Red Devon

Devon cattle were developed over centuries on the southwestern peninsula of England. A red bull of the Devon type was given to Tavistock Abbey in 1366, then the record goes quiet until the 1700s. North Devon cattle were prized for finishing on forage alone and for the quality of the beef, and their breeders had a reputation for being unusually devoted to them. An English herd book was established in 1850, and the Devon Cattle Breeders' Society formed in 1884; by 1908 the breed stood second only to the Shorthorn in England, at around 500,000 head.

Two names cause confusion. The Devon is sometimes called the North Devon to separate it from the South Devon, a large dun beef breed it is not closely related to, though the two were crossed until the mid-1800s.

The Pilgrims brought the first Devons to New England in 1623, one bull and three heifers aboard the ship Charity. The first American Devon herd book followed in 1855 and the American Devon Cattle Club in 1884. By 1900 the breed was rarely seen outside New England, and in the 1950s it neared extinction and split: the beef selection became the Red Devon, while a triple-purpose population survived separately as the Milking Devon.

Ruby red, with black-tipped, creamy white horns. Cows average 1,100 lb and bulls run 1,600 to 2,000; cows stand about 51 inches and bulls about 54. The build is compact, with square-set legs and well-formed udders.

Docile, by the Conservancy's listing, with an intermediate experience rating. The docility is old currency: in Australia, Devon bullock teams hauling logs were valued precisely for temperament, hardiness and strength.

Expect an easy keeper that finishes on grass. The Conservancy's summary is hardy and efficient for grass-based production, which is the breed's whole argument: beef without the feed bill, on the frame the droving and ox-work history built.

Forage and time. The breed was selected to finish on grass alone, so it fits a pasture operation and does not need grain to reach slaughter condition. Horned cattle need horn-sized handling gear, and that applies here.

The Red Devon is ranked Recovering on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priority List, back from the 1950s bottleneck. In Britain the Devon is no longer considered at risk; the American conservation story is the reason both Devon populations here are worth registering rather than absorbing into commercial herds.

Get the name right first: the Red Devon is the beef breed, the American Milking Devon is the triple-purpose breed listed separately in this catalog and ranked Critical, and the South Devon is a different breed entirely. Papers from Red Devon USA are the American book for this one.

The trade is the market's calendar. A grass-finished Devon is a slower, leaner product than a grain-fed continental, so the buyer this breed suits is the one selling grass-fed beef or building a low-input herd, not the one chasing feedlot weights.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.