Skip to content

Red Sindhi cow Photo: Yasin Fotohi · Pexels License · source ↗

Red Sindhi cattle (tropical dairy zebu)

Red Sindhi is one of the four leading Indian dairy zebu breeds (alongside Sahiwal, Gir and Tharparkar) and is famous worldwide for combining good milk yield with exceptional heat and disease tolerance. Registered with the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), it has been exported widely and is the foundation of tropical dairying programmes across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Origin and distribution

The breed evolved in the dry Las Bela and Karachi tracts of Sindh (now Pakistan). In India organised herds are maintained at ICAR-NDRI Karnal, the Livestock Research Station at Hosur, and various state farms; the breed is also widely distributed in pockets of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, often as the local "red cow" of estate and military dairy farms.

Appearance

Red Sindhi animals are deep-bodied, medium-sized cattle with a deep red coat that ranges from dark mahogany to a light yellowish red — bulls are usually a darker red, sometimes nearly black at the extremities. The forehead is broad with a slight bulge; horns are short to medium and curve outward, upward and inward; ears are medium and slightly drooping. The udder is well developed and the dewlap is moderate. Adult cows weigh 300–350 kg and bulls 400–500 kg.

Productivity

Lactation yield averages 1,400–1,800 kg over 300 days under field conditions, with elite organised farm cows recording 3,000–3,500 kg. Milk fat is typically 4.5–5.2%, supporting premium pricing under SNF-and-fat systems (Milk Fat Snf Pricing). Age at first calving is 36–48 months and the inter-calving interval is 14–15 months. Red Sindhi cows are docile, easy calvers and outstanding heat-tolerant dams in HF and Jersey crossbreeding programmes (Jersey Crossbred Cow).

Management

Red Sindhi thrives on rotational grazing with green fodder supplementation — hybrid napier, maize fodder (Maize Fodder) and lucerne — and a balanced concentrate ration of 2.0–2.5 kg per cow per day plus 400 g per litre of milk. Open loose-housing with adequate shade is the standard; in summer, fans or sprinklers help maintain intake. Breeding is by artificial insemination (Artificial Insemination Cattle) with progeny-tested Red Sindhi bulls supplied through Rashtriya Gokul Mission semen stations.

See also: Sahiwal cow, Gir cattle, Tharparkar cattle, Kankrej cattle, Jersey crossbred cow.

Sources

  1. Red Sindhi — NBAGR breed profile. ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal.
  2. Red Sindhi — Dairy Knowledge Portal. National Dairy Development Board.