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Sahiwal cow

Sahiwal is India's premier indigenous dairy zebu, originating in the Sahiwal district of undivided Punjab (now in Pakistan) and registered with the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources. Among Bos indicus breeds, it is the highest-yielding milch type and is the workhorse indigenous parent in crossbreeding programmes with Holstein-Friesian and Jersey.

Origin and distribution

The home tract straddles the Indo-Pakistan border in the Multan-Montgomery (Sahiwal) belt. In India, organised breeding herds are maintained at ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute Karnal, the Central Cattle Breeding Farm Ludhiana, and state livestock farms in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Sahiwal is also widely distributed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh through state cow-conservation programmes.

Morphology

Animals are medium-sized with a reddish-dun coat, sometimes with white markings on the face, switch and underline. The hump is prominent in males, the dewlap is loose, and horns are short and stumpy. The udder is large and well-attached, often pendulous in older cows. Cows in India average 327 kg in body weight and 124 cm at the withers; bulls are heavier and taller.

Performance

Average lactation yield is 2,325 kg over 305 days, with a range of 1,600-2,750 kg depending on management. Milk fat is typically around 4.5-5.0% and the protein profile is A2 beta-casein, a marker that drives the urban premium-milk segment. Sahiwal cows reach first calving at about 36-42 months and maintain calving intervals of 14-16 months under standard management.

Management

Sahiwal is a low-maintenance breed by Indian dairy standards — tick-resistant, heat-tolerant, productive on grazing-and-stall systems with minimal concentrate, and resilient under tropical disease pressure. Daily feeding combines 20-30 kg of green fodder, 5-7 kg of dry roughage and 3-4 kg of concentrate for a 8-10 litre cow. The breed is bred both pure (through Sahiwal-line frozen semen) and as the indigenous parent in crosses with HF (Holstein Friesian Crossbred Cow) and Jersey (Jersey Crossbred Cow) delivered through artificial insemination (Artificial Insemination Cattle). It is widely used in desi-cow natural farming (Desi Cow Natural Farming) for jeevamrutham and panchagavya preparation.

See also: Ongole Cattle, Punganur Cow, Milk Fat Snf Pricing.

References

  1. Sahiwal — The Champion Dairy Breed. ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
  2. Sahiwal. Dairy Knowledge Portal, NDDB.