Finnish Ayrshire
two red-and-white pied cows
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk
  • DAD-IS (2021): not at risk
Other namesSuomen Ayrshire
Country of originFinland
Usemilk
Traits
Weight
  • average 593 kg[1]: 176 
  • Male:
    1000 kg[2]
  • Female:
    580 kg[2]
Height
  • Male:
    140 cm[2]
  • Female:
    127 cm[2]
Coatmulti-coloured red and white
Polled cows with ear-tags

The Finnish Ayrshire is a Finnish breed of dairy cattle. It derives from Scottish Ayrshire stock imported to Finland between about 1847 and 1923.[1]: 118  It is the most numerous dairy breed of the country, constituting approximately 61% of the dairy herd.[1]: 176 

History

old black-and-white photograph of a spotted cow
old black-and-white photograph of a spotted bull
Ayrshire cow and bull photographed in Sippola in 1894.

A breed society, the Afvelsföreningen för Ayrshire-boskap i Finland, was formed in 1901; a herd-book was started in the same year.[3][2]

In the 1960s and 1970s Finnish Ayrshire semen was used to improve the dairy capabilities of the Ayrshire in the United Kingdom.[4]: 61 

Its conservation status was given as "not at risk" by the FAO in 2007 and by DAD-IS in 2021.[5]: 40 [2]

Characteristics

The cattle are multi-coloured red and white.[2]

Use

The cattle are reared for their milk. The average milk yield per lactation is 8571 kg, with 4.28% fat.[1]: 176 

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finnish Ayrshire.
  1. 1 2 3 4 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Breed data sheet: Ayrshire / Finland (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2021.
  3. ↑ Ayrshirerodun historiaa (in Finnish). Suomen Ayrshirekasvattajat - Finnish Ayrshire Breeders ry. Accessed October 2021.
  4. ↑ Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. ISBN 9789054390176.
  5. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
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