Alderney cattle

Cattle are thought to have been brought to the Channel Islands during the tenth and eleventh centuries, possibly from about AD 960 when Richard I of Normandy is believed to have sent monks from Mont-Saint-Michel to help the islanders to defend themselves against attacks by pirates.[1]^: 192 These monks are thought to have brought with them cattle of Norman or Breton type, perhaps similar to the modern Froment du Léon of Brittany; these were used principally as draught animals, but also as dairy cattle.[2]^: 143 Later, when horses replaced oxen for draught work, the cattle began to be selected for milk alone.[2]^: 143

From the seventeenth century[1]^: 103 or from no later than 1724,[2]^: 140 cattle from the Channel Islands began to be exported in considerable numbers to mainland Britain. Regardless of which island they came from, these were invariably known as "Alderneys"; this may have been because Alderney, lying to the north of the other main islands, would have been the last port of call before the Channel crossing.[1]^: 103 In the mid-1770s some 900 cattle were being shipped to Britain each year under the Alderney name, about two thirds of them from the island of Jersey.[2]^: 140 They were kept mostly by wealthy landowners as decorative "park cattle", though the quality of the milk and of the butter made from it was recognised.[3]^: 31

The Alderney contributed to the development of a number of British breeds, principally the Ayrshire and the South Devon. It may also have influenced the Dairy Shorthorn (through its predecessor the Holderness), the Irish Kerry and the Suffolk Dun.[1]^: 103

During the Second World War a small number of Alderneys were moved to Guernsey;[1]^: 192 the Alderney was absorbed into the Guernsey breed.[4]^: S7

The Alderney was small; its conformation was typical of a dairy breed, with a light bone structure and a somewhat deer-like appearance. The colour of the coat was variable, ranging through shades of dun, fawn, light red and yellow, either with or without patches of white.[1]^: 103[2]^: 139[3]^: 31

The cattle of the Channel Islands were originally used principally as draught animals; later, when horses replaced oxen for draught work, the cattle were reared for milk alone.[2]^: 143

The milk was rich in fat, and suitable for butter-making. A description from 1909 says of it "The Alderney ranks as the best butter cow in the world, whilst its abundant yield of milk, rich in cream, is phenomenal";[5]^: 81 by 1939 the same sentence had been altered to read "The Jersey ...".[6]^: 22