The Blaarkop or Groninger Blaarkop is a Dutch breed of dual-purpose cattle. Blaarkop is Dutch for blister head. Its main breeding area is in the province of Groningen.
History
White-headed cattle in Holland have been mentioned as early as the fourteenth century. Cattle showing some similarity to the modern Blaarkop appear in an Adoration by Pieter Aertsen dating from about 1560, and in a seventeenth-century Head of a Bellowing Ox by Jan Asselijn. From the nineteenth century, there are also Blaarkoppen in the Utrecht and Leiden regions.
Bulls of this type were among the cattle shipped to the Cape of Good Hope by Willem Adriaan van der Stel during his time as governor of the Cape Colony (1699–1707).
, a non-profit foundation for the development and conservation of the Blairkop, was established in 2002.
Characteristics
The Blaarkop breed is sturdily built with matching muscles, a horned head, and strong legs. Both red (60% of the population) and black (40%) Blaarkoppen exist. The body is solid red or black, while the head is white with a red or black ring (blister) around the eyes; the tail has a white tip.
Bulls are high and weigh . Cows are high and weigh .
Use
The average milk yield is in a lactation of 315 days, with fat and protein; many cows give more than , and yields above can occur.
References Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived 23 June 2020.
Rasinformatie en Artikelen (in Dutch). De Blaarkopstichting. Archived 15 June 2024.
Blaarkopstichting (in Dutch). De Blaarkopstichting. Archived 10 June 2024.
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Breed data sheet: Groninger Blaarkop / Netherlands (Kingdom of the) (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2024.
Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. .
Jan Glass (n.d.). Groninger Blaarkop (in Dutch). Levend Erfgoed Groningen. Groningen: Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur. Archived 25 May 2024.
Groninger Blaarkop (in Dutch). Wageningen: Stichting Zeldzame Huisdierrassen. Archived 18 July 2024.
Further reading