Limousin heifers

Limousin History

Limousin livestock / cattle are a French breed, originating from the Marche and Limousin regions. „La Limousine“ is noticed already in the 17th century.

Some people think that Limousin is the oldest cattle breed in history! Historical French cave-paintings show an animal similar to the Limousin, and for years there were claims that this was in fact proof that Limousins were used by our grand parents in France. After some research it was found that the paintings depicted a much older species of bovine, but Limousins share many of the same genetics!

Strength, muscles but also good milking are features of the Limousin animal. The Limousin bulls were brought walking on foot to Paris and Bordeaux to be shown.

But the Limousin also fed the big cities in times of famine, as they produced so much meat. The origin of the Limousin is in the area around Limoges, the departement Limousin. Back then the Limousin easily had 300 – 350 kgs of meat. The meat is very tender, due to the diet which is poor in this region, animals must walk around a lot to get the minerals and herbs this department is offering.

Starting in the 19th century, just like the Charolais race, also for the Limousin animals selection on special chosen features came up. The breeders chose to keep the Limousin a purebred race. But like the Charolais, also here some tried to cross with the English Durham breed. Results were disappointing and so the Limousin stayed purebred. The Limousin breeders understand that picking the right animals for breeding and taking good care of those by feeding them better and look after their hygiene better is the best way to get the best Limousin. The most beautiful and best producing animals are registered in the Limousin Herd-Book. The committee admitting the animals to the herdbook Limousin is very strict. Adult Limousin females should weigh in average 700 kilos and mature males 1100 kilos.

French Limousins are almost always horned, but there are records of some international breeders managing to produce polled cattle. Limousin cattle livestock is very fertile and calve easily. They calve easy because their birth weight is quite low.

The Limousin animal must have a red/brown/gold coloured fur. The colour must be consistent no variation in colour depth is allowed. But: around the nose and eyes it should be lighter of colour and around the anus and end of the tail too, no freckles or stain is allowed on the nose. The Limousin breeders aim at obtaining a bigger animal.

The Limousin cattle/ livestock grazing breed is especially attractive for farmers with wide open fields and steppes, who do not want to worry about calving. Another strong point of the Limousin cattle is their strong immune system. They have a high resistance against diseases and infections. The Limousin race is extremely healthy and strong. Like the Charolais, the Limousin is a continental type of cattle, with the ability to thrive through damp winters and the odd hot spell in summer.

The Limousin breed has an efficiency in converting feed into weight better than other breeds.

However, the Limousin cattle / livestock mature in a later stadium, meaning that weight gain isn’t as quick as other breeds. The Limousin cattle / livestock breeding bulls are very popular by Dairy farm breeders. Limousin calves are quite small at birth, so in combination with Friesian Holstein, the Friesians calf more easily. Since their calves are quite small, breeding with Friesians for example is quite popular. The cross calves gain also more value at the market.

Limousin Beef yield from Limousin cattle are quite high. Limousin breed cattle carcasses gain between 58-63% meat yield in average! The ratio of good beef is excellent. The Limousin beef has also good marbling quality, ensuring great tenderness.

In France nowadays are 1750 breeders owning together 63000 mother cows registered in the Limousin herdbook. In the UK the meat from Limousin livestock / cattle breed is the number 1 choise, it even left the English Hereford race behind!