General Information
Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, ploughing etc). The Indian subcontinent harbours a variety of cattle. Besides many non-descript breeds, there are 30 well-recognized cattle breeds in India. Majority of these breeds are low producers of milk; hence they are primarily used for the production of castrated bulls, which are used in agriculture, carting and transport.
Kerala hasn't had a recognized cattle breed except for Vechur cattle. This breed is meant for farmers who otherwise would not keep large crossbred cows and cannot afford sophisticated management practices, but at the same time require milk for home consumption only. National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has listed Vechur as one of the five breeds with threatened status. The list also includes Sahiwal and Red Sindhi breeds.
Breeds of cattle
Cattle of Kerala are mainly classified as cross-breds and indigenous.
Cross-bred cattle
The crossbreds, which constitute 82% of the total cattle available in Kerala, are having exotic inheritance from Jersey, Brown Swiss or Holstein Friesian or a combination of these different breeds. Jersey breed is known for the milk fat percent and Holstein for the high quantity of milk.
Cross-bred cattle in India
|
Sl. No |
Name of the Breed |
Native breed from |
Specific region |
Assembling centre |
Remarks |
|
1 |
Brown Swiss |
Switzerland |
- |
India, Pakistan & other Asian countries |
Dairy breed |
|
2 |
Holstein Friesian |
Holland |
Province of North Holland and West Friesland |
Through out the country (crossbreds) |
Dairy breed |
|
3 |
Jersy |
British Isles |
Island of Jersey |
Crossbreds available in all states/U.Ts |
Dairy breed |
(Source: NDDB)
Exotic breeds of cattle
(Source: http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds)
Indigenous cattle
Indigenous cattle form 18% of the total cattle in Kerala. The indigenous breeds of the tropics in general are well known for their heat tolerance, resistance to various parasites and diseases, adaptability to atmospheric changes and high returns even under poor feeding condition. Following are some of the most important indigenous varieties of cattle.
(Source: http://www.ansi.okstate.edu and Kerala Agricultural University)
Indigenous cattle of India
|
Sr.No. |
Breed |
Habitat/Main State |
Breeding Tract Districts |
Assembling Centres |
Areas of demand |
Remarks |
|
1 |
Amrithmahal |
Erstwhile Mysore State now part of Karnataka |
Tumkur and Chitradurg |
Erstwhile Mysore State |
Karnataka and adjoining area |
Draught breed |
|
2 |
Dangi |
Maharashtra and Gujarat |
Ahmednagar, Khandesh, Raigad, Nasik, Thane, Surat |
Weekly markets in Ahmednagar, Nasik, Thane and West Khandesh district |
Rocky ghat areas with heavy rainfall |
Draught breed |
|
3 |
Deoni |
Andhra Pradesh Karnataka and Maharashtra |
Medak, Nizambad, Mahboobnagar, Adilabad Gulbarga, Bidar, Osmanabad, Nanded |
Weekly cattle markets, Jatras and fairs in Bidar and adjoining districts |
Bidar and adjoining districts |
Draught purposse breed |
|
4 |
Gir |
Gir Hills and forest of South Kathiawar |
Junagarh, Also maintained by NDRI, Bangalore |
_ |
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra |
Dairy purpose breed |
|
5 |
Hallikar |
Karnataka |
Tumkur, Hassan & Mysore |
Dodbalapur, Chickballapur, Harikar, Devargudda, Chikkuvalli, Karuvalli, Chittavadgi (T.N.) North Arcot (T.N.) Hindupur, Somaghatta, Anantpur (A.P.) |
Dharwar, North Kanara, Bellary (KT) Anantur & Chittur (A.P.), Coimbatore North Arcot, Salem (T.M.) |
Draught breed |
|
6 |
Hariana |
Haryana and Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan |
Rohtak, Hissar, Gurgaon, Karnal, Patiala, Sangrur, Jaipur, Alwar, Jodhpur, Bharatpur Western dist |
Cattle fairs at Jehazgarh, Mahim and Bhadurgarh (Rohtak dist.) Hansi & Bhiwani (Hissar dist.) |
Throughout the country |
Dual purpose breed |
|
7 |
Kangayam |
Tamil Nadu |
Coimbatore |
Avanashi, Tirppur, Kannauram, Madurai Athicombu |
Southern Districts of Tamil Nadu |
Draught breed |
|
8 |
Kankrej |
Gujarat |
Ahmedabad, Banaskantha |
Ahmedabad, Radhanpur |
Rajasthan, Maharashtra |
Draught breed |
|
9 |
Khillari |
Maharashtra |
Solapur, Kolhapur, Satara |
Southern Districts of Maharashtra and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka |
- |
Draught breed |
|
10 |
Krishna Valley |
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka |
Watersheds of Krishna and adjoining areas of A.P. and KT |
Ichalkaranji (Kolhapur), Chincahli (Gulbarga) |
- |
- |
|
11 |
Malvi |
Madhya Pradesh |
Guna, Vidisha, Raisen Sehora, Ujjain, Indore, Dewas, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Mandsaur, Jhabus & Dhar |
Agar (Shajapur) Singaj (Nimar) Sehore & Ashta (Sehore) |
- |
Draught purpose |
|
Rajasthan |
Jhalwar and Kotah |
Karimnagar (A.P.) |
- |
- |
||
|
12 |
Nagori or Nagauri |
Rajasthan |
Jodhpur & Nagaur |
Nagaur Parbatsar (Nagpur), Balotra (Barmer), Puskar (Ajmer), Hissar, Hansi (Haryana State) |
Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh |
Draught purpose |
|
13 |
Ongole |
Andhra Pradesh |
Ongole, Guntur, Narasaraopet, Bapatla and Nellore |
Available in Ongole tract of Andhra Pradesh |
- |
Dual Purpose |
|
14 |
Rathi |
Rajasthan |
Alwar, Bharatpur, Jaipur |
Alwar, Rewari (Gurgaon), Pushkar (Ajmer) |
- |
Dairy breed |
|
15 |
Sahiwal |
Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, M.P., W.B. |
Sahiwal (erstwhile Montgomery) |
Jullundar, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur (Punjab), NDRI, Karnal, Hissar, Anhora Durg (M.P), Lucknow, Meerut, Bihar, W.B. |
- |
Dairy breed |
|
16 |
Red Sindhi |
Pakistan All parts of India |
- |
- |
- |
Dairy breed |
|
17 |
Siri |
Sikkim, Bhutan |
Darjeeling Hill Tract |
Darjeeling (Brought by dealers) |
- |
Dual purpose |
|
18 |
Tharparkar |
Pakistan(sind) |
Umarkot, Naukot, Dhoro Naro Chor |
Balotra (Jodhpur), Puskar (Ajmer), Gujarat State |
- |
Dairy breed |
|
19 |
Vechur |
Kerala |
- |
Vaikom, Mannuthy (Kerala State) |
- |
- |