Natural Antibiotics

Agr. Gajendra Bhandare

Indian cattle breed

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Traditional Zebu / Indian Cattle Breed

Detailed information about important breeds of cattle in india:

Deoni:-

Deoni is a popular Indian cow breed native of Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad districts of Marathwada in Maharashtra.

Origin of Deoni Cattle:

Deoni, a name derived from Deoni taluka in Latur district is also referred to as ‘Dongari’ / ‘Dongarpati’ (“of the hills”), Surti or Deccani, although official recognition is by name Deoni. The breed has evolved recently within the last two centuries only. Physical similarities in the head, ear, and horn to Gir and skin, limbs to Dangi suggest that it is a mixture, carefully bred out of local, Gir and Dangi breeds.

Characteristics:

Deoni is a medium-sized animal resembling Gir cattle in physical structure.  The animals are found in three color variations; Wannera (clear white with black color at the sides of the face), Balankya (clear white with black spots on the lower side of the body) and Shevera (white body with irregular black spots). These variations have geographic distribution suggesting local breeders’ preference. The body is moderately developed and symmetrical with strong defined muscles. Head is large, masculine, alert, broad and slightly convex. The forehead is prominent, broad, slightly bulged and white in all the strains; ears are long and drooping with slightly curved tips; horns are medium, thick, apart and emerge from the sides of the poll; tips of the horns are blunt; and eyes are prominent, bright and alert with black eyebrows. Deoni male animals have characteristic massive hump whereas in female hump is small. The neck is short, strong and well developed. The dewlap is thick, pendulous, and muscular with folds. It is more pendulous in males than in females. The chest is deep and wide. The skin of these animals is thick and loosely attached to the body. The dewlap and loose skin confer adequate heat tolerance to these animals. The tail is long-reaching below the hock with black and white switch. The udder is well attached and medium in size with squarely placed black teats. Bulls are characterized by blackish scrotums of a good size. The animals are docile and calm. The hair is soft and short. The hooves are well-made and shapely and of a black color suitable for the draft in black cotton soil. The body is massive and upstanding with considerable depth and gives an appearance of strength.

Production and fertility: 

On average Deoni cow produces around 2-3 kg milk per day on crop residues whereas higher milk-producing herds can be found in institutional herds maintained on balanced feed. The average lactation yield is 400 -600 kg with a fat percentage of around 4.5-5.5%.  Age at first calving under field conditions is 37-42 months with an inter-calving period of around 16-18 months. Crossbreeding with HF resulted in high producing F1 cows which also have improved fertility parameters.  In a few animals, shorter lactation length is a common problem that ought to be eliminated through selective breeding.

Dangi

Origin and Distribution:

Originally from Dangs tract in Maharashtra which is a hilly tract with heavy rainfall and very poor agricultural economy. These hills run north to south, with spurs on the eastern side. Though the average altitude of this region is about 600 m, the highest elevation rises to 1,350 m above msl.  Dangi breeders are seminomadic and belong to Kanadi, Mahadeo Koli, Thakor and Maratha communities who practice seasonal migration for around 9 months in a year (January to September). During the hot and dry season, the breeders migrate towards coastal areas where grass, tree fodder and water are available. During the period of heavy rainfall, they settle down at the foothills for protection from the cold draught. Green grasses are available in forest areas from July to September. Paddy is extensively grown in the area. Mostly animals are reared on grazing. These animals are well known on account of its hardy nature and ability to work hard under very heavy rainfall conditions. Most of the animals are reared for draft purpose since milk production is low. The breed is similar to Deoni and fits into the group of cattle represented by Gir, Red Sindhi, and Sahiwal.

Characters:

The animals are mostly broken red and white or black and white in skin color. Skin is of medium thickness and the coat is shiny because of an oily secretion that protects it from heavy rains. Considering different shades of skin color, six different strains have been recognized by the breeder farmers. “Para” means complete white colour with few black spots. The male of this type commands a better market price due to their appearance. “Bahala” is named for animals with a combination of white and black; but when white color is predominant over black it is called “Pandhara Bahala” and “Kala Bahala” when black colour is dominating.  “Maneri” means complete black with few white spots. The animals of the above coat colours are encountered in Ahmadnagar, Nashik district, and Dangs district. “Lal” (predominant red colour with few white spots “Lal Bhahala” are found mostly in Dangs and Nashik districts.

The animals are medium in size, with deep bodies and generally of ponderous built. The head is usually small with a slightly protruded forehead. On average, the height behind the hump ranges from about 45 to 50 inches while the heart girth measures from about 58 to 60 inches. The ears are small, muzzle is large, horns, though of variable size, are generally short and thick. The hump is medium sized and firm. The dewlap is slightly pendulous. The sheath, though loose, is not excessively pendulous. These animals are considered excellent for the draft as they have powerful hind and forequarters with a short back well-coupled with short but stout legs. The hooves are exceptionally hardy, being black and flint-like. As draft animals, they carry heavy timber at the rate of 2 to 3 miles per hour depending upon the type of terrain and can cover a distance of 20 to 24 miles per day.

Cows are poor milkers but attempts have been made to improve milk production by crossbreeding. Milk yield averages 530 kg (range 32 to 1,228 kg) in an average lactation period of 269 days (range 100 to 396 days). The average fat in milk is 4.3%.

Gir – Elite Milch Zebu

Origin and Distribution

Gir is one of the principal Zebu breeds, originated as the name suggests, in Gir forests of Gujarat.  The breed originally evolved due to sound and consistent breeding efforts of farmers in Gujarat especially from regions, such as Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Amreli. Gir was also bred in various in Goshalas and farmers from Tonk and Kota districts of Rajasthan. The breed is liked by farmers across the country hence large herds can be found in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, etc. Gir has also spread in many western countries, such as Brazil, USA, Mexico, Argentina, etc. In the USA Gir was one of the breeds used to develop a composite Zebu breed by crossing with Kankrej and Ongole (Nellore). The breed is known for its distinct appearance, height and weight and natural beauty which make it very distinct from others.

 Characters of Gir Cow

(Gir cow)

It is a moderate to large size breed. Cows weigh around 400-475 kg (depending upon management practices) and bulls 550-650 kg.  In general, the body color is shining red to spotted white. Skin is soft, thin and glossy. The Gir cattle are distinctive in appearance, typically having a rounded and domed forehead (being the only ultra convex breed in the world), long pendulous ears and horns which spiral out and back. Gir are generally have mottled color ranging from red through yellow to white.  Black is considered as an unacceptable color. Head shape is the most unique feature of Gir which acts as a cooling radiator to brain and pituitary gland (source of growth and reproductive hormones). Ears are very long and pendulous, opening to the front and resembling a curled up leaf. Horns are set well back on their heads and thick at the base. They grow downwards and backward with an upward curve. The hump in Gir is considered to be the largest for any Zebu breed.

It is very well-marbled.  Skin is darkly pigmented with short glossy hair, very loose and pliable. They can twitch it anywhere on their body to dislodge insects and have a lot of loose skin around the eye area. Sebum is very greasy and acts as an insect repellant. Because of this greasy substance, the skin is shiny and refractive to water. The feet of Gir is black and very hard rendering the animal hardy. The sheath is supported by a very strong panniculus muscle on either side. The muscle can raise and lower the sheath at will. Sheaths are very neat and tidy.

Gir animals are considered to be the most gentle of the Zebu breeds. In countries like Brazil it has been shown that if Gir cows are kept untied their temperament is docile and they can even be tamed to machine milking like evolved temperate climate breeds. Maternal instinct has been shown to be high as a result, in many countries while milking machine milking, licking by calf is practiced to ease let down.

Production and fertility

The average milk production for the Gir in India is around 1500-1600 kg per lactation whereas elite animals have recorded milk yield as high as 4000 – 5000 kg with 4.5 % fat. Gir cows are regarded as pretty fertile since these calve at regular intervals. It is not uncommon to come across Gir animals that have given birth to more than 10 calves in a lifetime.  Their newborn calves are small in size hence calving problems are uncommon. When well-fed these calves post-birth, however, gain weight quite fast and at weaning these calves weigh as heavy as other Zebu breed calves.

Global distribution

Gir being major milk-producing Zebu cattle has received worldwide attention since it has the number of desirable inherent features, such as heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and tick infestation good fertility and production even in adverse climatic conditions. For these Gir breed has been preferred in breeding programs in hot and tropical climate countries. Gir has earned its place as a milk breed once it responded to selective breeding as pure-breed in Brazil. From a moderate size imported herd, Brazil has been able to propagate Gir cattle employing assisted reproductive technologies. Gir has also become popular in Mexico and other countries such as the USA, Venezuela, etc.

Red Kandhari

Origin and Distribution

Red Kandhari is the prominent cattle breed of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra. Although the cows are low milk producers the breeding efficiency is high.  It is said that this breed attracted the attention of the royal dynasty of King Soma Devraya as far back as 4th Century A.D. Raja Somdeorai was a son of Raja Kanhar who ruled over Kandahar, a town in Nanded district. The name Red Kandhari appears to be the corrupted name for ‘Raja Kanhar’. Since the animals have predominant red color hence the natural name ‘Red Kandhari’. The breed could have been named by Raja Somdeorai in memory of his father as ‘Red Kanhari’ but with the passage of time the misnomer ‘Red Kandhari’ became more common.

The breeding tract of Red Kandhari cattle comprises of districts of Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli and Beed districts of Maharashtra.  The animals in the purest form are found in Kandahar, Mukhed, Nanded and Biloli Tahsils of Nanded district and some of the other districts like Ahamadpur, Hingoli, Latur, and Parbhani tehsil in Marathwada region. The animals best suited for the semi-arid hot and dry climate of these areas. Males are specially reared for draught purposes.

The males are medium in size, strong, compact and good looking. Body colour is red to almost dark brown. Red Kandhari is a medium-sized strong and robust animal. The body is compact squarely built but not massive.  Bull as a rule is a shade darker than cows. The forehead is broad between eyes and is slightly bulging; ears are long dropping sidewise and rounded tips. Eyes are shining with black colored rounded eyes.

Production and fertility

The breed has been well studied at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences which maintains a good herd for supplying quality bulls to farmers. On average the body length is 109 cm, height at wither 128 cm, heart girth 150 cm,  face length 46 cm, ear length 24 cm, longhorn 16 cm and tail up to the switch 75 cm. The corresponding figures for bullocks were found to be 118, 131, 109, 48, 24, 21 and 85 cm, respectively. Herd size ranges from 2 to 5 animals. At birth, the calf weighs small (19-22 kg) compared to other breeds hence the cows enjoy the ease at birth.  The cows produce 1.5 – 2 kg of milk per day. The average fat content in milk is 4.57± 0.03% and SNF content 8.62 ± 0.01%.

The breed lactation yield average has been found to range between 400 – 600 kg. The lactation length is 230-270 days whereas the dry period is average 130-190 days. The age at first calving, gestation period, service period and calving interval ranged from 30-45 months, 272-290 days, 120-170 days and 360-700 days, respectively. Bullocks are preferred due to better drafting ability even though smaller in size.

Red Kandhari breed supplies bullock power to the northern part of Marathwada. In markets like Parbhani and Puna in Parbhani district, and Loha Kundalwadi and Naigaon in Nanded district facilities are available for sale and purchase of these animals. In the last two named markets, bulls and cows of the pure breed are available for breeding purposes.

Sahiwal

Origin and Distribution

Sahiwal breed cattle are primarily reared for milk production. Its origin can be traced in the central and southern parts of Pakistan-Punjab, mainly in the districts of Montgomery (now called Sahiwal) and Okara. In India, Sahiwal can be found in districts of Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Gurgaon in Haryana state, Union Territory of Delhi and in West Uttar Pradesh. This area is characterized by a subtropical and arid climate. There are although their numbers have dwindled considerably. There are no authentic records available to explain how in the early days this breed developed. It is believed that it is a mixture of strains of diverse breeds that migrated from the south of India, north of Pakistan and the adjoining territory of Afghanistan. There is an apparent similarity with the Gir breed hence it is considered as a parental breed of Sahiwal cattle.

In India Sahiwal, breeding herds are mostly restricted to various institutions and military farms in the northern parts of the country. The best-known being at the National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal. A cooperative progeny testing program was established in 1982/83 between 9 institutional herds. These farms have around 900 cows and according to the plan 6–8 young bulls in each set are progeny tested of which one or two will be selected. In north India Sahiwal-HF crosses (Also called Frieswal) have been found to have improved productivity and fertility.

Characters 

Sahiwal cattle are long, fleshy and heavy with the symmetrical body and loose skin when compared with Red Sindhi which it closely resembles. The mature weight of cows is around 340–400 kg and of bulls up to 700 kg. They are colored reddish Dunn or pale red, sometimes flashed with white patches. Muzzle and eyelashes are light in color. The skin color ranges from reddish-brown through to more predominant red, with varying amounts of white on the neck, and the underline. In males, color darkens towards extremities, such as head, legs, and tail. The bulls have a large, massive hump that frequently falls to one side. The height at withers is around 136 whereas the female height averages 120 cm. These animals have small heads with long, narrow faces from which emerge short and somewhat horizontal horns, which grow longer and curve upwards and inwards in bullocks. In cows, horns are very short, thick and loose. Legs are sturdy and long with well-shaped hooves. The tail is thin and short. In cows, the udder is well developed with prominent teats. Compared to other Zebu breed cows these have comparatively smooth milk let down even when calves are weaned very early. This is because of selection over many years. The cows have large, sometimes pendulous udders and big teats. The sheath is quite pendulous and the dewlap is also large and heavy. Males are usually lethargic in work and are considered slow breeders.

Global distribution

Sahiwal is considered the best dairy breed of the Indian subcontinent.  Desirable characters like high productivity, heat tolerance, tick resistance, resistant to internal parasites and efficient feed conversion led to the spread of this breed internationally. The Sahiwal breed arrived in Australia via New Guinea in the early 1950s where it was initially used as a dual-purpose breed. It played a valuable role in the development of two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the ‘Australian Milking Zebu (AMZ)’ and the ‘Australian Friesian Sahiwal (AFS)’. Sahiwal cattle are now predominantly used in Australia for beef production, as crossing high-grade Sahiwal sires with European breeds produced a carcass of lean quality with desirable fat cover. The contribution and adaptability of Sahiwal in rural development are well documented in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Guyana, Burundi, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and several ecological zones of Africa, the West Indies, and many Latin American countries. A new breed called ‘Jamaica Hope’ has been evolved using Sahiwal x Jersey crossbreds.

In many countries, Sahiwal and Bos taurus crosses have shown high milk-producing capability and beef production but adaptability to local hot climate has been a big constraint.

  Sahiwal bull –

Unfortunately, in many countries, the Sahiwal population has been derived from a few imported bulls and cows.  For example, the current Sahiwal population in Kenya is the progeny of some 60 bulls and 12 cows imported between 1939 and 1963 sourced from Pusa in Bihar, which suggests considerable in-breeding. Kenya is the main repository of Bos indicus cattle and Sahiwal is the main and important source of stock and semen for the continent. In Kenya, a National Sahiwal Stud was established in 1962 at Naivasha and its genetics was introduced both as a pure breed for grading of unimproved local cattle, and for crossbreeding with European breeds. In this breeding program, Sahiwal bulls have been used to cross HF cows or local non-descript inferior genetic cows. In African countries, Sahiwal has made important contributions to most of the new breeds of mixed zebu – European ancestry.

Milk Production and fertility

Amongst Zebu, Sahiwal has a distinction of being the highest milk producer, followed by Red Sindhi and Butana breeds. Cows average 2270 kg of milk during a lactation while suckling a calf.  On average in India lactation yields in Sahiwal cows has ng 260-300 days. In India and Pakistan, shorter lactation lengths between 70-200 days have been reported to range between 1400 – 2500 kg have been recorded with lactations ng 260-300 days. In India and Pakistan, shorter lactation length between 70-200 days has length spannieported to be a common problem with this breed. The age at first calving ranges from 37 to 48 months and the calving interval from 430 to 580 days. In Pakistani Sahiwal age at first calving and calving intervals have been reported to be around 37 to 45 months and 390 to 490 days, respectively

Kankrej

Introduction

India is considered as the goldmine of excellent and diverse germplasm of cattle genetic resources represented by 30 well-defined breeds ranging from good milch animals to extreme draught type, very tall v/s dwarf cattle, highland cattle to those adapted to marshy climate. Most of those indigenous zebu cattle breeds (Bos indicus) have evolved over the years for their utility under a certain set of agro-climatic conditions as compared to highly selective Bos Taurus (exotic) cattle. These Indian zebu cattle breeds have unique features like adaptability to extreme climatic conditions, Subsistence on poor feed and fodder and better resistance capabilities to withstand environmental stress and tropical diseases. As a consequence, the diverge Indian cattle germplasm could be a rich source of highly evolved and a vast gene pool comprising many genes of immense economic importance. It is considered that Zebu cattle breeds constitute an interesting resource for genetic studies as they present traits different from those of the taurine breed (Bos taurus).

Although, cattle in India is the most important livestock species and plays a major role in agricultural economy, yet most of the indigenous breeds have not been exploited to their full genetic potential and population of some of the important cattle either declining or breed characters are being diluted under the present production system. This depletion of cattle resources would result in loss of important genes/gene combinations responsible for remarkable adaptive traits, further leading to loss in genetic variability vital role of selection and improvement. Conservation of these genetic groups is priority science loss of information will restrict the options available to meet future unknown requirement. However, the selection of breeds for conservation or improvement programs is mostly hampered by an inadequate description of population structure of indigenous cattle breeds existing in India. This bulletin aims to provide descriptive information related to population structure and existing genetic variability in Kankrej cattle-an extremely athletic, useful dairy and draft breed of Gujarat.

Origin and Geographical Distribution

The name Kankrej comes from the area in North Gujarat, South East of Kutch desert. The animals are predominantly found along the banks of the rivers Banas and Sarswati rivers which flow from east to west in the area.

Radhanpur – Wadhiar

Kutch – Wagad or Wagadia

The breeding tract of Kankrej cattle mainly lies in southeast Rann of Kutch comprising of Mehsana, Kutch, Ahmedabad, Kaira, Sabarkanatha, Banskantha districts of Gujarat and Barmer, Jodhpur areas of Rajasthan.  However, the Kankrej cattle is distributed throughout the state of Gujarat. The breed can Survive easily on draught and under scarcity of feeds and fodder.

Breed Survey

To know breed characteristics, utility, management and performance of the Kankrej cattle survey conducted by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal in Kutch and Banskantha districts of Gujarat. A total of farmers were contacted, 50 from Kutch and 64 Banaskantha districts. Various parameters were recorded from a total of 31 villages; 17 of Kutch and 14 Banaskantha districts covering 3 talukas in each of the district. The survey was conducted in Bhuj, Anjar and Bachau talukas of Kutch district and Thara, Deodar and Deesa talukas of Banskantha district.

The morphological parameters i.e. body length, height at wither and heart girths were recorded on 429 animals of different age and sex. Various parameters on production, Reproduction and draft capacity of the breed was known by interaction with the farmers in the breeding tract for evaluating breed parameters.

Topology of Breeding Tract

The breeding tract of Kankrej covers roughly 18,000 km2 and lies between 21° and 24° north latitude and between 75°16 and 78°15 east longitude. The elevation of the tract ranges from 409 to 455 MSL.

Soil

The soil in the southwestern part of breeding tract is sandy loam and heavy black, whereas on the eastern side it is mostly sandy with some sandy loam areas. The sub soil type yellowish white.

Climate

The climate in the region is tropical to subtropical and dry varying greatly with the distance from the sea. Average annual rainfall is 50 to 76 cm and is usually concentrated during July to October. Temperature of the region varies from 4°C (winter) to 49°C (summer). The average of diurnal temperature (minimum and maximum) in a year is highest in Kutch district. The rainfall and humidity percentage is lower in Kutch district as compared to Banaskantha. The depth of subsoil water is ore in Kutch than Banaskantha district.  

Feeds and Fodder

In the breeding tract Wheat bhusa (Triticum aestivum), karavi of Jawar (Sorghum vulgare) and Bajara (Penniesetum typhoides) are available as dry fodder; Maize (Zee mays), Oat (Avena sativa), Lucern (Medicago Sativa), Sorghum and Bajara as green fodders and Cottonseed, ground nut cake (GNC) and Banas dana are available as concentrates.

Population Status of the breed

In Gujarat state, the cross bred cattle population has increased by 48.04 % and 13.13 % dro year 1992-1997 and 1997 to 2003 respectively. The proportion of crossbred cattle among the total cattle population in the state was 3.40 % 5.07 % and 9.04 % in the year 1992, 1997 and 2003 respectively. It was less by 3.07 % as compared to the proportion of crossbred in Indian cattle population in the 2003. So, the increase of crossbred cattle in the state was less than that in the country. The indigenous cattle comprises Kankrej, Gir, Dangi & non-descript which showed decline of 2.52 % from the year 1992 to 1997, while in increased by 5.92 % from 1997 to 2003. Other than West Bengal, Gujarat is the only state in India which has shown increase (3.26 %) in the indigenous cattle population from 1992 to 2003 compared to an overall decrease of 15.25 % in India. The total and indigenous cattle population in Gujarat in 2003 were 7,42,4000 and 6,78,500 respectively. The Buffalo population in Gujarat showed an increase of 19.30 % and 11.47 % from the year 1992 to 1997 and 1997 to 2003, against the increase of 6.25 % in the country from 1997 to 2003. Annon (2002) estimated the proportion of Gir and Kankrej cattle in Sauratra. Out of total cattle population of 25,05,000, the population of Kankrej and Gir cattle were 917081 (36.61 %) and 8,46,941 (33.81 %) respectively.

In Gujarat, the proportion of different breeds (Milch animal) was 7.18 % exotic/crossbred, 36.63 % Gir, 35.07 % Kankrej and 21.11 % no descript including Dangi breed in the year 1998-99 (Report 1990). There may be more than 23.81 lacs of Kankrej cattle in the state (Report 2003). In addition to this Kankrej animals are also available in Rajasthan State.

Gujarat State Animal Husbandry Department has also conducted district wise survey regarding the population of Kankrej milch cows in the year 1998-99, (report 1999). Based on number of Kankrej cattle, the major breeding tract of the breed includes Banaskantha (154800), Kutch (178736), Mehsana (75176), Ahmadabad & Gandhinagar (74664) and Sabarkantha (59560) districts. The other districts where Kankrej cows are reported to be present in high number were Vadodara (44688), Kheda (44534), Bharuch (26280), Surat (30733), Valsad & Dang (11022), Sureandranagar (11305) and Panchmahals (7400). The Kankrej cows constituted about 26.85% of the total cattle population in 1998-99 in Gujarat. From 1988-89 to 1998-1999, there was increase in the population of Kankrej cows in all the districts except Ahmadabad, Gandhinagar, Valsad, Dang and Sureandranagar. The population trend from 1988-89 to 1998-99 showed that total as well as Kankrej cows in particular increased by 25.87% and 26.85 %, respectively in Gujarat.

Management Practices in the Breeding Tract

Animal Housing

Most often, the Kankrej animals are kept in open type of Kutcha houses with Kutcha flooring. The open houses are mostly made up of paddocks of thorny bushes. The animal house is located either in separate area or part of the farmer’s residence. The percentage of farmers having separate house for the animals varied from 42-76 % in Banaskantha and Kutch district, respectively. The animal houses have proper ventilation, drainage and cleaning. The herd size ranged from 2 to 60 with 2-5 breeding bulls.

Grazing Feeding and Management

The pastures in the breeding tract of Kankrej are seasonal. These are available from July to October. The animals are tried in night during the daytime they are taken out for grazing around the whole year. During the rainy season when pastures are available in plenty, they graze in the nearby areas but in the scarcity period they have to cover long distances. Stall-feeding is not very common practice in the region and only few farmers provide feeds & fodder at stall in the evening/night. Stall-feeding is more prevalent in Kutch than the Banaskantha district. As no fodder crops are grown in the area, only stovers and straws are fed to cattle. Cottonseed and Oilcakes are widely used as concentrates. Clusterbean (Cyamopsis Psoraloides or C. tetragonoloba) is also used as a cattle feed.The calves are not weaned and are reared through sucking and feeding colostrum to the new born. The male calves are cared better than the feeding colostrum to the new born. The male calves are cared better than the female calves. Ladies are also involved in the rearing of animals. Dehorning is not a common practice. In surveyed area, natural service is preferred way for breeding of animals. Kankrej Cattle are heat, tick resistant and are tolerant to many of the diseases. The use of wormicide and other health care measures are not adopted by the farmers.

Physical Characteristics

The Kankrej cattle are highly prized since these are fast and powerful draft cattle. They are also fair producers of milk.  Kankrej are amongst the heaviest Indian breed cattle. The colour varies from silver to grey to iron grey or steel black. The red colour in these cattle has been shown to be due to recessive gene effect. The young calf when born is usually rust red-coloured which gradually disappear within 6 to 9 months. The colour pattern is not uniform, forequarters, hump and hindquarters are darker than the barrel, especially in males. Pigmentation of the skin is dark and the skin is slightly loose and of medium thickness. Hairs are soft and short. It has also been observed that the red color is recessive. The forehead is broad and slightly dished in the centre. Horn are strong and curved outward and upward in a lyre shaped fashion. These are curved with skin to a longer distance as compared to other breeds.

The strong half-moon -shaped horns are covered with skin to a higher point than in other breeds. The face is short, and the nose looks slightly upturned. The ears are very characteristic, being large, pendulous and open. The legs are particularly shapely and well-balanced and the feet small, round and durable. The hump in males is well-developed but not so firm as in other Zebu breeds. The dewlap is thin but pendulous and males have pendulous. The tail switch is black.  An adult male weighs average 525 kg (range 550-570 kg) whereas female weighs 330-370 kg (average 343 kg)

The gait is peculiar to the breed; it is smooth without any movement of the body, the head is noticeably high and the stride is long with hind hoof laced well ahead of impression of the fore hoof. The gait in Kankrej is locally termed ‘Swai chal’ (meaning royal stride).

Kankrej cattle are known to be resistant to tick-transmitted diseases.  The incidence of contagious abortion and tuberculosis are also quite low.

Morphometric and Performance Parameters

Body Measurement

 The average body length, height at wither and heart girth was 126.6±1.6 cm, 134.6±1.4 cm and 161.9±1.8 cm respectively. However, Nivsarkar et al (2000) reported the average body length, height at wither and heart girth average to be 148, 158 and 194 cm, respectively, in males and 113.6, 133.6 and 166.2 cm, respectively, in females. In the present study, it was observed that animals in all age groups had more length, height and heart girth in Kutch district than those of Banaskantha district. The average birth wright of the animals, adult body weight of male and female animals was reported to be 23 kg (range 21-26), 500-550 kg and 325-400 kg in female, respectively (Nivsarkar et al. 2000). Earlier Pundir and Sahai (1997) reported the body weight of adult male and female as 589.6 and 430.9 kg respectively.

Lactation yield and lactation length

Lactation yield is an important parameter to access the economic value of cattle. Wide range of lactation yield in Kankrej cattle (800-2196 liters) has been reported by different workers. Pundir and Ahalwat (2004) reported the lactation milk yield of the Kankrej cattle varying from 800-1200 kg. These values were less in comparison to other available reports. The lactation milk yield of 1535.8 kg was recorded by Doodhsagar (Farmers Co-operative Union); 1807 kg by Ambatkar (1991); 1589 by Raj Kumar (2002). Highest milk yield (2196 liters) till date has been reported in one of the earlier study by Md- Nur-UI-Islam (1984) in Kankrej herd of Anand institute of Agriculture. Various reports indicated lactation length of 287 (Raj Kumar 2002); 321 (Md- Nur-UI-Islam 1984); 302.1 (Doodhsagar union); 340.7 (Wadhwani et al. 2005); and 240-300 days (Pundir and Ahlawat 2004).

Peak milk yield

From the available literature (peak milk yield in Kankrej cattle ranged from 6-11.13 kg. Pundir and Ahlawat (2004) observed peak yield in the ranged of 6-8 Kg. Mathur and Uppal (1993) reported slightly higher values of peak yield (7.83-8.17 Kg). However, peak yield as high as 11.3±0.10 kg in Kankrej cattle has been reported by Bhambure (1986).

Wet average and herd average

Average daily yield and average herd average in Kankrej cattle reported by different workers ranged from 4 to 6.8 liters and from 2.78 to 4.45 liters, respectively. Raj Kumar (2002) cited the example of Sardarkrushinagar farm, where in last 25 years, the wet average and herd average has increased more than double fold from 3.17 to 7.44 and from 1.57 to 4.65, respectively.

Dry Period

Rajkumar et al. (2002) reported the dry period in Kankrej cattle as 165±6 days after analysing the data for a long period of time (1984 to 2001) of LRS, Sardar Krushinagar. However, this figure was quite low when compared the data from other Gov. farm (100-265 days, Raj Kumar et al. (2002) and Pundir and Ahlawat, (2004) which varied from 180-300 days.

Service period

The services period recorded for Kankrej cattle by Pundir and Ahlawat (2004) varied from 90-180 days. Ambatkar (1991) and Raj Kumar (2002) also observed the service period within the similar range. Contrary to this, Patel (1988) reported service period of 251 days in this breed

Calving interval

The period between two consecutive calving (calving interval) observed in the study of Pundir and Ahlawat (2004) in the of Pundir and Ahlawat (2004) was 365 to 700 days, which was relatively high when compared with the other available reports. Raj Kumar et al. (2002) reported calving interval of 462±7 days for LRS, Sardar Krushinagar Herd. Several other workers have mentioned CI in the similar range as that reported by Raj Kumar (2002).

Age at first, estrus, conception and calving

Age at first estrus in Kankrej animal of LRS, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat was reported to be of 780 days (Gujrat, 1989). In general herd, this varied from 942 days to 1364 days (Raj Kumar, 2002). The age at first conception Kankrej heifers ranged from 846 to 1125 days (Raj Kumar et al., 2004). As per Pandey and Shukla (1993), age at first calving in Kankrej cattle ranged from 1036 to 1520 days. Raj Kumar (2002) reported age at first calving in Kankrej cattle to be 1407 days, whereas, as per Pandey (1990), it was 1127 days.

Work Capacity

Kankrej bullocks are known to have excellent work capacity for different agricultural operation. Pundir and Ahlawat (2004) reported that one pair of bullock could plough 0.4 to 0.6 hectare of land in a day. They could also record the carrying capacity of a pair of bullock as 1.5 to 1.8 tones of load for 20 to 22 kms in a day.    

Performance recorded under field conditions

Under the field survey conducted by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) team, various performance parameter of Kankrej cattle were recorded in the areas of Banaskantha and Kutch districts of Gujarat. The milk yield in lactation length of 240-300 days ranged from 800-1400 kg. The average values for milk yield in a lactation length were 1535.08 kg and 302.1 days respectively. The observed daily milk yield ranged from 3-5 kg with peak milk yield of 6-8 kg. The age at first fertile service was recorded to be 3 years whereas the age at first fertile service was recorded to be 3 years whereas the age at first calving ranged from 3.5- 4.0 years.

The comparison of the surveyed data with earlier studies revealed that production parameters like lactation milk yield, dairy milk yield, peak milk yield and lactation length were on lower side. While reproductive parameters like age at first calving, service period and calving interval were within the range of different reports available in literature. The performance of cow was recorded be better in Kutch district as compared to Banaskantha district in terms of daily milk yield and lactation milk yield. This was attributed to the fact that milk is the main source of income and hence animals are relatively better cared in Kutch district.

Draft Performance

Dhangar 1998 investigated the draft performance of Kankrej cattle. He observed that the draft generation of Kankrej cattle was 39.61 kg. The main pulling force was estimated to be 23.56, 36.36, 47.08 and 56.72 kg respectively for 340. 620, 900 and 1180 g payloads. Kankrej bullocks could tug the cart at the speed of 3.83 km/h, whereas horse power (HP) production at carting was 0.59±0.01 per bullock. The mean stive length was 1.50±0.02. The draft generation and HP produced per pair of bullock were 79.96kf in 1.07 HP respectively while ploughing and 39.92 kg and 0.52 HP while planking. The performance was also compared with cross bred bullocks.

The Kankrej bullocks can safely be used for 6 hours for medium to heavy work (ploughing) 3 hours for light work (plan work), to a total of 9 hours of work in a day. Engaging bullocks to work 7.00 hours or even earlier in the morning and work during 1600 to 1900 hours in afternoon particularly during summer might result in still better performance of the bullocks. 

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