Original Brown Swiss

Brown Swiss cattle on an alpine pasture

The original Braunvieh "OBV" (or Montafoner Braunvieh) is a breed of cattle that is kept in the Alpine region. The animals are monochrome gray to brown.

Originally the Braunvieh was a breed kept in Austria (Vorarlberg, Tyrol), Switzerland and Germany, the origin of which is in Switzerland. When the Brown Swiss breed was crossed into the European breed after 1960 , the animals with less than 12.5% Brown Swiss content were called Original Brown Swiss.

The original Braunvieh was bred in Switzerland in particular. In the 1980s, interest groups were formed in Austria and Germany who wanted to preserve the original breed.

The cows have a weight of approx. 550 to 700 kg with a height at the withers of 130 to 140 cm, bulls weigh 900 to 1200 kg with a height at the withers of 145 to 155 cm.

The main difference to the modern Brown Swiss type is the smaller size, the lower milk yield and the better muscling and fattening of the original Brown Swiss cattle.

The original Braunvieh, together with the Glan cattle and the German Black and White Low Cattle, was declared "Endangered Livestock Breed of the Year" 2016 by the Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Domestic Breeds (GEH).

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Commons : Original Braunvieh - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files