Cattle : PINZGAUER

 

Country of origin: Pinzgau district, Salzbourg, Austria

Australian Status: CRITICAL

International status: About 70,000 in Austria. About a million globally. 

Photo: Pinzgauer cow named Lena, bred by Ivan Dunkley, central Queensland, who kindly supplied the photo. Ivan praises highly the docile temperament of the breed. Lena's sire had been Genestar tested and was in the top 20% for feed conversion. Beautiful girl :)

Arrived in Australia: 1970's.

Australian Population: 2020: 400. 2022: 11 breeders, 84 cows (LBC helped Yan with census, thank you).

History: Recorded in Salzbourg district in 1846, and mentions by breed name also before that. Thought to be descended from cattle of the Celts in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, Salzbourg. The colours were red and white in broken patterns for camouflage, an ancient pattern.

They were exported during the 1820's to several other European countries and Baltic countries. In 1856 they were shown in Paris. In 1873 at the world exposition in Vienna the yoked work animals were very popular. Bred throughout Bavaria.

The most popular breed of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. World War Two knocked the breeders and breed about badly. In 1950 a breeders association was formed, with excellent principles of preserving and fostering the three uses and a robust animal.

Each year in Austria is the traditional 'homecoming' when cattle, sheep and ponies (Haflingers) are brought down from the mountains. There's a week's festivities during the cattle drive. The cattle, mostly Pinzgauers, are lavishly decorated for their walk through the towns, and their horns come in useful to hold massive headdresses of pom-poms, flowers, foliage, garlands.

Some imported to Australia, then embryos and straws imported.

Breed Traits: Once triple use - milk, beef and draught. The work use has given it a good big strong frame, and good shoulders and hindquarters.  Red and white, in the frame pattern, white on the backline running around the back to white flanks, breech and tail, and underneath to belly, flanks and top of front legs. Red can be a tan to deep brown. Dual purpose now for meat and milk, but bred for beef only in Australia. Good muscles.

Thrive in mountain districts and adaptable to a wide range of climate due to colouring. Pigmented skin around head and eyes means eye problems from sunlight are unknown. Thriving in South Africa and Australia. Powerful legs, strong hooves and long legs mean they range well to forage and steep country poses no problems at all. Smooth coats and flexible skin means they are disease and parasite resistant.

Once black and white ones occurred, however rarely - called "The Lucky Cow" - each farmer liked one in the herd, rather as sheep farmers like a black sheep (which can be a copper deficiency messenger); still seen, despite rumours to the contrary, but rarely.

Horned apart form one rare line which goes  back to 1834 - which was not much bred from as horned animals were needed, to be yoked, for work. Line is still going but uncommon. Usually de-horned. In Australia there is a strong push to test for the poll line, and phase out the horns.

Not many are milked now, even in the home country, but their plentiful milk means they raise their calf well and it grows fast; and in Austria they are put over Red Holsteins to raise milk fat and protein. In some Baltic countries the prime use remains milk. 

Docile temperament, although mothers are protective. Easily managed by one person and taught to show.  Very fertile breed. Heifers mature early and calve from 27 months. In Australia they are bred from far earlier. Excellent feed conversion rate. Unfortunately in Australia there are lines that have extreme calving difficulty (not all lines). 

Studies at the Technical University of Munich proved the meat is excellent eating, having good marbling, tenderness, flavour, and a fine texture - superior to other breeds tested. They scored the highest for tenderness. On the GeneStar system with many tested, they also scored highest for tenderness, far outranking Angus and Hereford. They have a high fat score. The meat ranked highly in redness too, which makes it popular with butchers - redness means good meat quality and presents well. The breed proved almost equal to the Bavarian Simmental in net weight gain and carcass weight, with tests of over 90 animals. Carcass dresses to 51.9%.

A large animal with cows being about 700 kilos and bulls upwards of 1,000 kilos.

 

Photo: Pinzgauer cow, photo by O. Taris, WikiCommons.

Organisation: Australian Pinzgauer Association http://www.pinzgauer.org.au/  

LBC is the registry. Many down as born 01/01/1900 so impossible to get a count from the studbook and enquiry unanswered Pinzgauer registry with LBC. Use the % as a wildcard search, put in animal box, click to get studbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes:

Page by Janet Lane

 

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