Belgian Blue cattle in Denmark
This website has been created by Birgit and Aksel Rubæk together with Alf Thomsen. The breeding of Belgian Blues is also a collaboration between them.
Historically, the genes in our livestock came from the Dutch breeder Janus Van Der Sande, from the town of Liempde near the Belgian border.
Janus, who has now unfortunately passed away, spent a large part of his life breeding Belgian Blues, based on some very specific requirements for his livestock.
He believed that the breed standard should be tall, long-bodied females weighing from 900-1100 kg, with well-shaped udders and plenty of milk for their calves, as the calves are fed from the mother’s teats.
He also strived for a short gestation period of no more than nine months, preferably less, and also used only bulls, which were known for siring small calves. For Janus, natural calving was a must and, after many years of intensive breeding with a focus on these qualities, he succeeded in producing a breed which calved naturally.
In 2002, Alf Thomsen bought six livestock from Janus, and it is from this stock that Sdr. Skovens Tornado and Golden originate; two collection sires, which have been used, in particular, by the milk producers, because they give small calves.
Sdr. Skovens Golden