Farmerlife

 Rathi Rathi is an important milch breed of cattle found in the arid regions of Rajasthan. This breed functions as a major livelihood source for the farmers in this region. It takes its name from a pastoral tribe called Raths who are Muslims of Rajput extraction and lead a nomadic life. Rathi animals are particularly concentrated in Loonkaransar tehsil of Bikaner district, which is also known as Rathi tract. The Breeding tract of this breed lies in the heart of Thar Desert consisting of Bikaner, Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan. Rathi cattle are thought to have evolved from intermixing of Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar and Dhanni breeds with a preponderance of Sahiwal blood.  The animals are usually brown with white patches all over the body, but animals having completely brown or black coat with white patches are also seen. The eco system in its native tract is fragile and the lands are less fertile with very low productivity. Scorching summer (50 degree C), chilly win

 Punganur Punganur is a dwarf dual purpose cattle breed and mainly confined to Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. This breed was developed by Rulers of Punganur  area and hence named after the area. The breeding tract is confined to the taluks of Punganur and adjacent taluks of Vayalpad, Madnapalli and Palamaner in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is mainly maintained at Livestock Research Station, Palamaner, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, attached to Shri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati. Some animals are also maintained by private breeders. It is white, grey or light brown to dark brown or red in colour. Sometimes, animals with white colour mixed with red, brown or black coloured patches are also seen. Well-noticed by its short stature, the breed has a broad forehead and short horns. The horns are crescent shaped and often loose curving backward and forward in males and lateral and forward in females. Known for draught resistance, it can thrive well on dry fo

 Pulikulam Pulikulam is a popular draught and game breed of Tamil Nadu. It is named after its village of origin (Pulikulam in Tamil Nadu) and is also known as “Palingu maadu”, “Mani maadu”, “Jallikattu maadu”, “Mattu maadu” and “Kilakattu maadu”.  Madurai, Sivaganda and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu form its breeding tract. Males are dark grey in colour while females are white or grey.The animals are small sized with compact body and short legs. Muzzle, eyelids, tail switch and hooves are black. Fore Head is broad and has a groove at centre. Hump is large in males and small in females. Udder  is not well developed. Horns are curved outward, upward, backward and then inward, ending with pointed tips spaced wide apart. The breed is not meant for milk production and only a few animals are milked in a large herd for consumption by herdsman. Generally, milk yield is about 1.25 Kg per day within a range of 0.5 kg to 2 Kg. The animals are also reared for manure purpose. For further det

 Ongole Ongole is a prominent dual purpose breed of Andhra Pradesh. The breed got its name from its geographical area of origin, i.e. Ongole. The breed is also known as “Nellore” as the Ongole area was earlier in Nellore district. The breeding tract of the breed includes East Godavari, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh and extends all along the coast from Nellore to Vizianagram.  The breed is known for hardiness, disease resistance and capacity to thrive on scanty resources. Animals of the Ongole breed were extensively exported to USA for beef production; Brazil for beef and milk production; Sri Lanka, Fiji and Jamaica for draught; Australia for heat tolerance and beef; and Switzerland for disease resistance. The breed has glossy white coat colour. Males possess dark markings on head, neck and hump and black points on knees and pastern. Horns are short and stumpy, growing outward and backward from the outer angles of the poll, thick at the base and firm wi

  Nagori The breeding tract of Nagori breed is Bikaner, Jodhpur and Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The breed takes its name from the name of the home tract i.e., Nagaur district but animals are also found in adjoining Jodhpur district and Nokha tehsil of Bikaner district. They are White in colour and are upstanding, very alert and agile animals with long and narrow face like that of a horse. Considering the proximity of the native tracts of the Hariana breed of cattle in the north and northeast and Kankrej breed of cattle in the south and southwest, it seems reasonable to suppose that Nagori cattle may have evolved from these breeds.  Nagori cattle are fine, big, upstanding, active and docile, with white and grey colour. They have long, deep and powerful frames, with straight backs and well-developed quarters. The face is long and narrow but the forehead is flat and not so prominent. The eyelids are rather heavy and overhanging and the eyes are small, clear and bright. The ears are larg

 Malvi Malvi is named after its place of origin viz. “Malwa” region. It is also known by synonyms as “Mahadeo puri” & “Manthani”. The breeding tract includes Rajgarh, Shajapur, Ratlam and Ujjain districts of Madhya Pradesh. Malvi cattle are white or white greyish - darker in males, with neck, shoulders, hump and quarters almost black. Cows and bullocks become nearly pure white with age.  The horns are curved and emerge from the outer angle of the poll in an outward and upward direction  and are about 20 - 25 cm in long. The animals are well known for quick transportation, endurance and ability to carry heavy load on rough roads. The animals of this breed are strong and well–built. The average milk yield in this breed is around 916 Kg per lactation with 4.3% fat   and ranges from 627 Kg to 1227 Kg. For further details, please follow below given link: http://14.139.252.116/agris/breed.aspx   Compiled by Animal Breeding Group, NDDB from Information System on Animal Genetic Resources o

 Malnad Gidda Malnad Gidda is also known as “Gidda”, “Uradana” and “Varshagandhi”. “Malnad” means a hilly region and “Gidda” means small or dwarf. The breeding tract of this breed includes Chikmagalur,  Dakshin Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Shimoga, Uttar Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. They play a major role in the rural economy of this region by providing milk, manure and draft power with negligible inputs. They are well adapted to the local agro-ecological systems of Western Ghats. The predominant coat colour is black with light shades of fawn on thigh and shoulder region. Horns are generally small, straight, outward, upward and inward. They are small with compact body frame and adult animals are around 90 centimetres tall. Tail switch is black in color, hump is small, udder is also small and bowl shaped. Malnad Gidda cattle are reared under low input low output system. In some areas, it is zero input system where animals sustain solely on grazing. Elite cows give 3-5 kg of mil