About the Breed

Hungarian Gray cattle are native to the Carpathian basin in Central Europe. These cattle have been bred for at least 1,000 years, and have been in the USA since 2012.

Hungarian Gray cattle can offer the commercial beef industry unique genetics that promote calving ease, strong maternal instinct, heat and cold tolerance, and parasite and disease resistance. The athletic nature of these cattle has drawn interest from members of the rough stock community.

Calves are born a wheat-red color, which gradually fades to a beautiful silver-gray when weaned. Bulls have darkened coloring around their neck and eyes, with robust horns. Cows have a fully silver-gray coat, with thinner and longer horns. Hungarian Gray cattle would be a beautiful addition to any front pasture.

  1. Grays are tolerant of hot summers and cold winters; the breed has done well in Texas summers over the last six years, and the winters in their native Hungary are similar to those of the High Plains and the Midwest

  2. They are a long-lived breed of cattle. They will stay in the herd well into their teenage years and their high fertility, calving ease, and strong maternal instinct means they will continue to produce healthy offspring

  3. With a robust frame and good feet-owing to their history as a draft breed-they do not have some of the mechanical issues of other breeds. This helps them tolerate swampy terrain

  4. Due to the breed being unrelated to most other breeds already in the USA (the exceptions being Romagnola and Chianina) there is a good potential for a heterosis effect when crossed with other breeds

  5. Their intelligence and athleticism have generated interest in running these cattle as rough stock

  6. Their distinct horns are not only beautiful on a wall or in a front pasture, but also give the cattle additional ability to protect themselves and their calves

6 Reasons for Keeping Hungarian Grays

Breed Book

Below, you can access the English translation of the 2004 breed book from the Breed Association in Hungary. Click the Pop-Out button in the upper-right corner to view the document in a new tab.

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