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Black Horns:
Bos primigenius is considered to be the wild cattle from which most of the domesticated breeds in the temperate climates of the world have evolved. These now extinct cattle were commonly known as "aurochs." Their external appearance is well known. The bulls were large, up to 6/2 feet (2 meters) at the shoulder, and they often had very long horns. The bull was black with a light stripe along the back and light curly hair between the horns, while the cows were mostly brownish red, occasionally diffused with black. As early as 2500 B. c. there were already several well-characterized breeds which descended from the aurochs. One of these, the Bos longifrons, is considered by some as the source of present Alpine, Jersey, and Shorthorn cattle.It is completely covered with long, thick, white hair, which forms an erect mane along the middle of the back from between the horns to the root of the tail; the shoulders are rather humped, and the head is habitually carried low. The males are about 66 inches long, 41 inches high at the shoulder, and weigh from 150 to 300 pounds. Both sexes have slende smooth, black horns, curving backward abo eight inches long and sharp-pointed.
Mature Ayrshire cows produce an average of 10,800 pounds (4,900 kg), or 5,200 quarts (4,900 liters), of milk a year. The butterfat content of the milk is 4.1%. Ayrshires are red, mahogany, or brown with numerous well-defined areas of white. They are medium in size. The cows average about 1,150 pounds (525 kg) in weight and the bulls 1,800 pounds (820 kg). They are well known for their stylish upright horns, and early breeders paid a great deal of attention to shaping and forming the horns for show purposes. More recently, however, the presence of horns has been considered a disadvantage on dairy farms because of the danger of the cows injuring one another. Therefore, as with the other dairy breeds, most of the horns are now removed at an early age. Since the late 1940's, breeding for naturally hornless Ayrshire cattle has been promoted.
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