Hungarian Grey Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Hungarian Grey cattle are like the supermodels of the cattle breeds. They are tall, quite slender and very beautiful. Both their skin and coats are shades that vary from a soft silver-white to an ash-grey. They are considered an ancient breed of cattle that are a national symbol of Hungary and as such are protected by law.

HUNGARIAN GREY BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Hungarian Grey cattle breed are a beautiful graceful breed of cattle that are treasured and protected by Hungarian law as a national treasure
Country of Origin:	Hungary
Other Names:	Hungarian Steppe Cattle
Main Purpose:	Draft and meat
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, Draft
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Their numbers did decline but they are recovering – WWF
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	Hungarian Grey Cattle Breeders Association
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to the Hungarian Grey Cattle Breeders Association for more information on the Hungarian Grey Cattle breed
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Hungarian Grey Cattle Breeders Association for more information on the Hungarian Grey Cattle breed
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The Hungarian Grey cattle breed is an excellent choice of breed for land management projects. The WWF has a herd of 110 grey cattle that actively participate in land management programs along rivers. Their grazing is known to trim floodplain meadows and suppress false indigo. The herd also plays an important part in preserving the breed lineage with contributing sperm for animal husbandry sperm banks. The Hungarian Grey cattle belong to a group of cattle known as Podolic cattle. Podolic Cattle are a group of cattle that have upright long horns and grey coats that are thought to have originated in Podolian steppe.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Hungarian Grey cattle breed is truly one of the most beautiful breeds of cattle. They have long slender legs and a physique that has more slender lines than most other blockier cattle breeds. They have upright graceful necklines with a very small tight dewlap and a long heart shaped face.

Size:

Medium

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Silver-white to ash-grey	Silver-white to ash-grey
Breed Weight:	525 kgs	800 kgs
Breed Height:	136 cm	150 cm
Horns:	Wide apart, long, slender and curve upwards	Wide apart, long, slender and curve upwards
Temperament:	They can be a little shy and skittish	Bulls can be a bit temperamental, but they are mainly calm. But should be watched at all times when near them.
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 fertile and make excellent protective mothers with great maternal instincts. They produce a good quality of milk but not great yields of milk. They are not bred as dairy cattle.
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

Most Cattle breeds can be used for meat and produce an acceptable quality of meat. They used to be well used for the lean tender meat and early maturing qualities in the 1800s. Today they are a national protected treasure and are mainly found in parks as tourist attractions or used in land management programs.

Meat Production?

No, 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. They are not bred for their skin although when they were being used as a meat breed their beautiful hides were made into various rugs, skins, etc.

Skin Production?

No, 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

HISTORY

The Hungarian Grey Cattle breed is believed to have been in Hungary since around the 9th century.
The breed was mostly used as a draft animal up until the late 1800s when the breed was used as a beef cattle breed.

The calves were early maturing and had a good high quality of meat it was not an unusual sight back then to see the cattle being herded to the markets of Europe for sale.

With the rise of better and more commercial cattle breed the Hungarian Grey breed could not really compete. With a result their numbers started to dwindle hitting their lowest around the 1960s fortunately since then their numbers have increased to a more comfortable level.

Today they are mainly found in Nationals parks kept as tourist attractions and for the use in land management projects.