Meat · Breed · Short entry
Normande
The dual-purpose breed of Normandy, kept for both milk and beef. It is recognised by its white head with coloured patches around the eyes (the 'lunettes') and by three coat types: caille, blonde and bringée. The breed society says its milk has the highest protein content of the French dairy breeds; from the start it was used for soft cheese.
The first herd book
The breed society traces the Normande to three eighteenth-century populations: the Cauchoise, the Augeronne and the Cotentine, raised on the grasslands, marshes and bocage of Normandy. From the start it gave milk for soft cheese and meat that was already prized for its marbling. Durham blood was introduced in 1836 to improve early maturity and conformation. The herd book, the "Herd-book Normand", opened in 1883; the society describes it as the first cattle herd book. In 1946 the first artificial insemination in France was carried out on a Normande cow.
Three coats and a pair of glasses
A caille cow is white with coloured spots. A blonde or bringée cow carries one large fawn or brindled patch over almost the whole body, with a white belly. In all three the head is white, usually with patches around the eyes and on the muzzle. The society says these "lunettes" protect against strong sunlight. Cows stand about 144 cm and weigh 700 to 800 kg; bulls stand about 155 cm and weigh 900 to 1,100 kg.
How it connects
Breed
- related Parthenaise
- similar Groningen Blaarkop
