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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Standard | South Devon Herd Book Society |
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TheSouth Devon is a Britishbreed of largebeef cattle. It originated in thecounties ofDevon andCornwall in south-west England, and is mentioned from the eighteenth century. It was a dual-purpose breed, kept both for its milk and for beef. Since 1972selection has been for beef only.[4]: 303
The South Devon originated in the counties of Devon and Cornwall in south-west England: the earliest mentions of it are from the eighteenth century.[4]: 303 How it developed is not known; one theory is that it arose fromcross-breeding between localDevon stock andChannel Islands cattle such as theAlderney. Unlike other British breeds, the South Devon carries the gene forhaemoglobin B, which is also present in the Channel Island breeds.[4]: 303
The South Devon Herd Book Society of England was formed, and published the first edition of theherdbook in 1891.[4]: 303
Some were exported to the United States in either 1936[5]: 714 or 1969,[4]: 303 , and then again in 1974. Abreed society was formed in 1972.[6]
The South Devon is a large breed: bulls stand on average152 cm at thewithers, cows some12 cm less.[2] The coat is curly and light red in colour; the cattle are both larger and paler than other British breeds of red cattle.[4]: 303 They may be either horned orpolled; the horns are yellowish or white, and downward-curved.[7]
Until the early part of the nineteenth century the South Devon was a triple-purpose animal, kept for its milk, for meat and fordraught work.[8] Thereafter it was a dual-purpose breed, valued for itsdairy qualities while the quality of the carcase was not high.[4]: 303 In the early twentieth century, the average milk yield was over3200 kg perlactation; a good cow might give5000 kg, and at least one reached6200 kg. In 1974 the average lactation yield was3390 kg, with afat content of 4.19%; some cows exceeded10000 kg. The conformation of the udder was not well suited tomechanical milking, and from 1972selection was for beef only.[4]: 303
It is a large and fast-growing breed. In 1974 the average weight of bullocks at 400 days was590 kg, with an average height at thewithers of126 cm; some animals reached more than750 kg in that time. In the twenty-first century the daily weight gain of bullocks in the first 400 days is approximately1.5 kg.[4]: 303
Approximately 37% of the population carries the 11-bpgenetic mutation which causesbovine muscular hypertrophy (or more properlyhyperplasia), which in the area of origin of the breed is known as "buffalo".[4]: 303 [9]: 221 [10] In affected animals this has the expected beneficial influence on carcase yield, and the expected detrimental effects on meat quality and on ease ofcalving.[9][11]
