Breeds of cattle in India

Breeds of cattle in India:

A breed is a group of related animals with similar characters like general appearance, size, features and configuration etc. Often, breeds resemble each other with slight morphological differences, but because of constant inbreeding in one locality, independent breeds have evolved. In general, the cattle from drier regions are well built and those from heavy rainfall areas, coastal and hilly regions are of smaller build. There are total 231 breeds of cattle in the world out of which 37 are in India. Most indigenous cattle breeds in the tropics are multipurpose (milk, meat, draught) and that only a few breeds have good milk potential. Indian cattle breeds of cattle are classified in to three types as under:

Milch breeds:

The cows of these breeds are high milk yielders and the male animals are slow or poor workers. The milk production of milk breeds is on the average more than 1600 kg. per lactation. The examples of Indian milch breeds are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir and Deoni.

 

Dual Purpose breeds:

 

The cows in these breeds are average milk yielder and male animals are very useful for work. Their milk production per lactation is 500 kg to 150 kg. The example of this group are Ongole, Hariana, Kankrej, Deoni, Rathi , Mewathi, Dangi and Nimari.

 

Draught breeds:

 

The male animals are good for work and cows are poor milk yielders and their milk yield on an average is less than 500 kg per lactation. They are usually white in colour. The example of this group is Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillari, Bargur, Nagori, Bachaur, Malvi, Kenkatha, Kherigarh, Kangayam, Ponwar, Siri, Gaolao, Krishna Valley.

 

A . IMPORTANT INDIGENOUS MILCH CATTLE BREEDS IN INDIA:

Breed	Habitat	Age at First Calving (Yrs)	Calving Interval (Months)	Lactation Length (Days)	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat Content (%age)
Gir	Kathiawar (Gujrat), Gir forest and adjoining areas of Rajasthan & Maharastra	4	14 - 16	240 - 380	1225 - 2268	4.5 - 4.6
Sahiwal	Montgomery (Pakistan), Punjab, Hariana, U.P., M.P., Bihar, West Bengal	3 - 4	13 - 18	290 - 490	1134 - 3175	4.0 - 6.0
Red Sindhi	Sindh & Karachi (Pakistan)	3 - 3.5	13 - 18	270 - 490	683 - 2268	4.0 - 5.0
Tharparkar	Sindh (Pakistan), Jaisalmer, Jodhpur (Rajasthan)	3.5 - 4	14 - 18	280 - 440	680 - 2268	4.2 - 4.7
Hariana (Dual Purpose)	East Punjab, Kissar, Karna, Delhi, Gurgaon	4 - 4.5	19 - 21	263 - 320	635 - 1497	4.0 - 4.8
Ongole (Dual Purpose)	Ongole tract of Andhra Pradesh Guntur, Nellore	4 - 4.5	16 - 18	300 - 330	1179 - 1633	5.1

 

B. EXOTIC DAIRY CATTLE BREEDS IN INDIA:

The European breeds of dairy cattle belong to the species of Bos taurus. They are humpless generally large spread with a fine coat, short ears, without a pendulous dewlap. They are less heat tolerant and less disease resistant as compared to Indian cattle, but are superior in milk production, The exotic breeds of cattle have been used in India on a fairly extensive scale with a view to improve the milk yielding capacity of the indigenous cows. The important European breeds of dairy cattle are Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Guernsey and Ayrshire.

Breed	Habitat	Age at First Calving (Months)	Body Colour	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat Content (%)
Holstein Friesian	Holland	25 - 27	Black and white	6150	3.5
Jersey	Island of Jersey in the English channel	23 -24	Fawn with our without white markings	4000	5.5
Brown Swiss	Switzerland	27 - 29	Distinctly	5250	4
Ayrshire	Scotland	25 - 27	Light to deep cherry red with or without shades	4840	4.1
Red Dane	Denmark	-	Red or Reddish brown	2500 - 3000	4

Guinness World Records- For the record

• Who: Diana
• What: Smallest Cow (Height)
• Where: Kerala
• When: 09 November 2010

The shortest cow is Diana; a seven year old “Vechur” cow is a rare breed of Bos Indicus cattle, who measured 77 cm from the hoof to the withers.
The Indigenous cattle breeds were developed mainly for agricultural operations therefore, majority of these breeds belong to draft category (Nagori, Bachaur, Kenkatha, Malvi, Nimari, Ponwar, Kherigarh, Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillar, Red Kandhari, Dangi, Bargur, Kangayam, Pulikulam, Siri etc.). The milk production of these breeds is very low therefore uneconomical, if kept for milk purpose only. This resulted in decline of many cattle breeds in the present day production system. The mechanization and commercialization of agriculture has influenced the utility of these breeds as draft animals. Dairy type cattle breeds are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir, Kankrej and Rathi. Cows of these breeds are high milk producers but bullocks are of poor draft quality. The dual-purpose cattle breeds viz. Hariana, Ongole, Tharparkar, Krishna Valley, Mewati, Deoni and Gaolao are fairly good milkers and bullocks provide good draft power. There are three breeds (Punganur, Vechur and Malnad Gidda) which of lesser body weight and suitable for hilly regions. The cattle breeds of North West region adjoining to Pakistan viz. Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar have their breeding tract in Pakistan and very few animals are available in the country. The situation is critical for Sahiwal and Red Sindhi animals, which can be put in category of threatened breeds. The population of Tharparkar is more than these two breeds but it also calls for conservation through genetic improvement. Due to the mechanization, the use of bullocks as draft power has reduced resulting in to steep decline in the population of the most famous dual-purpose breed of North India, Hariana, Rathi and Nagori breeds also do not seem to have a bright prospect. Breeds in the central India particularly, Malvi and Nimari have also been exploited by introduction of crossbreeding and have shown decline in the population. Dangi, Deoni, Red Kandhari, Khillar and Gaolao breeds in Maharashtra region and Gir and Kankrej in Gujarat region have a better population status due to their economic viability, but the productivity is also low in comparison with Gir in Brazil and other countries. The Red Kandhari strain of cattle of Maharashtra has also a very small population but it secured due to preference of this breed as draft animal by the farmers of the area. The Kangayam still have a good population and some improvement programmes are going on. Present status of Ongole cattle in India is very dismal. Breed in its pure form is scarcely available even in its native tract. Most of the indigenous cattle in its pure form are scarcely available even in its native tracts. The Scientific reason being Cross-breeding with exotic cattle, inbreeding and urbanization had reduced the number drastically. In the last decade two small sized breeds have been cited namely ‘Punganur’ in Andhra Pradesh and ‘Vechur’ in Kerala, which have a small population and are in threatened category. Some of other draft breeds such as Ponwar, Kherigarh, Krishna Valley and Bargur cattle also needs immediate attention for conservation.

Lost Indigenous Cattle: 27

Those are Alambadi- Arunachali- Bengali- Burmese Gaur - Cutchi- Devarakota – Devni – Gayal- Gangatiri- Ghumusari- Goomsur– Gujamavu– Hissar –Jellicut- Kppiliyan –Khamala –Khasi- Krishnagiri- Kumauni– Ladakhi– Manapari -Mampati – Mhaswad –Nagami – Nakali– Purnea- Ramgarhi– Sanchori- Shahabadi- Son Valley– Sunandini- Tarai- Taylor- Thillari– Tho Tho– Zosial

Worldwide Distribution of Indigenous Cattle

• The second most successful group of breeds (in terms of their worldwide distribution) has Indian ancestry. They include the Brahman (ranked ninth overall and found in 45 countries), Sahiwal (29 countries), Gir, Red Sindhi, Kankrej and Ongole/Nellore. These breeds are all of the humped Bos Indicus type, rather than the hump less Bos Taurus. Outside their home area, Indian breeds have been most successful in tropical Latin America and Africa. The Sahiwal, the best Indian dairy breed, originates from Pakistan and India. It has been introduced to 12 African countries. Several Indian breeds have been more successful abroad than at home presumably because abroad they are prized for their meat, milk and exports (unlike in many areas of India, where cattle are mainly used for milk and draught, and for cultural reasons often cannot be sold for slaughter).
• Pure Indian breeds have had little influence in most developed countries. However, breeds based on Indian stock have had a major impact in the warmer parts of the United States of America and in northern Australia, where they have been bred primarily for beef production. From there, they have been exported to many tropical countries. The Brahman, for example (developed in the United States of America based on stock originally from India), is found in 18 countries in Latin America and 15 in Africa – figures similar to those for the Simmental, the most widely spread European dual purpose breed in these regions.
• Indian cattle have also made a major contribution to composite breeds used elsewhere in the tropics. These include the Santa Gertrudis (descended from Shorthorn × Brahman crosses, and found in 34 countries around the world), Brangus (Angus × Brahman, 16 countries), Beefmaster (Shorthorn and Hereford × Brahman), Simbrah (Simmental × Brahman), Braford (Brahman × Hereford), Droughtmaster (Shorthorn × Brahman), Charbray (Charolais × Brahman) and Australian Friesian Sahiwal (Holstein-Friesian × Sahiwal). Virtually all this breeding work has been done in the southern United States of America and in Australia, beginning in the twentieth century. Many of these breeds have been re-exported to other countries, especially in the tropics, where they generally perform better than the European pure-breeds.
• Other Indian cattle breeds have not broken out of their home region. They include the Hariana, Siri, Bengali, Bhagnari, Kangayam and Khillari breeds – which are found in two or more countries in South Asia – along with numerous local breeds.
• Nellore Cattle: The Nellore originates from Indian Zebu-type Ongole cattle which Brazil started to buy from India in the early 1900s. In Brazil the breed came to be known as Nellore, after the district of Nellore in present-day Andhra Pradesh, India. The breed thrived in South America, and in the 1950s Argentina started its own breeding programme for the “Nellore Argentino”. The Nellore was later exported to the United States of America and there became one of the progenitors of the “Brahman”. In 1995, the breed made up more than 60 percent of Brazil’s 160 million cattle, and in 2005 some 86.5 percent of Brazil’s 190 million cattle, had Nellore blood. Ironically, while the Ongole has been successfully established in a number of countries in North and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Australia, its population has greatly declined in its original range in coastal Andhra Pradesh, and it is qualitatively inferior to the population in Brazil.
• Specifically, with the Ongole indigenous breed, known as the Brahman breed existing in 45 foreign countries, the cattle population is now estimated at 400 million. Other countries are benefiting from the growth in popularity of one of India’s prized indigenous cattle breeds. Currently, the biggest exporters of Indian indigenous cattle in the world are USA, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
• Comparatively, in India the Ongole cattle breed population is now estimated at 700 to 750 cattle and is presently in endangered status. The famous Gir cows of Gujarat are fast approaching extinction. The cows, which were around 1,500,000 in 1967, have just been reduced to 5,000 today. On the other hand, Brazil which took Gir in the 1890s, now has around 4,000,000, Brazilians have showed their respect to Gir as a coin depicting the image of Gir cow was released in Currency of Brazil.
• The Gir of Brazil high yield milk production is 20 times that of the Gir in India present day. Ongole from various other countries high yield milk production is 10 times that of the Ongole in India present day. Indigenous cattle breeds’ milk yields are breaking world records in Brazil, USA, and Canada. In Brazil, the world record holder of milk production, the GIR cattle breed which has been recorded to produce 62 litres of milk in one day. In fact, this record breaking cow is worth Rs.10 crores.
• When these two indigenous breeds of cattle are compared to the exotic crossbred cows in India, the top milk producers for Gir produce 8 times more milk and the top producers for Ongole produces 4 times more milk. Further advantages are that the indigenous breeds’ milk is more nutritious with higher levels of micro nutrients; indigenous breeds are specially known for qualities of heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and ability to thrive under extreme nutritional stress. Global warming is likely to increase incidences of animal diseases, particularly viral and protozoan diseases in crossbred cattle.
• Not many people know that India is the world leader in milk production and that it has about 3 times as many dairy animals as the USA, although over 80% of the animals are herds of 2-8 animals. In fact, India has the highest number of small scale dairy farms in the world, although India leads the world in milk production, there is a dramatic difference in milk yields per animal when comparing to the average annual milk yield of Indian cattle is 1,172 kg, much lesser to cattle from New Zealand (3,343 kg), Australia (5,600 kg), UK (7,101 kg), US (9,332 kg), Canada (9,774 Kg), Israel (10,214 kg) and Brazil (18,000 Kg GIR), the average per day milk production of indigenous cattle being 2.14kg, which is much lower than the crossbred that gives 6.87 kg.

Article Credit:http://ankush.org.in/holycow.html