Welcome!

The Boran Breed as we see it today is a result of commercial cattle ranchers in Kenya realizing that their cattle of European origin were struggling to make it under harsh African conditions whilst the cattle belonging to their pastoral neighbours were much better off with very little added inputs. These breeders have improved the beef conformation of the animals without losing sight of all the beneficial characteristics of the indigenous Boran. The Boran is a hardy tropically adapted animal with excellent heat and disease resistance, great temperament, fantastic herd instinct and arguably the best mothering ability in the business.

 

The Boran is a Zebu breed, with 64% bos indicus in it’s make up. It is very popular for its ability to convert poor quality roughage into excellent quality meat. It is an animal which fattens quickly and thus is ideal for fattening off the grass and does very well in a backgrounding program. The Boran animal has a very acceptable dressing out percentage, averaging above 52% and trials in the US show that the Boran and its crosses score consistently better than other Zebu breeds for meat tenderness, carcass marbling and rib eye area.       

 

Because the Boran has been a pure breed for over 1300 years it provides excellent hybrid vigour when crossed with all other breeds.

 

The Boran made it down to Zambia as early as 1962, but Zimbabwe’s first Borans were embryo calves born on Forrester Estate in 1993. One of these original 1993 embryo calves weaned calf in 2015, showing the longevity of this breed. South Africa’s first Borans were born in 1995 and it has been the fastest growing breed in that country ever since.