Rubia gallega (bovine) : The rubia gallega (red of Galicia) in French, is a breed cattle Spanish.
Belonging to the blond branch, it is therefore a Spanish cousin of the Blonde d'Aquitaine. According to the breeders' association, she arrived with the Gaël people, Celtic, from France. During the invasions, the livestock of this mountainous area were little affected and built a reputation for oxen work and butchery. It is raised in Galicia, where it still represents the majority of the cattle herd today. The studbook was opened in 1933. In the 60s, breeding crosses introduced simmental, brown swiss and south devon blood. They influenced the morphology, darkening the blond coat towards red and improving the conformation of the carcass: rounding of the trunk and especially of the thighs. Stable numbers are around 190 animals. On the other hand, the number of registered breeders increased from 000 to 17000 between 22000 and 1986. The period of crossbreeding is over. Improvement now requires the implementation of an effective selection program.
She wears a plain wheaten dress, with shades ranging from light blond to red. The legs are lighter. The mucous membranes are pink. Its horns are short, light with black tips.
It is a large breed, 135-150 cm at the withers.
It is an ancient all-purpose breed, producing milk et meat and giving his labor force. The use of more dairy breeds and the mechanization of agriculture transformed it into a beef breed. The crossings of the 60s made it gain the weight it was lacking a little and the selection currently being carried out gives it recognized productivity.
La cow is fertile and a good mother. It calves easily, has a good longevity and its milk (2700 kg per lactation) feeds the veal. Its mother region being mountainous, it was selected for its hardiness and adapts well to semi-extensive outdoor breeding, as well as to fattening in an intensive system.
Its morphology is used for industrial crossings. Bulls were selected on their ability to transmit a low birth weight (easy birth) with good growth speed and good body conformation. carcass. Their semen is used in artificial insemination on females of dairy breed (better valorization of calves) and on females of breeds from the south of the country adapted to arid conditions (improvement of carcass conformation).