Belted Galloway Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Belted Galloway cattle breed is quite a unique looking breed in that is has a dark coat usually deep rich black with a white belted mark somewhere around its midriff. They have quite longish hair covering their hides and what looks like a windswept curly fringe of hair that sits on top of their foreheads sometimes covering their eyes. They are an old heritage breed of cattle that have been known to be quite comfortable grazing the upland pastures and windswept moorlands of Galloway in southern Scotland.

BELTED GALLOWAY BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
A Unique looking breed of cattle with the belted midriff and curly fringe.
Country of Origin:	Scotland
Other Names:	Beltie, Oreo Cow or Panda Cow
Main Purpose:	Beef
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, Skin
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Listed as watch/recovering
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	Western Belted Galloway Association, Belted Galloway Society and The Belted Galloway Cattle Society
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to the Western Belted Galloway Association, Belted Galloway Society and The Belted Galloway Cattle Society for more information on the Belted Galloway cattle breed
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Western Belted Galloway Association, Belted Galloway Society and The Belted Galloway Cattle Society for more information on the Belted Galloway cattle breed
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The most marketable of all the Belted Galloway cattle breeds are the ones that are top coat is completely black and only their bellies are white with no other white marking anywhere not even on their legs, feet, head or tail. The Belted Galloway cattle breed are a smaller strain of the Galloway cattle breed that is a much larger breed. The Belted Galloway cattle breed have been specifically bred to be able to survive and thrive on the low-quality pastures of the upland areas of Scotland. Thus, they are able to adapt to any level of foraging that they have to, to survive. They can also effectively turn the low-grade forage into top-grade meat and milk.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Belted Galloway Cattle breed is a medium breed of cattle with a fuzzy hairy coat and a curly or wavy fringe. They have a small well filled out face with black ears, nose, and legs. They have a long square frame with their necks generally in line with their spine. Their legs are short and beefy with fluffy hair covering their thighs.

Size:

Medium

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Black with a white belted midriff. Or complete black with a white belly	Black with a white belted midriff. Or complete black with a white belly
Breed Weight:	450 to 675 kgs	770 to 850 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear	Unclear
Horns:	No horns	No horns
Temperament:	Quiet and easy to manage	Quiet and easy to manage. But it is always advisable to be wary of any bull.
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 Belted Galloway cows are fertile, good maternal instincts and have easy calving. They do not produce a lot of milk only enough for calving.
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
Milk Ideal for:	Calves
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CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Belted Galloway cattle breed has a good quality of meat with a good marbling, tender and succulent. Their meat is low in saturated fat, are slow growers but produce a very fine quality of tasty meat.

Meat Production?

Yes, Quality: Very 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. The Belted Galloway has a thick durable skin that is used in the production of leather goods.

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 Belted Galloway’s origin is not exactly known but it is thought that they were derived from the crossing of the Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder) cattle breed. The Dun and Belted Galloway herd-book/Association was started in Scotland in 1921. The name of the organization was changed to Belted Galloway Society in 1951 and the Dun cattle were no longer registered.

The Belted Galloway Society keeps stringent records of all the Belted Galloway cattle pedigrees as well as the oversees White and Red Galloway registrations.

The Belted Galloway Society currently has a thriving breeding program underway for the breed which is taking place in the UK.

The Belted Galloway cattle breed were first introduced to America in 1951 by Mrs. McLean of East Kortright, New York. And the American Belted Galloway Breeders Society was formed on the 1 July 1951 by Harry A. Prock of Pennsylvania. This society is now known as “The US Belted Galloway Society Inc.