The Swedish Red Polled, , is a 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 ...

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

. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for its milk and for its meat.

History

The Swedish Red Polled is a traditional Swedish breed. It was commonly raised in the landskap of

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

and along the west coast of the country. 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 established in 1912, and the breed began to spread. By the late 1930s it was present not only in Dalarna but in

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost and the most densely populated of the No ...

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...

, the

Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

and

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...

. There were about 30 000 head. 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 Rödkulla with the Fjällras, a quite different breed of mountain cattle. Breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before. 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 Sveriges Rödkulleförening, was formed in the 1960s. Nevertheless, the population declined steeply. By the late 1970s it had fallen to a low of about 20 head of

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 ...

stock, and conservation efforts began. In the recovery process some use was made of imported stock of similar breeds from Finland and Norway ( Ostlandsk Roedkolle and

Vestlandsk Raudkolle Vestlandsk or Vestlandske dialekter (West Norwegian) is a collective term for the dialects that are spoken on the coast of western Norway in the area ranging from Romsdal in the north to Agder in the south. These dialects can furthermore be spl ...

). In 2004 the Rödkulla received official recognition: a breed number (40) was assigned to it by the

Statens Jordbruksverk The Swedish Board of Agriculture (, commonly known as ''Jordbruksverket'') is a Government agency in Sweden that answers to the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency headquarters is located in Jönköping. It is responsible for agriculture ...

, the Swedish board of agriculture. In 2009 there were about cows and 400 bulls of the breed;

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 a further 70 bulls was available for

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

Characteristics

The Swedish Red Polled is solid red; it may sometimes have white markings. It is always polled; horned animals may not be registered. It

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

s well and tolerates extremes of cold.

Use

The Rödkulla is a dual-purpose breed. It gives about of milk per year. Stock for slaughter reaches a weight of in 30 months.

References

Cattle breeds originating in Sweden {{bots, deny=Citation bot