Taurus cattle at Disselmersch

When I did the post on my trip to the Lippeaue I presented a lot of photos of the herds at Klostermersch and Hellinghauser Mersch, but not that much on those at Disselmersch. Today I am going to post more of this herd, and also the background of the respective individuals.

The name of the breeding bull is “Larwin”, 37,5% Heck, 12,5% Chianina and 50% Sayaguesa. He is a son of Lombriz, a 50% Sayaguesa, 25% Chianina and 25% Heck bull – that bull was one of the largest, perhaps the largest, bulls born in the Lippeaue but unfortunately died young as he broke into the ice during winter. Mind that the percentages given above do not represent the actual genetic composition of the animal, but simply the maximum likelyhood. 

The older of the two young bulls is a son of the bull Lakritz, a 75% Heck and 25% Sayaguesa bull that looked quite nice. His mother is Lestes Barbarus, a cow of mainly Heck and 31,25% Sayaguesa that is still in the herd and is a son of Lakritz itself too. That bull also has a daughter with Ladilla, a Heck-Sayaguesa cow, in the herd. The rest of the cattle in this yet small group are offspring of Larwin.

As you see, this herd is composed of Sayaguesa-Heck crossbreeds, that’s why the cows are that dark, while the colour of the bulls is alright. I hope that when the herd gets extended in number that some Chianina-influenced individuals will be incorporated. As you see, the breeding bull has a nice back, but the legs could be longer and the head larger. The angle of the horns is absolutely alright and I like the shape of the skull in profile view. The dewlap is large due to Sayaguesa and Heck. The horns of the sub-adult bull are a bit too low. I really like the cow with the dark but reddish back (Lestes Barbarus), her aspect has something very appealing to me and her horns are good. I am not so impressed by the wholly black cow, her body is not good, she has a large udder and her horns aren’t that good either.