The FAO Manual Zebu Cattle of India and Pakistan (1953) describes our breeds of cattle. According to this, the breeds of cattle are grouped into 6 categories.
The first group includes lyre-horned grey cattle with white foreheads, prominent orbital arches, and faces with flat or dished profiles. The breeds under this category are the Kankrej, Malvi, Kherigarh, and Tharparkar.
In the second group are included breeds which are shorthorned, white or light grey with coffin-shaped skulls, and orbital arches and faces that are slightly convex in profile. The breeds in this group are Hariana, Ongole, Mewati, Nagauri, Rath, and Gaolao, and so also the Krishna Valley.
The breeds in the third group are more ponderous in body build and have pendulous dewlaps and sheaths, prominent foreheads, and lateral and even-curled heads. They are usually spotted as either red or white or are of various shades of red and white or solid red dun or brown. The most important breed of this group is Gir besides Red Sindhi and Sahiwal. The other breeds classified under this group are Deoni, Nimari, and Dangi.
The breeds under the fourth group are medium-sized compact animals, having powerful quarters and tight sheaths. The most striking characteristic is the formation of the head and horns. The forehead is prominent and the horns emerge from the top of the poll fairly close together in an upward and backward direction. The breeds of this group are also referred to as Mysore-type cattle. The breeds under this group are Amritmahal, Hallikar, Kangayam, Khillari, Alambadi and Bargur.
The cattle classified in the fifth group are of a heterogeneous mixture. They are small, black, red, or dun cattle often with large patches and white markings. They are active animals with small sheaths; they are either short-horned or slightly lyre-horned. The prominent breeds of this group are Ponwar and Siri. These breeds are mostly found in the Himalayan region and rugged terrains.
The sixth group comprises animals that cannot fit into any of the above groups. The prominent breed among these is the Dhanni breed presently found only in Pakistan.
The breeds of cattle mostly evolved out of generations of adaptability to the local environment. Often many of them resemble each other with slight morphological changes but because of constant inbreeding in the locality where they are now found these have been evolved as independent breeds. There are 28 breeds of cattle and 7 breeds of buffaloes which could be classified as distinct breeds. In general, the cattle from the drier regions are well built, and those from the heavy rainfall areas, coastal regions, and hilly regions are smaller inbuilt. Better breeds are found in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Gujarat can boast of some of the excellent breeds of cattle such as Kankrej and Gir.
LYRE-HORNED GREY CATTLE
Kankrej
The home tract of this breed is south-east of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, from the south-west corner of Tharparkar district (now in Pakistan) to Ahmedabad and from Dessa in the east to Radhanpur in the west. They are fast, powerful draft cattle. Cows are average milkers and yield about 1,400 kg in farms and less in villages. Traditionally in the country nomadic breeders, viz. Rabaris and Barwars, maintain these cattle.
This is an important breed and has been exported abroad widely. Today excellent herds of this breed are found in Brazil. This breed is known as Guzerat in that country. They have been introduced in some other Latin American countries and southern states of the USA. Many local beef breeds in these countries have some inheritance of the Kankrej breed.
The age at first calving in the breed varies from 45 to 47 months and the intercalving period varies from 480 to 510 days. There is scope for improvement in milk production. A heritability of 13 percent for this trait has been reported.
Kanwariya
This breed is also known as Kenkatha. The animals are found along the banks of River Ken in the hilly areas of Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh. They are small, sturdy, and powerful animals. The color is grey on the barrel and dark grey on the rest of the body.
Kherigarh
These are found in the Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. Animals of this type, though they resemble Malvi breeds, are much lighter in general appearance. They are very active and good animals for light drafts and for trotting. They are generally white or grey with small and narrow faces. The hump is well-developed in bulls.
Malvi
These are found in the Gwalior region of Madhya Pradesh and also in Andhra Pradesh. They are of massive build and in some respects resemble the Kankrej. They are mainly draft animals. The milk yield recorded in cows is 450 to 650 kg, the age at first calving is over 50 months and the calving interval is 480 to 600 days in the farmers’ herds.
Tharparkar
The origin of this breed is from the district of that name in the Province of Sind (now in Pakistan). The animals are also known as Thari. Tharparkar breed is also found in the adjoining tracts of Rajasthan state, especially around Jodhpur and Jaisalmer where excellent milch specimens are found. This is a medium-sized and compact breed. The males are also good draft animals. The milk yield in cows ranges from 1,800 to 2,600 kg. The heritability for this trait is 0.25 to 0.35. The age at first calving ranges from 38 to 42 months and the intercalving period from 430 to 460 days.