How to Identify Hereford Cattle

Looking at the country landscape, it is easy to spot cattle. One of the breeds, the Hereford, is easy to locate due to the breed's abundance throughout the world. The Hereford is extremely popular to breeders due to its resilience, temperament, rate of growth and meat quality. Selective breeding has developed the Hereford with very distinctive and easily identifiable characteristics which you can figure out using these steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Look for the bold dark red body with white markings of the Hereford cattle. The white markings may be on the face, chest, underside, ankles and end of tail. Hereford cattle are not a reddish brown but a deep rich colored red.
2. Examine the rectangular body, straight topline, muscular stocky build and large broad face of the Hereford cattle. The breed replicates the build exhibited by cattle selectively bred for beef production. The selective breeding of the Hereford has led to both horned cattle and those without horns called polled cattle. The horns are short and thick on the cattle exhibiting horns.
3. Study the size of the Hereford cattle. Height of an adult Hereford is between 4 1/4 feet and 4 1/2 feet. Bulls and cows are similar in height only varying around 1/4 of an inch but varying greatly in weight. The average full-grown Hereford bull weights around 2,200 pounds while the cow weights around 1,540 pounds.
4. Notice the white face of the Hereford may be completely white or have some reddish brown markings around the eyes. Although the coat is not long, it is thick and dense with some curl that is noticeable on the head.