TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LOCAL, EXOTIC & CROSSBRED

DAIRY ANIMALS
A) LOCAL
1) BUFFALO
Origin and Distribution
The domestic or water buffalo (bubalus bubalis) belongs to the genus bubalus, subfamily
Bovinae, family Bovidae, is descended from the arni or wild Indian buffalo, and is
widely dispersed through out the Southern Asia. It has been suggested that the buffaloes
were in the service of man as early as 2500 to 2100 B.C. Over 90 % of the world buffalo
population is found in Asia. Pakistan has a population of nearly 26 million milch type
river buffaloes
There are three types of buffalo (Bubualus bubalis) of the old world: Cape buffalo of
Africa, water buffalo of Near & Middle east, and Swamp or marsh buffalo of Far East.
These types differ from each other in body appearance, habits & temperament. They
belong to the same species, Bubualus bubalis, but have very different habits. The swamp
buffalo is more or less, a permanent inhabitant of marsh lands, where it wallows in mud, ,
feeds on coarse marsh grass, and is found principally in Malaya, Singapore, Phillipines,
Thiland, Indonesia, Southern China and other countries in the Far-East. In Phillipines and
some other countries it is known as the Carabao, and in Malaysia as the Kerban. The
river type is the one found throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
These are primarily milch animals.
As the name implies, the water buffalo, whether of the river or the swamp type, has an
inherent predilection (liking) for water and loves wallowing in water or mud pools. The
river buffalo, as a rule, shows preference for clean running water, whereas the swamp
buffalo likes to wallow in mudholes, swamps and stagnant pools. Like cattle buffaloes
are good swimmers.
The river and swamp buffaloes vary slightly in body structure, size and color. A swamp
buffalo is recognized by its short stocky body, sort face with wide muzzle and short thin
legs. These buffaloes are usually dark grey in color, although variations from black to
albinoids are found among the population. Swamp buffaloes vary in size from 300 to 600
kg. They are primarily used as draught animals, but they do provide small quantities of
milk for a farmer’s family.
The river buffaloes are usually black with occasional white markings on their head and
legs. They have longer body than swamp buffaloes and weigh from 450 to 800 kg. These
animals are primarily maintained for their milk production, yield of which varies between
1400 to 3000 kg during a 300 days lactation period.
In general buffaloes are versatile, used for all types of land cultivation, crop harvesting,
as a means of transportation (by draught and pack), for milk production, as a source of
meat, organic manure like dung and urine, for fuel etc.
Buffaloes are nocturnal in habit: not only do they like to wallow at night, but if left to
their own devices, they will mate, suckle their calves and travel more during the hours of
darkness than in day light.
There are three types of buffalo (Bubualus bubalis) of the old world: Cape buffalo of
Africa, water buffalo of Near & Middle east, and Swamp or marsh buffalo of Far East.
These types differ from each other in body appearance, habits & temperament. Buffalo
found in Indo-Pak subcontinent belong to the water buffalo group. Although raised for
milk production, Pakistani buffalo are considered to be triple purpose domestic animals
(milk, meat & draught). Following are the two well-known buffalo breeds in Pakistan.
A) Nili-Ravi
Habitat: The home tract of the Nili-Ravi buffaloes includes Lahore, Sheikhupura,
Faisalabad, Okara & Sahiwal districts of central Punjab and Multan and parts of
Bahawalpur and Bahwalnagar districts of southern Punjab.
Physical Characters: These buffaloes are massive & wedged shape animals. These are
mostly blacks with white muzzle, lower parts of 4 legs, fore head & switch of tail due to
which it is also named as PUNJKALIAN. They have small curly horns and wall eye.
Production Parameters: Male obtain attain maturity at the age of 30 months while
female at 36 months. Milk yield is 1800-2500 liters with a 6.5% butterfat. Age at 1 st
calving, lactation length, dry period, service period, calving interval & gestation period
are 47 months, 312 days, 198 days, 211 days, 520 days &b 30610 days respectively. It
is the best buffalo breed in Pakistan & called the Black Gold of Pakistan. Adult males
weigh 550-650Kg while females 350-450Kg. Growth rate of the animals when kept on
fattening rations is about 800-1000gm.

B) Kundi
Habitat: The home tract of the Kundi buffaloes includes whole of the Sindh province
especially on both sides of river Indus from Kashmore to Shah Bandar.
Physical Characters: These buffaloes are massive jet-black animals. Their horns are
broad at the base and taper up ward and in ward giving them a fish hook shape due to
which they are called Kundi. They have a broad fore head, short neck & medium sized
ears.
Production Parameters: Male obtain attain maturity at the age of 30 months while
female at 36 months. Milk yield is 1700-2200 liters with a 6% butterfat. Age at 1 st
calving, lactation length, dry period, service period, calving interval & gestation period
are 54 months, 335 days, 226 days, 274 days, 581 days & 30610 days respectively.
Adult males weigh 500-600Kg while females 300-400Kg.

2) CATTLE
Cattle belong to family Bovidae. European cattle are non-humped called Bos taraus
while Pakistani cattle is having hump called Bos indicus. Pakistani cattle classified into
following three categories on the basis of the purpose for which it is mainly kept.
I) Milch Breeds:
A) Sahiwal
Habitat: The home tract of the Sahiwal cattle includes Faisalabad, Okara & Sahiwal &
Multan districts of central Punjab and Multan district of southern Punjab.
Physical Characters: The breed is medium in size and has fleshy body. Females have
reddish dun color while males have darker color around orbit, neck & hindquarter. Males
have stumpy horns while females are generally poled. Ears are medium sized &
dropping. Hump in males is massive but nominal in females. Switch of tail is black.
Production Parameters: Milk yield is 1500-2200 liters with a 4.5% butterfat. Age at
maturity, age at 1st calving, lactation length, dry period, service period, calving interval &
gestation period are 850 days, 2 ½ to 3 years 275 days, 142 days, 412 days & 28010
days respectively. Average growth rate is 0.4-0.5 Kg in males & 0.3 to 0.35 Kg in
females. Adult males weigh 400-500Kg while females 300-350Kg.

B) Red Sindhi
Habitat: The home tract of the Red Sindhi cattle includes Karachi, Thata, Dadu,
Hyderabad districts of Sindh & Lasbella district of Baluchistan.
Physical Characters: The breed is medium in size with compact body & red color.
Males have darker color around shoulders. Hindquarters are round & dropping in males
and switch of tail is black. Ears are medium sized & dropping. Hump in males is well
developed & ears are fine & small. Sheath is developed in males but is nominal in
females. Switch of tail is black.
Production Parameters: Milk yield is 1500-2000 liters with a 4.0% butterfat. Age at 1 st
calving, lactation length, dry period, calving interval & gestation period are 1180 days,
275 days, 180 days, 430 days & 28010 days respectively. Average growth rate is 0.3 Kg
in males & 0.23 Kg in females. Adult males weigh 425-525Kg while females 300-350Kg.
 Cholistani Cattle
Habitat:
Cholistan tract (a desert area) and adjoining colonized areas of
Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, and Rahimyar Khan districts.
Physical Characteristics:
 Large-sized flabby animals
 Horns are small.
 Ears are long.
 Hump is well-developed in males
 Dewlap is large both in male and female
 White coat with speckled red, brown or black all over the body including
head
 Sheath is pendulous in male
 Tail ends in black switch.
 Udder is medium-sized with milk yield varying from 1200 to 1800
litres/lactation
 Average body weight is 450 to 500 and 350 to 400 kg in male and female
animals respectively.
 Males are a good source of beef and may be used as draught animals
 Age at first calving is 50 months
 Service period is 140 days
 Dry period is 225 days
 Calving interval is 425 days
 Gestation period is 285 days

                    Male                                                                                     Female

III) Dual-purpose Breeds:

A) Kankrej
Habitat: The home tract of the Kankrej cattle includes Thrarker & Badin in Sindh
extending to Gujrat in India.
Physical Characters: The Kankrej cattle vary from silver gray to a darker gray. Males
are darker at the shoulders, hump and hindquarters. The fore head is broad and slightly
concave in the center. The nose is slightly up turned, ears large & pendulous and horns
strong and lyre-shaped.
Production Parameters: Adult males weigh 500-650Kg while females 350-400Kg.
B) Tharparker/Thari
Habitat: The home tract of the Thari cattle includes Tharparker in Sindh.
Physical Characters: The Thari cattle are medium sized animals with long tampering
face, slightly convex fore head, medium sized horns that curve upward and out ward, and
large, semi-pendulous ears. They are generally light gay, with the color deepening on the
fore and hindquarters in males. A white strip runs along the backbone. The tail switch is
black. They have a well-developed firm hump, medium dewlap, deep barrel and strong
legs. The udder is medium sized and strong.
Production Parameters: Average milk production is 1100 liters per lactation with
butterfat percentage of 3.7%. Adult males weigh 400-500Kg while females 300-380Kg.

EXOTIC DAIRY BREEDS

A) HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN
Physical Characteristics: Holsteins are large, stylish animals with color patterns of
black and white or red and white.
Production Parameters: Average production for all Holsteins enrolled in official U.S.
production-testing programs in 1987 was 17,408 pounds of milk, 632 pounds of butterfat
and 550 pounds of protein per year. A healthy Holstein calf weighs 90 pounds or more at
birth. A mature Holstein cow weighs about 1500 pounds and stand 58 inches tall at the
shoulder. Holstein heifers can be bred at 15 months of age, when they weigh about 800
pounds. It is desirable to have Holstein females calve for the first time between 24 and 27
months of age. Holstein gestation is approximately nine months. While some cows may
live considerably longer, the normal productive life of a Holstein is six years.
B) AYRSHIRES
Physical Characteristics: Ayrshires are red and white, and purebred Ayrshires only
produce red and white offspring. Actually, the red color is a reddish-brown mahogany
that varies in shade from very light to very dark. On some bulls, the mahogany color is so
dark that it appears almost black in contrast to the white. There is no discrimination or
registry restriction on color patterns for Ayrshires. The colors markings vary from nearly
all red to nearly all white. The spots are usually very jagged at the edges and often small
and scattered over the entire body of the cow. Usually, the spots are distinct, with a break
between the red and the white hair. Some Ayrshires exhibit a speckled pattern of red
pigmentation on the skin covered by white hair. Brindle and roan color patterns were
once more common in Ayrshires, but these patterns are rare today. They are strong,
rugged cattle that adapt to all management systems including group handling on dairy
farms with free stalls and milking parlors. Ayrshires excel in udder conformation and are
not subject to excessive foot and leg problems. Few other breeds can match the ability of
the Ayrshire to rustle and forage for themselves under adverse feeding or climatic
conditions. Other traits that make Ayrshires attractive to the commercial dairyman
include the vigor of Ayrshire calves. They are strong and easy to raise.
Production Parameters: The Ayrshire is a moderate butterfat breed. The actual average
of all Ayrshires on Official DHIR test is over 12,000 pounds of milk with a 3.9% test.
Ayrshires respond to good management and feeding practices and individual Ayrshire
herds average as high as 17,000 pounds of milk and 700 pounds of butterfat.
Top producing Ayrshires regularly exceed 20,000 pounds of milk in their lactations. Lette
Farms Betty’s Ida holds the current world record for Ayrshire. In 305 days, on twice-a-
day milking, she produced 37,170 pounds of milk and 1592 pounds of fat. The Ayrshire
Breeders' Association does not officially recognize records in excess of 305 days, but one
Ayrshire has produced over 41,000 pounds of milk and 1800 pounds of butterfat in 365
days. Ayrshires are medium-sized cattle and should weigh over 1200 pounds at maturity.

C) JERSEY
Body Characteristics:
Adaptable to a wide range of climatic and geographical conditions, outstanding Jersey
herds are found from Denmark to Australia and New Zealand, from Canada to South
America, and from South Africa to Japan. They are excellent grazers and perform well in
intensive grazing programs. They are more tolerant of heat than the larger breeds. The
modern Jersey breed is unexcelled in dairy type. Breeders in the United States commonly
referred to two distinct types of Jerseys in the past, these being the Island and the
American; this distinction is not commonly made at present. It should be recalled that this
is a different usage of the word "type" than is usually implied and refers to the general
size and quality of the animal rather than to its use for dairy purposes. The Island-type
Jerseys excelled in refinement and those qualities that were deemed necessary to win in
the show ring. Refinement and beauty of such cattle in mature form led to the marked
superiority of cattle imported from the island of Jersey or their direct descendants in
winning most of the major awards of the American show ring. The so-called American-
type Jerseys were noted much more for production than for beauty. Cattle referred to by
this description are usually larger, a bit coarser, and have been bred for years for those
qualities that suit them for milk and butterfat production. Some have referred to them as
the "Farmer's" Jersey. Usually after two or three generations in the United States in the
hands of the ordinary feeder, the refinement of the Island cattle gives way to the larger
and less refined American kind.
In recent years there has been less concern about these type variations; no doubt the
program of type classification has tended to reduce the extremes. Additional emphasis on
milk production and less stress on butterfat production had, no doubt, resulted in general
acceptance of Jersey cows with more size and scale. Recent importations of Jerseys have
consisted of larger cattle than many previously brought to the United States. Their
offspring have not only been acceptable in type but have also been used advantageously
in improving production.
Cows show very marked refinement about their heads and shoulders, carry long, straight
top lines, and usually carry out long and level at the rump. For their size, they are usually
deep in the body and full and deep in the barrel. There is no more appealing dairy animal
than the well-balanced Jersey cow, and although usually somewhat more nervous in
disposition than the other dairy cows, she is usually docile and rather easy to manage.
Jersey bulls, while small as compared to the other dairy breeds, are extremely masculine.
They are quite muscular about their crests and shoulders and are considerably less refined
throughout than are the females. Jersey bulls are known for having the least docile
temperament of the common breeds of cattle. It is folly to trust any dairy bull and
particularly Jerseys past eighteen months of age.
Modern Jerseys may be of a wide range in color. There is little preference today between
the solid and broken colors although most breeders slightly prefer the cattle with an
unbroken color pattern. Most prefer the dark tongue and switch, but this is more a matter
of an identification point than a point of discrimination. The color in Jerseys may vary
from a very light gray or mouse color to a very dark fawn or a shade that is almost black.
Both the bulls and females are commonly darker about the hips and about the head and
shoulders than on the body. Most breeders slightly prefer the medium shades of color to
the extremes, but nearly all of them realize that type and producing ability are far more
important than the shade of color or whether the color is solid or broken.
Production Parameters:
With an average weight of 900 pounds, the Jersey produces more pounds of milk per
pound of body weight than any other breed. Most Jerseys produce far in excess of 13
times their bodyweight in milk per lactation. Jersey cows usually have an extreme weight
range of between 800 and 1200 pounds, but medium-sized cows are usually preferred.
The same general qualities of straight lines and dairy conformation as are found in the
cows are desired in bulls. They usually range in weight from 1200 to 1800 pounds, but as
in the females, medium weights are usually preferred.

Some crossbreeding experiments have been done in Pakistan from time to time with
exotic dairy breeds and their results are given in the following table.
Tab . Crossbred Animals Performance in Pakistan
Particulars Sah. X HF. Sah. X Jers HF X Non Sah. X Swedish
Descript red & white
Age at maturity (d) 437 416 -- --
Wt at maturity (Kg) 250 219 -- --
1st calving age (d) 770 794 888 795
1st calving wt (Kg) 370 340 -- --
Milk yield (L) 2816 2191 3979 3191
Lac. Length (d) 328 291 374 366
Dry period (d) 151 134 127 102
Cal. Interval (d) 479 425 512 478

A couple of breeds developed by Australia through crossbreeding for tropical climate are
discussed below.
D) AUSTRALIAN FRIESIAN SAHIWAL:
Physical Characteristics:
The Queensland Government for use in the tropical areas has developed this breed in
Australia. The breed was evolved using the Sahiwal a dairy strain of Zebu from Pakistan,
and the Australian Holstein-Friesian.

Since the 1960’s when research work began on this breed, notable progress has been
achieved towards the objective of combining tick resistance and heat tolerance with
reliable milk production and fertility. It has now been extensively tested in the tropical
and sub-tropical areas of Australia. Under these conditions, it outperforms the Holstein
Friesian by approximately 15 percent.
Production Parameters:
Average milk yield is 3,000 liters for mature cows. Milk quality is good - protein level is
3.4 percent and butterfat is approximately four percent.

E) AUSTRALIAN MILKING ZEBU

Physical Characteristics: 
In an effort to overcome the problems of traditional dairy breeds performing at reduced
levels under hot, humid and tick-infested conditions, the Commonwealth Scientific &
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) developed the Australian Milking Zebu
(AMZ). This began in the mid-1950’s with the introduction of Pakistani Sahiwal and Red
Sindhi dairy cattle, which were mated initially to high-producing Jersey cattle. Later,
some infusion of Illawarra, Guernsey and Holstein-Friesian bloodlines occurred.
Careful interbreeding of the half-bred progeny, combined with strict selection criteria,
has resulted in the AMZ breed. Selection is for heat tolerance, tick resistance and milk
production alone.  The AMZ carries the color markings and general shape of the Jersey,
but also shows the tropical influence of the Sahiwal and Red Sindhi breeds through the
ability to sweat and discard ticks from a highly mobile, loose skin.
 Production Parameters:
Mature purebred AMZ cows produce an average of 2,700 liters of milk over a 12 months
period, while AMZ cross Friesian cows’ average more than this. Quality of milk is very
high and protein level is approximately 3.5 to 4 percent.