Indigenous Cow (cattle) Breeds name & list, dairy cow milk production

Indian Cows

Do you know your local indigenous cow breeds?

गौ परिवार: Know India’s cow family for better decision Making!

Since Vedic times, India has been known to house beautiful family of most potential & productive native cow breeds. It is very interesting & fascinating to observe so many different breeds of cows as one travels across India. Each region boasts of different breeds of Cows that have adapted to the local climatic-geographic condition.

Vedic Wisdom:

MOTHER NATURE is the TRUE MASTER, with time, nature has evolved & adapted various cow breeds to best suit their natural environment for their own sustenance, productivity & propagation. Cows are sensitive to geo-climatic conditions. Indian cows are adapted for the Indian climatic condition of hot weather, humidity…

India has the rich ocean pool of genetic diversity, different breeds for varied uses, best & matchless in the world in its own merit. Indian cows have crafted themselves since vedic times, evolving their survival & productive capability to match with the challenges of the environment. Indian cows are best suited for the local climate as they have better adaptation ability to the varied climatic conditions be it hot, humid, better disease resistance, low on maintenance etc. Indian cattle, belongs to ‘Bos Indicus’; they are characterised by presence of ‘HUMP’, also known as the zebu breed. Whereas the other set of Bos Taurus, represents the cows from the European countries etc..

India’s cow family boasts of more than 25 + cow breeds. They are primarily categorised as:

Milch Breeds which are primarily known for their milk productivity.
To name a few references, Deoni, Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal, Tharparkar etc.
Draught Breeds are known for their ability to sustain themselves in drought conditions
Dual-Purpose Breeds, cows yield quality milk & males are known for servicing as good bullocks. Ongole, Rathi, Krishna Valley, Kankrej
Others being, exotic breeds, cross-breeds & non-descript breeds
Exotic breeds are the cows native to European countries; Jersey, Holstein-Friesian etc.
Cross-Breeds: Cows have been cross-breed between exotic & Indian cows.

# Which is the Best Breed?

# Which one to select; Indian breed v/s Exotic breed?

# Testimonials of people practising different breeds & their experiences. With photos of respective animals & their dialects.

Challenges

Due to the trend of blindly following adaptation of high milk yielding exotic cow breeds, Indian cow breeds have been neglected. Also, considering the exclusive nature of the exotic breeds which are comfortable in cool climate have to adjust to the hot humid climate of India.

It is important to develop Indian breeds further making them more potential.