Arouquesa

Arouquesa cattle are a native Portuguese breed from the Arouca region and neighboring uplands of northern Portugal. They are compact to medium-sized mountain cattle, usually fawn to brown with darker shading on the head, neck, and extremities, and they commonly carry pale, outward-curving horns with dark tips. Historically they supplied draught power, milk for the household, and beef; today the breed is most visible as a suckler and beef animal tied to traditional grazing systems and the protected Carne Arouquesa DOP beef label.

Small farms value Arouquesa cows for using rough pasture, calving reliably, and raising calves in steep country where heavier commercial breeds may be harder to maintain. Management is usually pasture based with stored forage in winter and attention to mineral balance on poor soils. Buyers looking for breeding animals should ask about herdbook status, local adaptation, and calving records, because the breed's appeal lies as much in maternal function and regional identity as in carcass traits.

Colors: Belted, Black, Black and White, Blaze Faced, Blue Roan, Brindle, Brockle Faced, Brown, Brown and White, Dun, Gray, Grey, Highbelt, Highpark, Lineback, Mottled, Pied, Red, Red and White, Red Roan, Riggit, Roan, Silver, Solid Black, Solid Red, Solid White, Speckled, Spotted, White, White Faced, Yellow