Animal Husbandry
Breeds of Cattle
Milch breeds
Sahiwal :-
- Mainly found in Punjab, Haryana, U.P; Delhi, Bihar and M.P.
- Milk yield - Under village condition :1350 kgs
- Under commercial farms: 2100 kgs
- Age at first calving -32-36 months
- Calving interval - 15 month
Gir :-
- Mainly found in Gir forest areas of South Kathiawar
- Milk yield - Under village condition: 900 kgs
- Under commercial farms: 1600 kgs
Milch and Draught breeds
Ongole :-
- Mainly found in Nellore, Krishna, Godavari and Guntur district of A.P.
- Milk yield -1500 kgs .
- Bullocks are powerful for cart work and heavy ploughing.
Hariana :-
- Mainly found in Kamal, IIisarand Gurgaon district of Haryana, Delhi and western M.P
- Milk yield -1140 -4500 kgs
- Bullocks are powerful for road transport and rapid ploughing
Kankrej :-
- Mainly found in Guajrat
- Milk yield - Under village condition: 1300 kgs
- Under commercial farms.: 3600 kgs
- Age at first calving -36 to 42 months
- Calving interval - 15 to 16 months
- Bullocks are fast, active and strong. Good for plough and cart purpose
Deoni :-
- Mainly found in North western and western parts of A.P.
- Cows are good milk producers and bullocks are good for work
Draught Breeds
Amritmahal :-
- Mainly found in Karnataka.
- Best suitable for ploughing and transport
Hallikar :-
- Mainly found in Tumkur, Hassan and Mysore districts of Karnataka
Exotic dairy breeds
Jersey :-
- Age at first calving: 26-30 months
- Intercalving - 13-14 months
- Milk yield - 5000-8000 kgs
- Dairy milk yield is found to be 20 Its whereas cross bred jersey, cow gives 8-10 Its per day.
- In India this breed has acclimatized well especially in the hot and humid areas
Holstein Friesian :-
- This breed is from Holland
- Milk yield - 7200-9000 kgs
- This is by far the best diary breed among exotic cattle regarding milk yield. On an average it gives 25 litres of milk per day, whereas a cross breed H.F. cow gives 10 - 15 Its per day.
- It can perform well in coastal and delta areas
Breeds of Buffalo
Murrah :-
- Mainly found in Haryana, Delhi and Punjab
- Milk yield - 1560 kgs
- On an average the oaily milk yield is found to be 8-10 Its, whereas a cross breed murrah buffalo gives 6-8 Its per day.
- It performs well in coastal and slightly cold climatic areas.
Surti :-
- Gujarat
- 1700-2500 kgs
Jaffarabadi :-
- Kathiawar district of Gujarat
- 1800-2700 kgs
Breed characteristics of high yielding dairy cows :-
- Attractive individuality with feminity, vigour, harmonious blending of all parts, impressive style and carriage
- Animal should have wedge shaped appearance of the body
- It should have bright eyes with lean neck
- The udder should be well attached to the abdomen
- The skin of the udder should have a good network of blood vessels
- All four quarters of the udder should be well demarcated with well placed teats.
Buffaloes :-
- In India, we have good buffalo breeds like Murrah and Mehsana, which are suitable for commercial dairy farm.
- Buffalo milk has more demand for making butter and butter oil (Ghee), as fat percentage in milk is higher then comfy. Buffalo milk is also preferred for making tea, a welcoming drink in common Indian household.
- Buffaloes largely mature late and give birth to calves at 16 to 18 months interval. Male calves fetch little value.
- Buffaloes need cooling facility e.g. wallowing tank or showers I foggers with fan.
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE :-
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven footed animals including cattle, sheep, goat and pigs. This disease is endemic in India and producing serious economic losses to the country due to the ban on export of livestock products to other countries and reduced productivity of diseased animals.
Breeds of Poultry
CARl NIRBHEEK (Aseel Cross) :-
- The literal meaning of Aseel is real or pure. Aseel is well know its pugnacity, high stamina, majestic gait and dogged fighting qualities. The name Aseel appears to have been given to this indigenous breed because of its inherent qualities of fighting.
- Andhra Pradesh is said to be the home of this important breed. The best specimen of this breed, although rare, are encountered with the fanciers and the people engaged in cock-fighting show through out the country.
CARl SHYAMA (Kadakanath Cross) :-
It is locally known as "Kalamasi" meaning the fowl having black flesh. Jhabua and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining districts of Rajasthanand Gujarat spreading over an area of about 800sq. miles is considered to be its home tract.
- These are mostly reared by tribal’s, advises and rural poor. It is considered to be a sacred bird and offered as sacrifice to Goddess after Diwali.
HITCARI (Naked Neck Cross) :-
- Naked neck is relatively larger in built with long cylindrical neck. As the name indicates, neck of the birds is fully naked or only a tuft of feathers is seen on the front of the neck above crop.
- The resulting bare skin becomes reddish particularly in males as they approach sexual maturity.
- Trivandrum region of Kerala is considered to be the homeland of Naked neck
UPCARI (Frizzle Cross) :-
- Unique scavenging type birds developed with native breed base, having typical desi fowl look, better tropical adaptability and disease resistance, exceptional growth and production performance.
- Best suited for backyard system of poultry production.
GOAT REARING :-
Goat is known as 'Poor man's cow' in India and is a very important component in dry land farming system. Marginal or undulating lands unsuitable for other types of animals like cow or buffalo, goat is the best alternative. With very loyvinvestments goat rearing can be made in to a profitable venture for small and marginal fanners.
ADVANTAGES :-
- Well adapted to environment and poor management practices
- The meat rate is increasing day by day
- Goats provide both milk and meat -thus giving income from both
- Financial investment is small and expenses for building and equipments are also negligible
- Average of 2-3 kids per goat per delivery
- Average meat recovery of 22-30 kg/goat
- Good manurial value
BREEDS :-
- Best Indian Breeds
- Jamnapari - Etawah District of U.P,
- Beetal - Punjab
- Barbari - Agra and Mathura regions of U.P
- Tellicheny or Malabari : Northern kerala
- Surti - Gujarat
- Kashmiri - Jammu and Kashmir
- Bengal Goat - West Bengal
- Foreign Breeds suitable for Indian Conditions
- Angora, Alpine, Sannen, Toggen Burg, Anglo Nubian etc.
Camel in India :-
The Camel (Camel us dromedaries) is an important component of the desert ecosystem. It provides transport and subsistence to the rural societies inhabiting arid and semi-arid zones. It is also a source of milk, hair, manure, bones and meat to the societies residing in the poorly resourced arid and semi arid zones.
Amongst the countries having highest camel population in the world, India stands third (I.520 millions) after Somalia (6.000 million) and Sudan (2.856million).
The Indian Camel population is mostly confined to the north-western part of the country. Rajasthan (0.71 million), Haryana (0.128 million), Punjab(0.43 million) and Gujarat (0.058 million) inhabitants almost 93.12 % of Indian camel population (base, 1987). The other states where the camel OCCIIFS in substantial numbers are Uttar Pradesh (0.036 million) and Madhya Pradesh (0.015 million). Eleven arid districts of Rajasthan (0.567 million) contribute 78.86 % to the total Rajasthan camel population and 55.70 % to the Indian camel population.
The camel is utilized mainly for ploughing, transport of man and agriculture produce, drawing water from deep welts, and extraction of oil from oilseeds.
Important camel products are milk, hair, hide dung and bones. Camel milk has lesser social acceptance than cow milk. And like goat milk, it is used mainly by the camel rearing communities. According to Ayurveda, camel milk has medicinal properties. There is a taboo against the killing of camel for meat in India but there are many castes which eat camel meat on special occasions or otherwise.
Long camel bones are in demand as cheap replacement of ivory, The hair is being utilized for making carpets durries, bags, blankets, wall-hangings by the fanners and also village level handicraft industry.
There are three major breeds of enamel in India viz. Bikaneri, Jaisalmeri and Kutchi. The Bikaneri has excellent draft capabilitjes and is therefore becoming the breed of choice of the farmers of the Thar desert (NW Rajasthan).
The Jaisalmeri camel has good race potential and therefore was important breed before advent of modern camel cart. They were prefened in cavalries in the past life Ganga Rjsala which took part in World War I and II. Presently the Camel Corps constitutes an important wing of the Border Security Force ofIndian para-military service.
Kutchi breed (Kutch region of Gujarat) has good milk potential.
Besides these three, other distinguishable strains of camel are Mewari, Marwari, Sindhi, Shekhawati, Mewati and Riverine.
- Camels are environmentally friendly.
- No negative environmental impact is expected from the increased use of camels.
- Use of camel bioenergy saves foreign exchange on petroleum products.