Belgian Blue Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Belgian Blue cattle are truly a sight to behold with their light blueish coloring and their doubled muscled physiques. The breed has a trait that allows its body to convert feed into lean muscle with a result the breed has less fat and more tender meat. They were originally bred as a milk cow and do offer a good quality and yield of milk. These cattle are becoming more popular in Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Brazil, and America for their superbly marbled excellent quality of meat. Today the breed is used for both meat and milk production.

BELGIAN BLUE BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Belgian Blue cattle breed has a genetic trait that allows the cattle to effectively turn feed into muscle.
Country of Origin:	Belgium
Other Names:	Blue, Belgian White Blue, Belgian Blue-White, Belgian White, Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique, Blanc-Blue Belge, and Blue Pied, or the British Blue
Main Purpose:	Meat and milk
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, Skin
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	American Blue Cattle Association Inc., International Association of Belgian Blue Cattle Breeders, Canadian Belgian Blue Associations, The British Blue Cattle Society, Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society, and the Belgian Blue Herd-book
Cattle Clubs:	Please contact the American Blue Cattle Association Inc., International Association of Belgian Blue Cattle Breeders, Canadian Belgian Blue Associations, The British Blue Cattle Society, Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society, and the Belgian Blue Herd-book for more information on clubs, societies, breeders, cattle shows, etc.
Where to buy them?	Please contact the American Blue Cattle Association Inc., International Association of Belgian Blue Cattle Breeders, Canadian Belgian Blue Associations, The British Blue Cattle Society, Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society, and the Belgian Blue Herd-book for more information on clubs, societies, breeders, cattle shows, etc.
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The double muscling phenotype of the breed is an inheritable trait that is passed down to the calve and causes the animal to have an increased number of muscle fibers. The Belgian Blue shares the double muscling trait with one other breed namely the Piedmontese cattle breed.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Belgian Blue is truly a sight to behold with their double muscling and huge body girth. They have a long body and powerful legs. Their muscles seem to pop and bulge out all over their bodies giving them a rounded physique appearance. They have quite a small head in comparison to their large bodies, a thick neck and their body round off down their rump.

Size:

Large

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Black, blue roan or white. Sometimes they can also have a combination of these colors. They can also sometimes be found in a red, but it is quite rare.	Black, blue roan or white. Sometimes they can also have a combination of these colors. They can also sometimes be found in a red, but it is quite rare.
Breed Weight:	850 to 900 kgs	1100 to 1250 kgs
Breed Height:	140 cm	145 to 150 cm
Horns:	No horns	No horns
Temperament:	Quiet and easy handling temperament	Quiet and easy handling temperament. But it is always advisable to err to the side of caution around bulls. They may not have horns but they are still solid double muscling and very powerful.
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. Belgian Blue cows are quite fertile, has easy calving and good calving rates. They are excellent mothers with good maternal instincts. Their milk yields are good for human consumption their calves are born strong and ready to go. They mature a bit later than other breeds and usually only have their first calf at 32 months or earliest at 24 months.
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 279 to 287 days but most gestation is 283 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, Quantity: 4000 kgs – 3.23% protein and 3.48% fat content per Lactation period
Milk Ideal for:	Calves, drinking, and other dairy products
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CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Belgian Blue with its double muscling and superior feed to muscle conversion has very tender, tasty and succulent meat. They have a higher daily weight gain than a lot of other breeds such as the Charolais breed. They have thin skin and a lot of lean meat which allows for carcass yields of up to 80%. The flavor of their meat has been likened to that of the Angus breed.

Meat Production?

Yes, Quality: Good

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. Their skin is rather thin and not too good for leather yield production.

Skin Production?

N/A

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 Belgian Blue cattle breed was developed in upper and central Belgian in the 19th century. The breed was developed by cross-breeding local Belgian breeds with Shorthorn cattle and possibly Charolais cattle.

They were first bred to produce milk and the beef as their muscle makes for tender beef that is quite lean and tasty. The breed as we know it today was developed by Professor Hanset in the 1950s. He was working at the artificial insemination center in Liege province.

The characteristic gene that causes the double muscling of the breed was maintained through linebreeding and the gene is now a fixed property in the breed.

The Belgian Blue cattle breed were introduced to the United States in 1978 by a farmer from Canada Nick Tutt who immigrated to Texas and showed the breed to the universities in the region.