Largest Cow Breeds: Top 10 Biggest Cows In The World
Have you heard of the Champion Of The World competition? Farmers from all over the world contest who has the largest or biggest cows in the world. What we mean as the largest cow breeds is regarding Size, not quantity.
In the world today, there are about 920 breeds of cow, most from Bos taurus while others are from Bos indicus (the humped cows), this notwithstanding there are still high demands for big cows just like in the past decades.
The demands for Large cow breeds are high because of the benefits that come with their size. From high meat production down to other import advantages, later in this post, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of Large Cattle Breeds, but for now, we will be delving into the main subject of this post which is The 10 biggest cows in the world.
Top 10 Biggest Cows In The World
Remember as you read through we at eucarlagro.com will love to read your comments and answer your questions, so feel free to run to the comment box. Without any further ado, here are the 10 biggest cows in the world:
1. Chianina
Chianina is the Largest cattle breed in the world. They hail from Tuscany, Italy and date back to 200BC making them one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world.
They earned their ranking because they are as tall as 2 metres (0.5m shorter than the Tallest Man on Earth, Sultan Kosen) and weigh about 1700kg on average. Chianina Cows are the tallest and heaviest cows in the world.
Due to their size and carcass quality, they are very good for beef production and due to their stature and high environmental adaptability, they are also used as draught cattle.
Some dairy farmers rear them for milk while others keep them for their tough skin (hides). No doubt Chianina worthy earned a spot on our list.
2. South Devon
South Devon also known as Gentle Giant is a native of the United Kingdom and in fact, it’s Britain’s largest native cattle and the second biggest cow in the world.
The weight of a South Devon is very intriguing. The largest South Devon cow weighs 2000kg which is very massive for a cow. Farmers reared them mainly for milk production because they have high milk production potential, although since 1972 they have been reared for meat only.
Aside from their weight and high milk productivity, some unique prospects of South Devon cows are their ability to reproduce for 15 years, and their ability to be used to work the field for 12 years.
South Devon just like any good thing on earth has some issues, South Devon cows have a common genetic disease called 11-bp genetic mutation which causes Bovine muscular hypertrophy (hyperplasia). When this disease sets in, it does stop meat production at all but it diminishes its quality.
3. Maine-Anjou
Among the top 10 biggest cows in the world, we have Maine-Anjou. Maine-Anjou is a 1400kg weighing cow breed that derived its name from its hometown, the Anjou region of France. Isn’t this very patriotic of them? Sure is.
Maine-Anjou is reared for milk and meat production. Being so because Maine-Anjou is known for its easy fattening ability and high milk production.
4. Glan Cattle
Glan Cattle is another large cow we would want you to meet. Originally from the Rhine-Palestine region of Germany, Glan Cattle is a 1.45m tall and 1200kg weigh cow, kept by farmers for meat production.
Why we said we would want you to meet Glan cattle is not just because it’s one of the biggest cows in the world instead it’s because if men don’t intervene now, soon this breed will be extinct. Due to their challenges in calving, their population is reduced by the day. Thanks to the efforts of the Preservation Society established in 1985, some are still on earth.
5. German Angus
For sure Germany is blessed with good breeds, the largest cow breeds in the world so to speak. German Angus is one of the biggest cows in the world. They weigh 1200kg and are normally as tall as 1.5m. Their unique features can’t be farfetched to their Ancestor the Aberdeen Angus Cattle who was crossed with different local cow breeds in Germany then.
The Crossing wasn’t for fun fair, it was aimed intentionally at producing a breed with a large size, good character, for less and at the same time having the ability to produce low-fat content beef. And we are glad to announce to you that they succeeded.
Due to the successful crossing, today German Angus is used for quality meat production and vegetation management (as they are big eaters). So check well if your cow is either black, brown or red, you might have this beauty gracing your farm.
6. Montbeliarde
Guess its origin. Absolutely your guess was right, it’s a French breed. Montbeliarde is a French cow and is one of the biggest cows in the world, to be precise, its the sixth biggest in the world.
Montbeliarde is a 1200kg weight and 1.54m tall cow, reared for dairy uses because this cow you see here can produce over 7400 litres annually. Its milk is rich in nutrients, especially Casein type B. Making it very suitable for Cheese Production.
7. Parthenais
Now it looks like France is tired of hearing German names, and has decided to fly here flag on our list. Parthenais is a native of the Deux-Sevres region, France.
Weighing 1150kg and reaching the height of 1.45m, Parthenais is used for milk and beef production worldwide and therefore has earned the seventh spot on our list of the top 10 biggest cows in the world.
8. Limousin
Sounding like the celebrity dream car Limousine, but they are different. Ours has legs while the other has wheels. Limousin is another proud French cow that hails from the Limousin and Marche region of France.
This breed is famous for its remarkable sturdiness, good health and tremendous adaptation to the environment. Meat producers and farm field workers keep Limousin for meat production and work respectively.
9. Bazadaise
Still on the topic of focus, the top 10 biggest cows in the world, we have another French native cow called Bazadaise. Bazadaise is an 1100kg weighing cow. It has a massive calving ability and good meat production ability, no wonder it made this list.
10. Charolais
It’s like these French cows are conquering our list of the top 10 biggest cows in the world just like Napoleon Bonaparte. Surely He would be dancing to this wherever he is.
Charolais is one of the earliest and most popular cattle. It weighs 1100kg on average. Unique for its quality and quantity of meat, Charolais due to these qualities makes up one-quarter of cows in Europe.
Other Breeds: Beyond our list, these are cow other breeds in the world that are very large and big. They are: Brahman, the Gayal, Pinzgauer Normande, Vorderwald, Belted Galloway pie Rouge Des plains etc.
see also: Different Types of Pig Breeds For Pig Farming
Advantages & Disadvantages Of Large Cattle Breed
Okay from the above discussion, you must have spotted some advantages of large cattle breeds like Good adaptability to the environment/climate, Good carcass yield in a short time and usefulness for meat & milk production. If you noticed this congrats you were right. But wait, what are their disadvantages?
The Disadvantages of Large cattle breeds are:
- They require plenty of food and water.
- High production cost as they require immunization, the maintenance cost of hedges and veterinary care.
- High cost of breeding and artificial insemination.
- Require a lot of money for the transportation of animals and milk.
- And lastly, due to their size, they also need large land size.
Famous Big Cows
Just like Oscar Bieber and Noon Coleman, there are other famous animals and in this case, famous big cows. Without any further ado, here are the famous big cows:
Donetto
This bull named Donetto, which weighed 1820 kg is the heaviest bull of the Chianina breed and he was also documented as the Heaviest Bull in the world in 1955 weighing 1745 kg.
Donetto was bred in La Fratta town, Siena province, Italy in 1949.
He weighed 602 kg at 12 months & 1085 kg at 24 months.
Officially his biggest weight recorded was 1780 kg. But at the farm, he kept growing until he reached 1820 kg / 4012 lbs.
Daniel the Cow
Daniel was the Andre the Giant of the cow world. weighing in at 2,300 pounds, and Standing at 6 foot 4 inches tall, he was reckoned to be the tallest cow in the world. He lived the largest of his life at the  Sequoia Park Zoo, but he spent the prior few years at Lost Coast Hay after zoo officials said it was too costly to take care of him. Daniel  ate 100 pounds of hay and 15 pounds of grain a day. He also generated 150 pounds of manure a day.
Other famous big cows are Pauline Wayne, Minnie moo, and Elsie.
Conclusion
We have been discussing the largest cow breed: the top 10 biggest cows in the world. We didn’t end at enumerating them, we also explained them in detail and then moved over to the advantages & disadvantages of large cattle breeds then lastly we saw some famous big cows.
Hope you learn a lot, if you did, and you want more of our posts, follow us right away. Also, remember to ask your questions and share your views with us. Here at eucarlagro.com, we talk about agriculture but we don’t bite.
