🐄 Cow Breeds

Important Cattle Breeds

• Breed: A group of animals / birds having the similar general body shape, colour, structure and characters which produced offspring with same characters.
• Species: A group of individuals which have certain common characteristics that distinguish them from other groups of individuals. Within a species the individuals are fertile when mated, in different species they are not.
• A species includes many breeds.

• Cattle Breeds are of two types:
  • Indigenous (Bos indicus)
  • Exotic (Bos taurus)

Important Terms

• Cattle: This includes Cow and Bulls.
• Bovine: This is pertaining to Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak.
• Bull: The uncastrated sexually, matured male animal. It is used for mating.
• Bullock/Steer: A castrated bull is known as bullock. हल चलाने के लिये।
• Calving: The act of parturition in cattle.
• Calf: Young animal either male or female usually than 1 year old.
• Veal Calves: calves fed for early slaughter, usually less than 3 months old.
• Bull Calf: A male calf under one year of age.
• Heifer: A female cow that has not yet calved. (Usually less than 18-24 months of age).
• Cow: It is a female of bovine species that has calved at least once.

Indigenous Cattle: Bose indicus

• Indigenous Breeds are classified under three groups based on utility / purpose.

Milch Breeds

Sahiwal

• Origin: Montgomery (Pakistan)
• Colour: Red, Pale red & dark brown spaced with white.
• Deep body, loose skin (hence the name lola), short legs, stumpy horns, broad head & lethargic.
• One of the best dairy breeds in India.
• Sweetest milk.
• Highest milk producing indeginous cow breed.

Gir

• Origin: Kathiawar (Gujrat)
• Colour: Colour is seldom entire varying from almost red to almost black. Spots of different colour are one of the chief characteristics.
• Highest disease resistant found.
• Ears are markedly long. Curved horns. Horns are peculiarly curved, giving a half-moon appearance.

Red Sindhi

• Karachi & Hyderabad (Pakistan)
• Colour: Deep dark red colour varying from dun yellow in almost dark brown.
• Medium size & compact, animals having well proportionate body. Head is moderately long and massive in appearance. Thick horns emerging laterally and end in blunt points.
• Intelligent facial expression.

Dual-purpose Breeds

Haryana

• Origin: Hissar/Rohtak (Haryana)
• Best dual-purpose breed.
• Small Horn.
• Milk yield: 600 to 800 kg/ lactation
• First calving: 40 to 60 months
• Calving Interval: 480 to 630 days.

Tharparkar

• Origin: Sindhi
• Milk yield: 1800 – 2600 kg/ lactation
• First Calving: 38 – 42 months
• Inter calving: 430 – 460 days
• Lyre shaped horn.

Deoni

• Origin: Hyderabad
• Resembles Gir in most of the characters.
• Milk yield: 1000 – 1200 kgs/lactation.

Kankrej

• Origin: Kutch (Gujrat)
• Thick horns, broad dished forehead and short face.
• Highest body weight and most powerful in Indian Cows.
• Also k/w Sawai Chal or Wadhiar.
• 1.25 per step will cover than other cows.

Rathi

• Origin: Alwar (Rajasthan)

Ongole

• Origin: Guntur (Andhra Pradesh)
• Pure White in colour.
• Also, k/w Nellore.
• This breed is famous in Brazil for beef purpose.

Mewati

• Origin: Kosi (Mathura)

Badri

• Native of Uttrakhand. Also has G.I. of Uttrakhand.
• Queen of hills
• Dual Purpose breed.

Nimari

• Native to the Nimar region of India.
• It originated out of Gyr and Khillari cattle breeds, and is found in the regions of Narmada valley in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Jalgaon district in Maharashtra.
• It is draught breed and cows are very average milk yielders.

Dangi

• The breeding tract of Dangi breed includes the Dangs district of Gujarat and Thane, Nasik, Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra.
• This cattle breed is well known for its excellent working qualities in heavy rainfall areas, the skin exudes an oily secretion which protects them from heavy rain, horns are short thick with lateral pointing tips.

Drought Breeds

Amrutmahal

• Origin: Maysore (Karnataka)
• Best drought breed of cattle is Amrutmahal.

Nagori

• Origin: Nagaur (Rajasthan)
• Superior among drought breeds.
• Famous for pulling tanga.

Malvi

• Origin: Malwa (MP)

Hallikar

• Origin: Karnataka
• Very good Draught breed.

Khillari

• Native of Maharashtra and Karnataka

Pullikulam

• Madurai (Tamil Nadu)
• Famous for Jallikattu game in Tamil Nadu.

Kangayam

• Native of Tamil Nadu
• Famous for Jallikattu game in Tamil Nadu.

Krishna Valley

• Cows are less milker, but bulls are best for cart & field purpose.

Non-descript Breed

• The non-descript breeds are those indigenous breeds which cannot be classified as a particular recognised breed or do not have more than 50% similarities of any recognised breed. (have no specific characteristic of their own)
• These consume more fodder, but yield very low quantity of milk.

Exotic Breeds

👉🏻 Bose taurus

Jersey

• Jeresy breed largely been used for cross breeding of cows in India.
• The Jersey breed originated on the Island of Jersey, a small British island in the English Channel off the coast of France.
• The Jersey is one of the oldest dairy breeds, having been reported by authorities as being purebred for nearly six centuries.
• The breed was known in England as early as 1771 and was regarded very favourably because of its milk and butterfat production.
• The highest percentage of fat in exotic breed is found in Jersey breed it produces more than 5% fat.

Holstein

• The Holstein cow originated in Europe. The major historical development of this breed occurred in what is now the Netherlands and more specifically in the two northern provinces of North Holland and Friesland.
• Holsteins are large, stylish animals with color patterns of black and white or red and white.
• The normal productive life of a Holstein is six years.
• It is highest milk producing cow in the world.

• Jeresy breed largely been used for cross breeding of cows in India.

Brown Swiss

• Native of Switzerland
• Milk yield: 5000 lit/ lactation.
• Second heavest cattle breed after HF.

Ayrshire

• Native of Scotland
• Known as Dunlop cattle or Cunningham cattle
• This breed is over active and hence difficult to manage in farms.

Guernsey

• 6000 lit/ lactation
• Origin: France
• Milk found beta carotene (Golden colour)

Red Dane

• Danish Red cattle, also known as Red Danish or Red Dane, are a major dairy cattle breed in Denmark.

Cross Breed

👉🏻 Cross of two different breed.

Karan Swiss

• Brown Swiss ♀ x Sahiwal ⚦ [Remember both brown]
• Developed by NDRI, Karnal

Karan Fries

• Friesian ♀ x Tharparkar ⚦ [Remember both white]
• Developed by NDRI, Karnal

Frieswal

• Holstein Friesian ♀ X Sahiwal ⚦
• Highest milk yielding breed (14 lit/day)

- G.C. Banerjee: A Textbook of Animal Husbandry
- https://www.dairyknowledge.in
- https://nbagr.icar.gov.in/
- https://www.nddb.coop/
- Wikipedia