Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle and Pigs 163 Breeds from Common to Rare

by Ekarius, Carol

• ISBN13: 9781603420365
• ISBN10: 1603420363
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-10
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Summary

From the large-rumped Karakul sheep to the wrinkled Fengjing pig, North America is home to an extraordinary array of livestock breeds. Increasingly, a rare breed renaissance celebrates heritage breeds for their contribution to biodiversity, adaptation to specific environments, curious appearance, or ability to produce singular meat, milk, or fiber. At the same time, people continue to need up-to-date information about the major domestic breeds. Finally, a single resource offers detailed information about both common and heritage breeds: Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs by Carol Ekarius. This attractive, at-a-glance reference, written by one of America's foremost livestock experts, covers 194 of North America's most significant breeds of cattle, goats, sheep, and swine - from the common Guernsey cow to the near-extinct Guinea hog. For each breed, Ekarius provides full-color photographs, a brief history, and details about the breed's unique qualities and quirks. Readers will enjoy reading about major breeds such as the iconic Holstein cow, and Icelandic sheep, as well as hundreds of lesser-known varieties, like the long-legged, ginger-colored Tamworth pig; the lilac-spotted Jacob Sheep; the deerlike San Clemente goat; and the powerful, droopy-eared Guzerat cow. Comprehensive, colorful, and captivating, this definitive, in-depth guide is informative enough to aid farmers in breed selection, but beautiful enough for fanciers to browse as a coffee- table book. Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs will appeal to anyone interested in North American livestock - small-scale farmers, conservationists, agricultural historians, gourmets, biodiversity champions, animal lovers, and anyone dreaming about crafting fibers from sheep and goats. This indispensable reference showcases North American livestock breeds for what they truly are: fascinating, stunning, and endlessly varied.

Author Biography

Carol Ekarius is the coauthor of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, The Field Guide to Fleece, and Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep, and the author of several books including Small-Scale Livestock Farming, Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, and Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs. She lives in the mountains of Colorado.
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

 

Introduction

Defining and Evaluating Breeds

Livestock through the Ages

Livestock in North America

Understanding Genetics

Breeding Approaches

Breed Registries

Notes on the Breed Descriptions

 

Cattle

A Brief History

New Breeds from Old

Form and Function

American

American-British White Park

Amerifax

Ancientn White Park

Angus

Ankole-Watusi

Aubrac

Ayrshire

Barzona

Beefalo

Beefmaster

Belgian Blue

Blonde d'Aquitaine

Braford

Brahman

Braunvieh/Brown Swiss

BueLingo

Canadian Speckle Park

Canadienne

Charolais

Chianina

Corriente

Devon and Milking Devon

Dexter

Dutch Belted

Florida Cracker

Galloway

Gelbvieh

Guernsey

Hays Converter

Hereford

Highland

Holstein (Friesian)

Jersey

Kerry

Limousin

Lincoln Red

Lineback

Lowline

Maine-Anjou

Marchigiana

Murray Grey

Normande

Norwegian Red

Parthenais

Piedmontese

Pineywoods

Pinzgauer

Red Poll

Romagnola

Salers

Santa Gertrudis

Senepol

Shorthorn and Milking Shorthorn

Simmental

South Devon

Tarentaise

Texas Longhorn

Tuli

Wagyu

Welsh Black

 

Goats

A Brief History

Form and Function

Alpine

Angora

Arapawa

Boer

Golden Guernsey

Kiko

Kinder

LaMancha

Myotonic

Nigerian Dwarf

Nubian

Oberhasli

Pygmy

Pygora

Saanen and Sable

San Clemente

Spanish

Toggenburg

 

Pigs

A Brief History

Form and Function

American Landrace

American Yorkshire

Berkshire

Chester White

Choctaw

Duroc

Gloucestershire Old Spot

Guinea Hog

Hampshire

Hereford

Lacombe

Large Black

Mulefoot

Ossabaw Island

Pietrain

Poland China

Red Wattle

Spotted

Tamworth

Vietnamese Potbelly

 

Sheep

A Brief History

Form and Function

Blackbelly

Black Welsh Mountain

Bluefaced Leicester

Border Cheviot

Brecknock Hill Cheviot

British Milk Sheep

California Red

California Variegated Mutant/Romeldale

Canadian Arcott

Charollais

Clun Forest

Columbia

Coopworth

Cormo

Corriedale

Cotswold

Debouillet

Dorper

Dorset

East Friesian

Finnsheep

Gulf Coast Native

Hampshire

Hog Island

Icelandic

Ile de France

Jacob

Karakul

Katahdin

Lacaune

Leicester Longwool

Lincoln Longwool

Merino

Montadale

Navajo-Churro

Newfoundland

North Country Cheviot

Oxford

Panama

Perendale

Polypay

Rambouillet

Rideau Arcott

Romanov

Romney

Royal White

Santa Cruz

Scottish Blackface

Shetland

Shropshire

Soay

Southdown

St. Croix

Suffolk

Targhee

Teeswater

Texel

Tunis

Wensleydale

Wiltshire Horn

 

Glossary

Resources

Bibliography

Photography Credits

Expert Consultants

Index