Limousin Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The large Limousin cattle breed are a French breed of cattle that are primarily used for the good beef and as sire cattle or suckler cows.
They have a meat that gives a really good yield and is naturally low in saturated fats. They are a popular sire for dairy farms it is not uncommon for them to be bred with Friesians.
They are an active breed that is quite alert but is very easy to both manage and maintain.

LIMOUSIN BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Limousin breed of cattle is known for the good quality meat and are popular sire cattle.
Country of Origin:	France
Other Names:	None
Main Purpose:	Meat
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Can be used for	Breed, Milk
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Not at risk
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	North America Limousin Foundation, Limousin UK, Limousin Canada, and Limousin Australia
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to the North America Limousin Foundation, Limousin UK, Limousin Canada, and Limousin Australia for more information on the Limousin cattle breed
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the North America Limousin Foundation, Limousin UK, Limousin Canada, and Limousin Australia for more information on the Limousin cattle breed
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The Limousin breed of cattle can be found in over 70 different countries around the world. They are well suited and highly adaptive to a variety of climates and environments. They efficiently turn feed into weight gain quite quickly. The Limousin cattle breed has a very high immune system and is immune to most bovine illnesses. Although cattle should still get all their vaccinations. They are very easy to both hand and maintain which make them ideal for smaller farmers or homesteaders that do not have too many farm hands to help them. They also do not need much assistance with birthing their calves. The Limousin Frenc Herd book is the book that logs all the pure breds and ensures the purity of the breed insists that the Golden Limousin have not other pigmentation such as white or black.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Limousin cattle are a rich gold color with light shading around the eyes, muzzle, and legs. They have a small head with a broad forehead often capped with a few locks of curls. They have a short neck and medium sized sturdy legs. The males tend to be a bit more robust in stature than the females with more muscling and thicker chunkier necks.

Size:

Medium

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	Mainly gold honey color. They can be black as well	Mainly gold honey color. They can be black as well
Breed Weight:	650 to 700 kgs	1000 to 1100 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear	Unclear
Horns:	There is a horned version and a polled version. Those with horns are usually de-horned at an early age.	There is a horned version and a polled version. Those with horns are usually de-horned at an early age.
Temperament:	Active, docile and easy to handle	Active, docile and easy to handle. But they bulls are large and can still cause a lot of damage as they can get aggressive at times.
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 bred for the milk qualities which are rather low in quantity but enough to efficiently feed her young until they are weaned. They are very fertile cattle with easy birthing that usually does not require help and they have excellent maternal instincts.
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 Limousin cattle breed has a reputation as the “carcass” breed as their beef is well known for the low proportion of bone and fat. The carcasses have around an 80% meat yield with excellent marbling quality to ensure tenderness. Their dress out percentages is around 58 to 63%. Their meat is low in saturated fats making it quite sought after in today’s consumer markets of health conscious.

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 hides are a known by-product of their meat production and are used for various high-end leather products.

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

Limousin cattle is said to be quite an old breed of cattle that’s origins may have begun in the Pleistocene period (around 2.6 million to 12000 years ago). This was a period where many megafaunas roamed the earth and one of the breeds of megafauna that survived up until the 17th century was the aurochs. The aurochs are believed to be distant relatives to modern day cattle.

There are cave paintings that are estimated to be around 17 300 years old that depict many bovine type figures such as the aurochs. These paintings were discovered in 1940 in Lascaux in the Dordogne region of south-western France.

Limousin cattle evolved in the French region, Limousin. This region encompasses the historic Limousin and Marche. It was in these areas that the Limousin cattle adapted to the hilly environment, acidic soils and mineralized granite. The country also had large variations in temperature which made the breed able to withstand various temperature changes with little to no problems. All these factors led to the breed evolving into a hardy, adaptative breed suitable to many regions and farm management techniques as well as an animal with unusually thin but solid bones.

Up to the 18th centuries Limousin cattle were well used for their draft qualities as they were able to pull their fair share in weight. It was around this century that the farming community began to realize the quality in the animal’s meat

Canada was the first country on the American continent to import the Limousin cattle in 1968 and was then sent through to North America in the same year. The very first Limousin bull to be imported directly to North America was named Kansas Colonel and was imported in 1971.

The North American Limousin Foundation was started in North America in 1968 and is the largest Limousin cattle association in the world.