Breeds of Cows and Buffaloes

Biology > Animal Husbandry > Breeds of Cows and Buffaloes

Farm management is the controlled and scientific handling of farm animals in their rearing, grooming, caring, feeding and breeding to give a much-needed boost to food production. Dairy management is the management of animals for milk and its products for human consumption. The main aim of dairy management is to deal with processes and systems that increase yield and improve the quality of milk.  Bullocks are used for ploughing, harrowing, threshing, transport and drawing water from well. They provide hides, horns and hooves, and other byproducts. Their dungs are used in Gober gas (Biogas) plants for biogas generation and manure.

India is the world’s largest producer of milk. The majority of the milk consumed is also in liquid form in India. In India cattle like cow and buffalo primarily provide milk which is a perfect diet and important source of nutrients and proteins. Production of processed milk products is very less compared to developed countries. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is the main agency behind the cooperative movement in India. India is now seeking joint ventures and financial participation from the private sector including foreign investment for production of milk, milk products and dairy business in India.

Lactation Period is the period of milk production between the birth of a young one and the next pregnancy and it usually lasts about 300 days.

Breeds of Cattle:

A breed is a group of one species of animals, which have the same descent and are similar in body shape, size, and structure. On the basis of utility, they are classified into three types.

• Milch Breeds: They give higher milk production. e.g. Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Deoni.
• Draught Breeds: They have a higher capacity for work. e.g. Amruthmahal, Malvi, Nageri, Hallikar, Siri, Khillari, and Kangayam.
• General Utility Breeds: They give more milk and do have a higher capacity for work. e.g. Hariana, Ongole, Kankrej, Tharparkar

India possesses 27 good breeds of cattle and seven breeds of buffaloes. They differ from each other on the basis of body colours, horns and foreheads. They are the well-known world over for their quality of hardiness, endurance and resistance to tropical diseases.

Holstein-Friesian is an American breed which is the largest producer of milk per lactation. It has less percentage of fat. Brown Swiss breed is raised in Switzerland it has a high content of minerals and lactose and its milk is used for making cheese. Jersey is a breed which is low milk producing breed but it has more fat content. Red Dane breed from a cold region of Europe is more milk-producing breed.

Cows

Indian breeds:

Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Thararkar, Kankrej, etc. are some high yielding varieties of Indian cattle.

Name	Breed	Found in	Purpose	Milk Yield per Lactation
Thariparkar (White Sindhi, Grey Sindhi, Thari)	Indigenous	Gujarat, Rajasthan (along the Indo-Pak border covering Western Rajasthan and up to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.	Food – milk	1749-2147 kg
Vechur (White Sindhi, Grey Sindhi, Than)	Indigenous	Kerla (Kuttanadu, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod districts of Kerala.)	Food – Milk, Dung – Manure	561 kg
Red Sindhi (Malir (Baluchistan), Red Karachi and Sindhi)	Indigenous	Origin is in Pakistan, Orissa Tamilnadu, Bihar, Kerala and Assam states of India.	Food – milk	1840-2600 kg
Sahiwal (Lambi Bar, Lola, Montgomery, Multani and Teli)	Indigenous	Punjab, Rajasthan	Food – Milk; Dung – Manure	2325-2750 kg
Punganur	Indigenous	Andhra Pradesh (Punganur, Vayalpad, Madnapall and Palamaner)	Food -Milk; Work – Draught and Transportation	546- 1100 kg
Rathi	Indigenous	Rajasthan (Bikaner)	Food -Milk	1560-2810 kg
Motu (Deshi)	Indigenous	Odisha (Malkangiri,  Motu, Kalimela, Podia	Food –Milk Work – Draught Dung –  Manure	0- 140 kg
Ongole (Nellore)	Indigenous	Andhra Pradesh (Nellore to Vizianagram )	Food –Milk Work – Draught Dung – Manure	798 kg
khariar (Deshi)	Indigenous	Odisha ( Nuapada, Kalahandi, Balangir, Khariar, Komna, Sinapali and Nuapada	Food –Milk Work – Draught Dung – Manure, fuel	0- 450 kg
Hariana (Hansi)	Indigenous	Haryana	Food –Milk Work – Draught and Transport	997- 1745 kg
Kankrej (Wadad or Waged,Vagadia, Talabda, Nagar,Bonnai)	Indigenous	Gujarat, Rajasthan	Food –Milk Work – Draught and Transport	1738-1800 kg
Gir Bhodali, Desan, Gujarati, Kathiawari, Sorthi and Surati)	Indigenous	Gujarat, (Saurashtra and around Gir Forest)	Food -Milk	2110-3300 kg

Exotic Breeds:

Holstein Friesian, Jersey, Swiss, etc. are some of the high yielding varieties that have been imported from abroad and reared widely in India.

Name	Breed	Found in	Purpose	Milk Yield per Lactation
Jersey	Crossbred	All India	Food -Milk	1749-2147 kg
Holstein Friesian	Crossbred	Hilly and Temperate Regions (All India)	Food -Milk	3000-3500 kg

Improved breeds:

Some improved breeds have been developed by making a cross between two desired breeds. A cross between Sahiwal and Friesian varieties has been named as Friewal, Karan Swiss is another improved breed for milk production in large quantities.

Other Indian Breeds of Cow and Their Distributions:

• Mewati (Rajasthan)
• Hallikar (South India)
• Kangayam (Tamilnadu)
• Murrah (Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh)

Buffaloes:

Buffaloes are believed to have been domesticated around 5000 years ago in the Indus Valley. Some of the well-known dairy breeds of buffalo found in India and Pakistan are Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Kundi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Mehsana, Godawari and Pandharpuri. Despite potential advantages, little attention has been paid to buffalo improvement programs. 

Name	Breed	Found in	Purpose	Milk Yield per Lactation
Murrah	Indigenous	Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh	Food -Milk	1360-2270 kg
Jaffarabadi	Indigenous	Gujarat	Food -Milk	1300-1400 kg
Bhadavari	Indigenous	Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh	Food -Milk	1100-1300 kg
Surti	Indigenous	Gujarat	Food – Milk	1300-1400 kg
Nagpuri	Indigenous	Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh	Food- Milk	825 kg
Nili Ravi	Indigenous	Punjab	Food – Milk	2000 kg
Mehsana	Indigenous	Gujarat	Food – Milk	1800-2700 kg

Comparison Between Buffalo’s Milk and Cow’s Milk:

	Buffalo Milk	Cow Milk
Fat Content	100% more fat content than cow’s milk	Lower in fat content than buffalo milk
Nutritional value	Extremely rich in calcium, and is a good source of minerals like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.	rich in a variety of minerals, vitamins, proteins and calcium
Cholesterol Level	Less than cow’s milk	More than buffalo’s milk
Protein level	More than cow’s milk	Less than buffalo’s milk
Vitamin level	Buffalo metabolizes all the carotene into vitamin a, which is passed on to milk as such	Less than buffalo’s milk
Preservation	can be preserved for longer	preserved for less time
Health Benefits	good for healthy bones, dental health, cardiovascular health, and weight gain	good for healthy bones, dental health, reducing obesity in children, protection from thyroid diseases, and for cardiovascular health
Uses	suitable for the manufacture of yogurt, cheese (paneer), khoa and ghee.	suitable for the manufacture of curds, sweets, cheese

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