to 289 days but most gestation is 279 days. Cows that are carrying bull calf’s their gestation period is usually a little longer than cows that are carrying heifer calves.
No. Calves/Litter:	1 calf at a time. Cows rarely have twins or triplets, but it can happen
Lactation Period:	Cows lactation period can last for up to about 10 months (305) days.
Milking From:	1 to 6 weeks after Calving
Drying off Period:	The cow should have a 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. Drying off period for around 60 days before she can calve again.
Milk Quality:	Good
Milk Ideal for:	Calves
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CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Angus cattle are well known for their very good quality of meat. Some would argue that they have a superior meat quality. Studied have shown that the Angus cattle have a most efficient feed conversion rate which gives Angus cattle a high return on the investment on them. They have a natural marbling for a tender tasty meat. The cattle are fast to reach their mature weight and usually have a AAA grade rating.

Meat Production?

Yes, Quality: Excellent

CATTLE ⇒	VEAL	BEEF
Ave. Maturity Age:	6 to 8 months	9 months up to 4 years

CATTLE SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Most meat Cattle will have a skin by-product, and these are usually used in some form or just as a hide.

Skin Production?

Yes, Quality: Good

Skin is used to Produce:

Calf/cow skin leather products such as shoes, car seats, fine leather coats, gloves, handbags, belts, furniture, rugs, etc.

CATTLE ⇒	CALF	ADULT
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months for Calf skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather	9 months + for Cattle skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

HISTORY

The Angus or Aberdeen Angus was developed in the early part of the 19th century. They are said to have been bred from the black cattle of North East Scotland which were known as “hummlies” or “doddies”.

There were three main breeders of the cattle that were known to have bred them around the middle of the 1800s. Hugh Watson, who could be known as the founder of the breed, was the first to list his bull Old Jock which was the first Angus bull to be listed when the Herd Book for the Angus breed was opened in 1862. Another notable Angus that was listed by Hugh Watson was Old Granny who was said to have lived to be 35 years of age and produced 29 calves.

Old Granny and Old Jock are two Angus cattle that most Angus cattle around today can trace their lineage back to.

Another predominant name in the Angus breeding history is William McCombie and Sir George Macpherson-Grant. Sir George Macpherson-Grant was responsible for refining the breed.

The first ever Angus Society was formed in Scotland in 1879 and the American Aberdeen Angus Breeders Association was formed in 1883. The Association’s name was shorted to the American Angus Association in the 1950s and the name remains the same today.

The Black Angus is the most popular beef cattle breed in the United States with over 320 000 head of them registered.