Ruby Red
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he Ruby Reds are one of Britain's oldest native breeds, having their origins in Pre-Roman Celtic Britain. Since then they continued to prove a popular choice with farmers due to their docility, rapid maturity, hardiness, easy calving, and their ability to reach maturity on grass alone. In more recent years however, the breed fell out of favour, as more rapidly growing continental breeds were in demand by both the farmer and butcher because of their speed of maturity and the quantity of higher priced cuts they produce. However, the meat has always been of a lower-eating quality than that of the slower maturing grass-fed traditional breeds. For thousands of years, lived and evolved on the Devonian Sandstone soils of Northern Devon. The underlying geology of the Black Mountains of Wales is almost identical to that of northern Devon meaning that we suffer from the same mineral and trace element deficiencies (and indeed excesses) and consequently have similar soils. The Red Devon Cattle, together with the other red native breed, the Hereford, are perfectly suited to this soil type and its lack of certain essential minerals.
