Question

Give an account of Gir and Sindhi dairy breeds.

Answer 1

Hint: Gir cows are named after the region gir present in Gujarat and Sindhi cows originate from the Sindh province of karachi.

Complete Answer:
- Gir breed originated from the Gir forest of South Kathiawar. These breeds are also called Surti. The Sindhi breed originated from Karachi and Hyderabad, therefore they are also known as Red Karachi.
- The gir breeds have coat color that varies from shades of red and white to almost black and white or entire red.The skin of gir breeds is spotted, black is the most dominant skin color but few breeds have brown, red and white combinations, black and white combinations, or maybe completely red hairs.
- The appearance of ears is long, pendulum, and are folded like a leaf. The tail is long and whip-like. They are resistant to tropical diseases and tolerant of stress conditions.
- The high-quality milk production is because of the presence of large udders. In gir breeds, the maximum yield of 3715 per kg yields the lactation period.
- The gir cows yield milk of 900 kg and 1600 kg under village conditions and commercial farms respectively. The skin color in Sindhi breeds is usually deep dark red color and bulls are darker than cows. The dark color is present on the shoulder and thighs of the bulls.
- The bullocks of Sindhi breeds are steadily worked and are useful in fieldwork. They have high resistance to heat and ticks. These are the most economical milk producing breeds in India.
- The milk production is around 1,840 kg and under good management, the average yield is over 1700kg of milk. But after suckling their calves, the yield is more than 3,400 kg per lactation period.

Additional information:
- Gir breed is the most famous cattle in India. This breed is exported to foreign countries such as the USA, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela.
- Gir breeds contributed to significantly produce milk for the overall Gujarat state. These breeds are reared by Rabaris, Bharwads, Maldharis, Ahirs, and Charans tribes. Sindhi breeds have been cross breeder with temperate origin dairy breeds in many countries because of their heat tolerance and tick resistance.
- These breeds have also been crossed with Jerseys in many countries including India, USA, Australia, Sri Lanka, etc.

Note: Junagarh, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, and Amreli districts of Gujarat are the native place for gir breed while the Sindhi breeds are also found in India in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Orissa.