The Aberdeen-Angus breed was advanced early in the 19th century from the polled and predominantly black livestock of North East Scotland, recognized locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”. As with other breeds of farm animals and sheep in Britain, as the breed established using the newly adopted improvements in husbandry and transport. The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century but it was once so much later that the Herd eBook (1862) and the Society (1879) had been founded.The early historical past of the breed is the history of its breeders, revolutionary lairds and farmers, of whom 3 were outstanding. Hugh Watson become tenant of Keillor in Angus in 1808. He gathered new stock from around Scotland and produced livestock of exceptionally high quality and character.William McCombie came from a family of graziers and in early life was once dealing in large numbers of cattle. He took the farm of Tillyfour in Aberdeenshire in 1824 and founded a herd of Keillor blood. His carefully documented close breeding produced outstanding livestock that he showed in England and France to establish the recognition of the breed.Sir George Macpherson-Grant returned again to the inherited property at Ballindalloch, on the River Spey, from Oxford in 1861 and took up the refining of our breed that used to be to be his life’s work for almost 50 years. McCombie and Macpherson-Grant became members of Parliament.By method of line breeding and selection for type, the early pioneers based in Angus, Aberdeenshire, Speyside and the Laigh of Moray, the greatest of pork breeds. Stock from here persisted to lead the breed well into the 20 th century while Aberdeen-Angus stock grew to spread all through Scotland, England and Ireland.The stabilisation of the breed within the USA came about at the end of the 19th century. By 1901, the USA was registering more pedigree cattle than in Britain and now register forty time more pedigree’s. Very quickly the breed used to be to be found in different English talking countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and in South America, particularly Argentina. Nowadays, all those countries have greater populations of pure blood Aberdeen-Angus than the British Isles.Right through the first half of the twentieth century, Britain was considered the fount of Aberdeen-Angus genetics and the leading breeders got here, and to the Perth February sales specifically, for seed stock. The export market was so much more rewarding. On the other hand however, over this era, the size of the cattle was decreased to the detriment of the industrial producers here and overseas. The nineteen sixties bought with it the import to the UK of large muscled draught-bred Continental cattle and the selling of this meat through supermarkets was encouraged and quality was ignored supposedly in the interest of the economy.Meanwhile, the will for faster growing cattle was noted world-wide and our export markets quickly disappeared. The breed within the nineteen sixties found itself going through tricky times. Some progress was once made by means of selecting larger types among British stock, and specifically Irish, lines and a few good New Zealand and Australian imports additionally made their mark.But salvation was found in North America. Our Herd Guide registered its first Canadian imports in 1972. Unable for veterinary reasons to import live stock from the USA, we have over the past 25 years introduced in various bulls and cows from Canada, in most circumstances these being offspring of leading performance recorded American sires. Semen and embryos have been imported direct from the USA.Lately, the breed is a blend of the North American bloodlines with Scottish pedigree and include the British lines. We have with this new stock calving ease and good temperament where the fleshing and the marbling that makes Aberdeen Angus the preferred temperate beef breed around the world.For the British breeders, the only market is that of the commercial beef manufacturer, and through these producers the consumers of the best beef. The breeders of the Aberdeen Angus have the tools of old at their disposal and choice of stock that were used at Keillor, Tillyfour and Ballindalloch plus with the advancement in genetics and veterinary practice, AI and embryo transplant, and the help of sophisticated performance records.

The giving of animal gifts was mentioned thousands of years ago very early on in Bible times. For example, to help settle a dispute between two brothers the book of Genesis mentions that (Jacob) chose a substantial gift for Esau his brother from the livestock he had with him at that particular time – it included 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls & 30 donkeys. He divided the livestock into three, staggering departure times of each third of the livestock being sent to Esau – and yes, the gifts helped to heal the rift between the two brothers!In the days of famous King Solomon, the giving of animal gifts to the King was common practice. In the book of 1 Kings it mentions that every year those who came to see the King brought him gifts of weaponry, silver & gold, clothing, spices, mules and horse gifts.What about in more recent times? We hear in Muslim countries and in parts of Africa of the custom of animal gifts being given as part of a dowry: the goods given by a brides family to the family of her groom; conversely, we also hear of ‘bride-wealth’ or ‘bride-price’, which can be anything from animal gifts to jewellery, money, houses, or whatever, given from the grooms family to the brides family on the occasion of a marriage.Some well-known charities also promote arrangements whereby animal gifts can be given by better-off people in the Western world to aid the poor in third-world countries. Animals such as goats, sheep, cows and camels are sourced in the third-world country, vaccinated and transported and given to a poor family, thus providing milk to drink or sell, dung to act as fertiliser for crops, and kids, lambs or calves to take to market. A camel gift would also provide the option of much-needed transport!Yes, it is true to say that the giving of animal gifts has been happening for thousands of years, and no doubt in many cultures will continue as a means of providing a measure of security for poorer families in marriage, aiding the poor in third-world countries, and for many other reasons. And when the gift is given from the heart, how that benefits not only the recipient, but also the giver! The satisfaction we can gain, the warm feeling in our heart knowing we have contributed to a real need!

For someone like me who is still sort of a beginner when it comes to do it yourself projects, lean to shed plans are essential for building a lean to shed. I can even build a decent shed with a great set of plans… and at a very reasonable cost. I would like to discuss some great tips as to why a lean to shed might be the best option for.(1) The first tip is cost. The great thing about a lean to shed is it only has 3 sides. That alone will make it cheaper than building a regular 4-sided shed. Whatever you decide to use your 3 sided lean to shed for, such as for providing shelter to livestock or storing firewood means you do not have to worry too much about how pretty it needs to look.For those reasons, you can use free and used wood. If you are using the shed for livestock, the 3 sides will provide natural ventilation which can keep disease from spreading. If you are using the shed to store firewood, then your wood will dry faster for good use in the winter.(2) Another think you should know is you really only have 2 choices for how you want to lean your shed. You may have the inclination to lean the shed against your home or a building or barn, in which case you may be a bit more concerned about how it looks. Or the shed can be free standing for the protection of livestock in which case you probably won’t care how it looks.(3) A really good 3rd tip is you can use free or recycled materials and wood you may just have laying around. You can even use cheap or used pallet for the floor only to ensure that whatever you are storing is kept off the ground and dry. With the shed out in the field for cattle you need not worry too much about a floor.These are some great tips to consider when thinking about building a lean to shed but you will need to get a hold of some really good lean to shed plans to go with these tips. A friend of mine used a great set of Cradle Plans to build a baby cradle from a huge library of premium plans. I suggest you check the same library for a good set of lean to shed plans.