Mothering
Pinzgauer females usually calve easily. The Pinzgauer Association's continued focus on the careful selection of 'calving ease' sires helps to ensure young heifers have and easy birth and provide a vigorous first calf, in what will be a long and productive breeding life. In fact longevity of breeding life is the norm with cows still calving at 13-16 years of age.
Probably the most notable quality of the Pinzgauer as a mother is its superb milk production ability. Undoubtedly due to their origins as a dual purpose breed Pinzgauer cows are “designed” to produce large quantities of high quality milk.
This abundance of milk production ensures high weaning weights of between 250 and 350 kg. Even “first calf” Pinzgauers exhibit strong mothering instincts and exceptional milk production.
It is rare to find a Pinzgauer that will not accept a first calf or not have enough milk to raise it properly, no matter what the conditions. As such Pinzgauer and Pinzgauer cross cattle provide excellent fast growing steers.
Female Fertility
Pinzgauer heifers are early maturing and highly fertile. Obviously the most important economic factor in any breeding program is fertility. Heifers must breed and cows must re-breed.
By twelve months of age many Pinzgauer heifers have cycled regularly for three months and are ready to conceive early in the breeding season. In fact heifers calving at two years of age are very common. This above average fertility generates a tendency for twins to occur – more so than in any other breed.
Figures from South Africa show that even under tough conditions calving percentages in stud herds well over eighty percent.
Bull Fertility
When it comes to male fertility, as the breeding season arrives Pinzgauers possess the two most important qualities in a breeding bull – high sperm count and libido.
Your Pinzgauer bull will exhibit masculine characteristics early in life, with scrotal development of yearling bulls, as evidence of potential fertility, often measuring 35-38 cms (tests have also identified bulls as quick gainers with an excellent feed conversion ratio).
In spite of their aggressive breeding instincts, mature Pinzgauer bulls usually remain docile and easy to handle throughout their breeding lives.
Longevity is also the norm with many bulls continuing to breed up to ten or eleven years of age, those strong legs and hard dark hooves carrying them through many successful working seasons.
Today's Pinzgauer is a medium-framed well-muscled animal of striking and impressive appearance with distinctive colour markings like no other breed.
It is basically a red animal, sometimes described as mahogany, with a white top line that is narrow at the shoulders and becomes wider at the rump. The tail and underline is white and white extends slightly over the legs. Compared with some European breeds the Pinzgauer is not an overly tall breed, its hallmark being more body length than body height.
When choosing your Pinzgauer note that its back should be long and straight, with a long level loin blending smoothly into the back and rump. The rump should also be long, quite wide at the pins and should round out slightly towards the tailhead.
Pinzgauers possess legs that show considerable strength of bone. As in other breeds of Alpine origins those strong correct legs and dark hooves allow these animals to graze and travel where other breeds could not forage.
Pinzgauers have adapted with wonderful success from their Austrian homeland to many varying climates and topographies around the world. Major Pinzgauer herds can be found in the bleak and cold conditions of Canada, hot dusty and barren conditions in South Africa, across the USA, and a wide variety of conditions in Australia.
Their sturdy legs, structural soundness and inherent stamina make them excellent foragers. And they are just as happy in rough mountain terrain as flat grazing land. They have also adapted successfully to climates varying from harsh cold, to harsh heat. Their pigmented skin means few eye cancer problems.
Temperament
Pinzgauers are naturally docile. This helps in all aspects of handling, a great advantage in helping conception rates for AI, and the reduction of chances of “Dark Cutting” carcasses. It also makes them most suitable for smaller acreages.
Longevity
Pinzgauers often live very long productive lives. There are many examples of this in Austria and Australia - at present Glentariff Derek is still working as a 12 year old and will hopefully be in use again in 2020, and Lockwood Lodge Xandra 07-10-2001 has another heifer calf at foot. Marvellous to know very good stud animals can stay on farm for a long time.
