The Fjäll ( or ) is a traditional Swedish

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of polled mountain

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered

Bohuskulla The Bohuskulla is an endangered Swedish breed of hornless mountain cattle. It originates from the area of the plateau in northern Bohuslän and Dalsland, in western Sweden. It is a traditional domestic Swedish breed, and derives from a group ...

breed.

History

There have long been small polled mountain cattle in Sweden. A text from 1296 AD describes cattle that are "small, hornless, white or whitish grey, often with dark spots". The Fjällras was established as a breed in the nineteenth century. A

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders wh ...

was started in 1907. The traditional mountain cattle breeds were very variable. In 1937 a new breed, the

Swedish Polled The Swedish Polled, , often abbreviated to SKB, is a Swedish breed of domestic cattle. It was created in 1937 from two different Swedish cattle breeds, the Swedish Red Polled and the Fjäll. Breeders did not accept the new classification, a ...

( or SKB) was created with the intention of merging the Fjällras with the Swedish Red Polled (), a quite different breed of mountain cattle. However, breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before. During the 1970s and 1980s indiscriminate

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

placed the breed in danger of extinction. A

breeders' association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the Föreningen Svensk Fjällrasavel, was established in 1996; a similar association, the Sveriges Rödkulleförening, had formed for the Rödkulla in the 1960s. Stocks of frozen

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon, spermatozoa which is secreted by the male gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic animals. In humans and placen ...

from

pure-bred Purebreds are cultivars of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Purebreds breed true-to-type, which means the progeny of lik ...

Fjällras bulls born in the mid-twentieth century helped in the recovery of the breed, and allowed the

effective population The effective population size (''N'e'') is the size of an idealised population that would experience the same rate of genetic drift as the real population. Idealised populations are those following simple one- locus models that comply with assu ...

size to be increased. In 1996 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 Fjällras cows. In 2012 a total population of head was reported. The traditional Fjäll has divided into two sub-breeds, the Svensk Fjällras and the Fjällnära Boskap.

Characteristics

The coat colour of the Fjällras is variable: it may be almost white; white speckled with red or black;

colour-sided Colour-sided is a colour pattern of domesticated cattle. It is sometimes called lineback. Characteristics The pattern consists of a dark body colour, with white finching along the spine, white under the belly, and often white also over the ...

red or black with finching; or, occasionally, solid red, black or – more rarely – grey. The skin is white. The cattle are well adapted to the mountain environment and forage well on poor pasture.

Use

The Fjällras is principally a dairy breed. Average milk yield is approximately of milk per

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...

; some cows may give . The milk has a high

butter-fat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. Butt ...

content, approximately 4.5%, and a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

content of about 3.6%; it is particularly rich in

κ-casein Κ-casein, or kappa casein, is a mammalian milk protein involved in several important physiological processes. Chymosin (found in rennet) splits K-casein into an insoluble peptide (para kappa-casein) and water-soluble glycomacropeptide (GMP). GM ...

B and is suitable for making cheese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjall Cattle Cattle breeds originating in Sweden