Editing Guernsey cattle

{{short description|Cattle breed}}
{{Distinguish|Golden Guernsey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cattle breed
| name          = Guernsey
| image         = Guernsey July 2011 212.jpg
| image_size    =
| image_alt     = 
| image_caption = 
| status        = [[FAO]] (2007): not at risk{{r|barb|page=144}}
| altname       =
| country       = [[Guernsey]], [[Channel Islands]]
| distribution  = world-wide{{r|dad}}
| standard      = 
| use           = milk
| weight        =
| maleweight    = 600–700 kg or 2,000lbs{{r|cabi|page=492}}
| femaleweight  = 450–500 kg or 1,400lbs{{r|cabi|page=492}}
| height        =average 54"
| maleheight    = 
| femaleheight  = 
| skincolour    =
| coat          = fawn or red and white
| horn          = horned
| subspecies    = taurus
| note          = 
}}

[[File:Guernsey cattle.jpg|thumb|Guernsey heifers in [[Saint Saviour, Guernsey]]]]
The '''Guernsey''' is a [[List of cattle breeds|breed]] of [[dairy cattle]] from the island of [[Guernsey]] in the [[Channel Islands]]. It is fawn or red and white in colour, and is hardy and docile. Its [[milk]] is rich in flavour, high in [[butterfat|fat]] and [[milk protein|protein]], and has a golden-yellow tinge due to its high [[β-carotene]] content. The Guernsey is one of three [[Channel Island cattle]] breeds; the other two are the [[Alderney cattle|Alderney]], which is now extinct, and the [[Jersey cattle|Jersey]].

== History ==
[[Image:Guernsey cow or calf lying on the ground, ca 1941-42.jpg|thumb|A Guernsey cow in the [[United States]], {{Circa|1941}}]]
The Guernsey was bred on the [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of [[Guernsey]]; it is first documented in the nineteenth century, and its origins are unknown.{{r|luff|page=1}} Cattle were brought to the island in the Middle Ages for [[ox|draught work]].{{r|cabi|page=192}} It has been suggested that the Guernsey derives from cattle imported from the French mainland – [[brindle]]d cattle from [[Normandy]], and wheaten stock similar to the [[Froment du Léon]] of [[Brittany]]. There may also have been some influence from Dutch cattle in the 18th century.{{r|luff|page=4}} During that century large numbers of cattle were exported from the Channel Islands to England; some of them had previously been brought from France.{{r|luff|page=3}} Imports of French cattle to Guernsey were forbidden by law in 1819, but some importation of British cattle continued until 1877.{{r|cabi|page=192}} Some cattle evacuated from [[Alderney]] during the [[Second World War]] were merged into the breed.<ref name="SpahrOpperman1995">{{cite book|last=Spahr|first=L. S.|author2=Opperman, G. E.|year=1995|title=The Dairy Cow Today: U. S. Trends, Breeding & Progress Since 1980|edition=2nd ed. USA|publisher=Hoard's Dairyman Books}}</ref>

Exports of cattle and semen were for a while an important economic resource for the island, and in the early 20th century, a large number of Guernsey cattle were exported to the United States.<ref name="SpahrOpperman1995"/> The Guernsey breed is on the watch list maintained by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, with fewer than 2,500 annual registrations in the U.S. and an estimated global population less than 10,000 animals.<ref>"American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Conservation Priority List, 2012"</ref>

== Characteristics ==
The Guernsey is of medium size: cows weigh {{nobreak|450 to 500 kg}}, and bulls {{nobreak|600 to 700 kg}}. The coat is red or fawn (wheat-coloured), and may or may not be [[piebald|pied]] red-and-white or fawn-and-white.{{r|cabi|page=192}} The Guernsey produces rich and flavoursome milk. It traditionally had several other good qualities: it was long-lived, calved without difficulty, grazed well and – being relatively small-sized –  was an efficient milk producer.{{r|cabi|page=192}} These advantages have been compromised by recent [[selective breeding]] strategies, which have led to larger animals, with longer legs. These no longer display the traditional qualities of the breed; this is particularly marked where there has been [[cross-breeding]] with [[Holstein-Friesian]] stock.{{r|cabi|page=192}}

== Use ==
The Guernsey is a dairy breed, and generally is reared for that purpose only. However, the cow is usually removed from the dairy herd around ages six to eight,{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} and marketed for [[beef]], and other [[processed meats]]. The milk has a golden-yellow tinge due to a high content of [[β-carotene]], a [[provitamin]] for [[vitamin A]].{{r|cabi|page=192|wcgf}} The milk also has a high [[butterfat]] content of 5% and a high [[protein]] content of 3.7%.<ref name="Anon2004">{{cite web|author=Anon |year=2004 |url=http://www.guernseycattle.com/artman/publish/article_3.php |title=The Guernsey Cow – Background and History |publisher=Guernsey Cattle |access-date=2006-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929170241/http://www.guernseycattle.com/artman/publish/article_3.php |archive-date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref> Guernsey cows produce around 6000 litres per cow per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.studbook.co.za/Society/guernsey/ |title=South African Guernsey Breeders |publisher=Studbook.co.za |access-date=2012-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222144044/http://www.studbook.co.za/Society/guernsey/ |archive-date=2012-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|45em|refs=

<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). [ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, annex to [ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{ISBN|9789251057629}}. Accessed July 2017.</ref>

<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{ISBN|9781780647944}}.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=b4d4e708144c43a5ecb06aebe8ed47c8,reportsreport16 Transboundary breed: Guernsey]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2017.</ref>

<ref name=luff>W. G. de L. Luff (2004) [https://web.archive.org/web/20170830123955/http://www.guernseycattle.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=4 A Short History of The Guernsey Breed]. Guernsey: The World Guernsey Cattle Federation. Archived 30 August 2017.</ref>

<ref name=wcgf>{{cite web|publisher=WGCF (The World Guernsey Cattle Federation)|year=2006|url=http://www.worldguernseys.org/advantages.html|title=Advantages of the Guernsey|access-date=2006-12-05}}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.usguernsey.com The American Guernsey Association]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070910053042/http://www.guernseycattle.com/artman/publish/index.php English Guernsey Cattle Society]
* [http://www.worldguernseys.org The World Guernsey Cattle Federation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20221007094341/https://guernseycowparade.com/ Guernsey Cow Parade]

{{British livestock|R.}}

[[Category:Cattle breeds originating in the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy]]
[[Category:Dairy cattle breeds]]
[[Category:Guernsey]]