Red Estonian Cattle

a breed of dairy and dairy-beef cattle. It was developed in what is now the Estonian SSR at the turn of the 20th century by the repeated backcrossing of local Estonian cattle with the Angeln breed. Also used to perfect the hybrid cattle were bulls of the North Schleswig and Red Danish breeds. Red Estonian cattle are strongly built. They are light and dark red in color. The bulls weigh 800–900 kg (the largest, 1,000 kg); the cows weigh 500–550 kg (the largest, up to 700 kg). Cows registered in state pedigree cattle books yield 3,500-3,600 kg of milk per year. The record yield is 9,650 kg. The fat content of the milk is 4.0-4.1 percent. Meat qualities are satisfactory. The dressed yield is approximately 50–55 percent. The breed is used to improve Red Polled cattle, primarily in the Moldavian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR.