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= Danish Red cattle =

Danish Red cattle, also known as Red Danish or Red Dane, are a major dairy cattle breed in northern Europe. There are 42,599 pedigree cows in Denmark. They can be used as a beef breed once they finish their useful lifetime.

Characteristics
These cattle have a solid red coat. Mature cows weigh 550-800kg and 660 kilograms on average. Mature bulls are larger at an average of 1000 kilograms and often have a darker red coat. This breed is known for being hardy. This breed is resistant to both hot and cold temperatures. They have good immune health making them resistant to disease, especially Mastitis and other udder health issues. These cows have high fertility and are known for issue-free calving. The calving interval is around 13 months. Most claves are born between 36 and 40 kilograms. They also have strong hooves and legs.

Milk and meat
Danish Red cattle are dual-purpose cattle meaning they are used for both dairy and beef. This breed is mainly bred as dairy cows. The milk from this breed is considered high quality due to its high butterfat content and protein content, which is higher than the Holstein Friesian. They are also widely used for milk because they can produce a high yield of 8000kg annually. The cow has a high slaughter yield of about 56% making them good sources of beef.

Crossbreeding
The breed's resistance to temperature makes them popular imports for crossbreeding. The Danish Red has been successfully crossbred with Lithuanian Red, Estonian Red, Latvian Red, Polish Red, Belarus Red,  Tambov Red (Russian Red), Bulgarian Red, etc. The solid red color of these breeds has helped in making them popular for crossbreeding in tropical countries with red Zebu dairy breeds like Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Butana.

History
The breed was developed in Denmark based on local breeds bred with Angeln cattle from Angeln, Schleswig. This breed comprised 60% of all cattle stock in Denmark during the 1960s. In the 1970s the breed suffered from widespread inbreeding depression leading to lower production. Due to higher production on the Dutch Friesian breed the percentage dropped to around 20% during the 1980s. The Dutch Friesian is still in the majority today. There are still concerns about possible inbreeding and the effects it may have on the Danish Red population.