[9] The Albera cow lives in almost complete freedom and bases its diet on the vegetation of the forests and meadows within its reach, with a special predilection for the fruits and tender buds of the beech (for this reason it is also called fagina), and at certain times of the year a contribution of supplementary food is made.

It is a strong and resistant breed, with a not very relevant meat aptitude, very well adapted to the cold of winter, agile and of small stature, which allows it to move through very rough terrain.

The horns are mostly crescent shaped or short hooked, discrete in size, white with black tips and usually serrated in adults.

The hair is abundant, with great chromatic variety, from black to blond, with gradual discolouration of the lower areas of the trunk, slat, ears, skull base and bangs.

The cattle are kept year-round in semi-feral conditions, at an altitude between 200 and 1000 metres, foraging for food including the shoots and mast of the beech trees of the massif.

[5]: 28  They have little contact with man, and little productive capacity: cows calve every two years, and produce barely enough milk for the calf;[2] meat yield is very low, of the order of 35–40%.