This is an in-depth guide of how to identify Ayrshire cattle.
1Do a search on the Internet or in your cattle breeds book on "Ayrshires."
2Study the characteristics of the breed. Note the following:
- Colouration: Ayrshires are primarily mahogany-red with white. Ayrshires can be almost red to almost white, with rare roan or brindle colouration. Red Ayrshires can easily be mistaken for Guernseys because of the similar markings and colouration. However, Ayrshires are a bit larger and more reddish with more variation in color patterns than Guernseys are. Bulls can be so red they look almost black with the white patches they have on their bodies. They can also have variation of white colour patterns over their head and faces, with sometimes a long white blaze running from the poll down to the nose, and other times with only red patches over each eye. The red or white patches are quite irregular and jagged at the edges, and are often spread all over the body of the animal.
- Body type and characteristics: Ayrshires are, just like any dairy breed, quite angular over the hips, and, on average, more thinner than beef cattle are. Purebred Ayrshires tend to be over 1200 lbs at maturity, putting them as being larger than the Guernsey breed.
- Head characteristics:Ayrshires come as both horned and polled. They have less of a long face than Holsteins or Guernseys do, and tend to have a more rugged look about them than either of these breeds.
- Other characteristics: Ayrshires are very rugged animals, ideal for pasture-based milk production and also the type of cow that is great to have when you cannot be spending too much on supplement feed for them during more difficult foraging periods; they are actually more adapted to rugged terrain and adverse foraging conditions than most major dairy breeds are. They have very little foot and leg problems, and also tend to have great udder conformation. Ayrshires originated from the County of Ayr in Scotland before the 1800s, which is the reason for their adaptability to adverse feeding or climatic conditions.
3Memorize the details and characteristics of this breed.
4Go on a field trip or road trip and see if you can find farms with Ayrshire cattle. Take pictures of what you thought were Ayrshire cattle, and compare them with pictures of Ayrshires on the Internet and in your cattle breeds book.
- Ayrshires can easily be confused with Guernseys. The best way to tell them apart is to look at the size of the animal, and the coloration. Most Ayrshires will be over 1200 lbs, and be more red than brown, though some animals may be lighter than others. But Ayrshires won't be so light that they're almost a yellow colour.