Characteristics of a Droimeann Cow
The Droimeann cow can come in a variety of colours from nearly all black and red to all white with dark ears and muzzle. They also come speckled sided but the most common colour is dark sided black, red or blue with a white back and underside. They generally have a white tail and a white diamond shape on their flank. Their front legs are usually darker in colour than their hind ones and their ears, muzzle and hooves are always dark.
Horns: They are a horned breed. The horns are usually curved and at a slight upward angle.
Eyes: Their eyes are set neatly into their head and have a docile expression with no white
Face: The face can be described as tulip shaped. It is not over long and is sometimes dished
on the nasal bone just below eye level. It is usually dark sided with a mottled front dark ears
Neck: The neck should be of medium length, deep but not too thick. It should fit neatly into
the shoulders being dark along the sides white on the crest and with a white ring around the
throat just behind ears. A tear drop effect just under the eye is also another unique feature
Legs: They should be of medium length with a nice clean quality of bone. Over coarseness of
bone is to be avoided as this can lead to calving difficulties.
Feet: The hooves are always dark brown or black. This colour makes them very hardy and
Locomotion: It is important that the cow moves freely with no sign of stiffness. From a rear
view the hocks should not be touching. The hind legs from a side view should neither be
sickled or straight at the hocks but in between with a good steep angle to the foot.
The fore legs should be correctly placed being neither over nor back at the knee with a good
steep angle at the pastern.
The Droimeann is a medium sized cow that is hardy in nature and easy to maintain. The ideal
cow should average around 130cm (30”) at the shoulder and always looks in proportion. She
should be deep bodied with a flexible rib giving her the capacity to store large quantities of
forage. This will enable her to thrive on poor quality pasture. A good with between the hip
bones is desirable for easy calving.
The top line should be level the shoulders smooth and neatly fitting into the body and not
very wide at the top. There should be some angularity at the shoulder is desirable as this is a
sign that the cow can produce milk. The tail setting should be level and a high tail setting
should not be encouraged. The slope of the rump should ideally be level but a little sloped is
allowed. From a side view the thigh muscle should be well developed and at a right angle to the top line. However this is not always possible and so the closer to 90 degrees the better.
A good udder attachment, medium sized teeth with a good placement is desirable. The growth rate of the calf at foot rather than the size of the other will determine milking ability.
Each quarter should be evenly sized with the other not dropping below the level of the hocks. This is important because the udder tends to drop as the cow gets older.
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Characteristics of a Droimeann Bull
The same variation of colour as found with the Droimeann cow.
A medium length of leg with medium strength of bone is desirable. Toro strong of bone could lead to calving problems. Hooves are either black or brown colour. White hooves are not desirable.it is important that the cow moves freely showing no sign of stiffness. The working frame carried by the back legs showing a natural width of stance slightly curved forward
from the hock neither bow legged or cow hocked.
When viewed from the side it should be neither sickled nor straight but in between.
The four legs should be wide apart with adequate length of cannon bone and toes pointing
The pastern should be neither too straight nor too springy but somewhere in between.
The foot itself should be normal not scissor shaped or with uneven claws.