Florida Cracker Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Florida Cracker breed was developed in the State of Florida in the United States of America. They were named for the Florida Cracker culture in which they were mainly kept. They are one a small breed of cattle that are easy to keep docile, well behaved and easy to handle. They are also one of the oldest and rarest breeds in the United States of America these days. They were well suited to and adapted quickly to the Florida landscape with their parasite resistance and hardy traits.

FLORIDA CRACKER BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Florida Cracker cattle breed is a small tough, hardy and easy to handle and care for breed of cattle perfect for a homestead.
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Other Names:	Cracker Cow, Florida scrub or Cracker
Main Purpose:	Meat
You may Also Like:	35 Best Cattle Breeds for Milk – Dairy Cattle
You may Also Like:	47 Best Cattle Breeds for Meat – Beef Cattle
Can be used for	Breed, Meat
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Critical – they are very rare
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	Florida Cracker Cattle Association and Cracker Cattle and Cracker Horse Program
Cattle Clubs:	They are a very rare breed that is listed by the American Livestock Conservancy. It is best to check with the Florida Cracker Cattle Association and Cracker Cattle and Cracker Horse Program for more information on the Florida Cracker cattle breed.
Where to buy them?	>They are a very rare breed that is listed by the American Livestock Conservancy. It is best to check with the Florida Cracker Cattle Association and Cracker Cattle and Cracker Horse Program for more information on the Florida Cracker cattle breed.
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The Florida Cracker breed of cattle are one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the USA and probably one of the rarest cattle breeds. They are of the Criollo-type cattle breeds which were brought over to America by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Florida Cracker is closely related to cattle breeds such as the Texas Longhorn, Corriente, and Pineywoods cattle breeds. Purebred Cracker breeds have not been crossbred with any of the English cattle breeds, unlike that of the Pineywood breed of cattle. The Florida Crackers numbers were sorely depleted in the 1940s due to new laws involving free-roaming livestock and the introduction of larger beef breeds. Despite the valiant efforts of the American Livestock Conservancy the breed’s population are still at critical levels and they are also listed on the Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Florida Cracker breed of cattle is a small breed that is horned, highly adaptive and parasite resistant. They have a small compact blockish shaped body and short sturdy legs. Their faces are long and almost rectangular shaped with large alert ears.

Size:

Small

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Solid red or a white/grey with black points	Solid red or a white/grey with black points
Breed Weight:	350 to 400 kgs	400 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear	Unclear
Horns:	They have medium sized creamy white horns that grow out and then curve upwards	They have medium sized creamy white horns that grow out and then curve upwards
Temperament:	Docile and easy to handle	Docile and easy to handle. Even small not so intimidating bulls can cause a lot of damage and are still potentially dangerous. As such they should always be handled with wary 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. They are not used for their milking abilities but are excellent moms that produce enough milk to effectively raise her young. Even though she may be small stature she will ferociously defend her calf. Their maternal instincts are very good as are their mothering abilities. They have easy birth with little to no problems.
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
You may Also Like:	35 Best Cattle Breeds for Milk – Dairy Cattle

CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They have an exceptionally good quality of meat with a good dress out percentage and carcass yield. But they are currently critically endangered and generally in breeding programs to increase the headcount number of the Florida Cracker cattle breed.

Meat Production?

Yes, Quality: Good/Premium

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. They are not used for their skin production especially as they are currently a critically endangered breed of cattle.

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

HISTORY

In the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors brought their cattle with them to the new world. The Florida Cracker was a small breed of cattle that were developed from these horned cattle breeds and they quickly adapted to the climate and harsh environment of Florida.

The numbers of the Florida Cracker cattle have drastically declined to the point where they are now listed by the American Livestock Conservancy as critical. There is a conservation program that has been running in an official manner since the 1970s. Doyle Connor the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture back put out the word how important it was to save this heritage breed.