Bretonne Pie Noir

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An atypically dark Breton Pie Noir bull

The Bretonne Pie Noir is breed of small dairy cattle from Brittany in north-western France. It originates from Cornouaille and the Pays de Vannes in the départements of Finistère and Morbihan. Due to its small size, modest requirements, good productivity and ability to exploit poor and marginal terrain, it was well suited to traditional Breton agriculture. A herdbook was established in 1886. The breed was in the past numerous; at the beginning of the twentieth century there were about 500,000. Numbers fell drastically during that century, and in 1976, when about 15,000 remained, a breed conservation plan was begun, the first such for any breed of cattle.

Characteristics

The Bretonne Pie Noir is pied black and white; a red pied variant disappeared during the twentieth century. Height at the withers averages 123 cm for males, 117 cm for females; average weight is 600 kg for bulls, 450 kg for cows.

Use

The milk yield of the Bretonne Pie Noir is about 3500 kg per lactation. The milk has 4.4% fat and 3.4% protein. Gwell, the traditional Breton yogurt, is made from this milk.