Karnataka is home to several valuable native cattle breeds, primarily known for their excellent draught (work) capabilities. While most are not high-yielding dairy breeds like exotic varieties, their hardiness, adaptability to local conditions, disease resistance, and ability to thrive on minimal inputs make them highly suitable for sustainable gaushalas. Some also offer decent milk yields for local consumption.

Here are some of the best native cow breeds with their key characteristics:

1. Hallikar (Karnataka) :

• Origin: Native to the traditional Hallikar belt of Mysore, Mandya, Kolar, Hassan, Bangalore Rural, and Tumkur districts of South Karnataka.

• Characteristics:

• Draught: Renowned for their strength, endurance, and trotting ability, making them excellent draft animals for agriculture (ploughing) and carting. They can work for long hours.

• Appearance: Typically grey or dark grey in color, with a compact, muscular, and medium-sized body. They have a prominent forehead, long horns that are vertical and bend backward, and strong legs. Bulls have large humps.

• Temperament: Generally active.

• Dual Purpose (limited): While primarily a draught breed, cows can produce 2-3 liters of milk per day, making them suitable for local milk needs.

• Appearance: Tharparkar cattle are medium-sized to large with a compact, strongly built body. Their usual color is white or light gray, which can deepen in males, especially on the fore and hind quarters, and also during winter or pregnancy in cows. They have a well-developed, firm hump (in males), medium dewlap, deep barrel, strong legs, and hard, black hooves. Their head is medium-sized with a broad, flat, or slightly convex forehead, bright eyes, and semi-pendulous ears. Their horns curve gradually upwards and outwards.
• Size and Weight: Adult males typically weigh 400-500 kg, while females weigh 300-380 kg. Cows average around 138 cm in height.
• Temperament: When not handled frequently, they can be wild and vicious, but with regular human contact, they can be managed.
• Hardiness and Adaptability: Tharparkar cattle are renowned for their exceptional hardiness and adaptability to harsh and arid climates, including drought conditions and feed scarcity. They can thrive on limited bushy vegetation like "Sewan grass." They are also known for their resistance to various tropical diseases, ticks, and parasites, as well as high heat tolerance.

Purpose:

• Dual-Purpose: The Tharparkar is considered a dual-purpose breed, valued for both milk production and draught (work) capabilities. Bulls are excellent for carting and plowing.

Milk Production:

• Milk Yield: Tharparkar cows are considered good milk producers, especially considering the challenging conditions they often endure.
  • Under arid pasture conditions, milk production is approximately 1135 kg per lactation.
  • In village settings, the average is around 1980 kg per lactation.
  • Under commercial farm conditions with better nutrition, milk yield can reach around 2500 kg per lactation or even higher (over 3000 liters).
  • Daily milk yield typically ranges from 6-10 liters, with some high-yielding cows producing up to 12-14 liters.
• Milk Quality: The milk is known to be rich in fat content (around 4.34-5%) and SNF (solids-not-fat), making it valuable for dairy products like ghee. Tharparkar milk is also often cited as A2 type, known for its nutritional benefits.

Advantages:

• Drought and Heat Resistance: They can withstand prolonged droughts and extreme heat, making them ideal for arid and semi-arid regions.
• Disease and Parasite Resistance: Tharparkar cattle exhibit natural resistance to many common diseases and external/internal parasites, leading to lower veterinary costs.
• Low Maintenance: They have low feed requirements and can thrive on poor-quality forage, making them cost-effective to raise.
• Longevity: They have a good productive life, reproducing for up to 20 years.
• Ease of Calving: They are known for ease of calving.
• Economic Value: Beyond milk and draught, their hides also contribute to economic value.
• Crossbreeding: Due to their desirable traits, Tharparkar cattle have been extensively used in crossbreeding programs with exotic breeds like Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss to develop high-yielding composite breeds like "Karan Fries."

In summary, the Tharparkar cow is a highly valuable breed, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of India and Pakistan, due to its resilience, adaptability, and ability to provide a consistent source of milk and draught power under challenging environmental conditions.

4. Deoni (Maharashtra + Karnataka)

The Deoni is another important indigenous cattle breed of India, known for its dual-purpose utility, meaning it is valued for both milk production and draught (work) capabilities.

Origin and Distribution:

• Origin:
  The Deoni breed is believed to have evolved within the last 200 years, primarily from a mixture of Gir, Dangi, and local cattle breeds.
  The influence of the Gir breed is particularly evident in the head and ear formation.
• Breeding Tract: It is named after the Deoni taluk (sub-district) in the Latur district of Maharashtra state, India. Its main distribution is in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra (Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani districts) and adjoining areas of Karnataka (especially Bidar district) and Telangana.

Characteristics:

• Appearance: Deoni cattle are medium to large-sized animals. Their body color is typically spotted black and white, but there are three recognized strains based on coat color:
  • Wannera: Primarily white body with a black face.
  • Balankya: Pure white body with no spots.
  • Shevera (or Waghyd): White body with irregular black spots.
• Head:
  They have a prominent, slightly bulging, and convex forehead, similar to the Gir breed, though less pronounced. Their ears are long, open forward, and drooping, but usually lack the distinct notch found in Gir ears.
• Horns:
  The horns are medium in size, emerging from the side of the poll and curving outwards and backwards, often with blunt tips.
• Body:
  Deoni cattle have a massive and upstanding body with good depth, a heavy dewlap, and a pendulous sheath (in males). The skin is loose and of medium thickness, and the hair is soft and short. They have well-made, shapely, black hooves.
• Size and Weight:
  • Adult males (bulls): Average weight around 500-550 kg (some sources say up to 680 kg). Height around 135-140 cm.
  • Adult females (cows): Average weight around 350-400 kg (some sources say up to 485 kg). Height around 122 cm.
• Temperament:
  They are generally docile and manageable, making them suitable for farm work.

Purpose: Deoni cattle are highly valued as a dual-purpose breed.

• • Draught:  Deoni bullocks are particularly famous for their strength, endurance, and ability to perform heavy agricultural work like plowing and carting, even in challenging terrain. They can work for 10-12 hours a day and are effective for up to 10-12 years of age.
  • Milk Production: Deoni cows are considered good milk yielders among indigenous breeds, especially given their hardiness. The average milk yield per lactation typically ranges from 800-1200 kg (or liters), with an average often cited around 868 kg. However, under good management practices and feeding, some cows can yield up to 1500-1800 kg per lactation.

• Daily Milk Yield: Daily milk production can be around 4-7 liters, with peak yields of up to 8-10 liters.
• Lactation Length: Average lactation length is about 280-300 days.
• Milk Quality: The milk has a good fat content, averaging around 4.3% (ranging from 2.5% to 5.3%).

Advantages and Adaptability:

• Hardiness: Deoni cattle are known for their hardiness and adaptability to hot, dry, and drought-prone regions, which are characteristic of their native breeding tract.
• Disease Resistance: They exhibit good resistance to many common tropical diseases and are less susceptible to tick-borne diseases compared to some crossbred cattle.
• Longevity: They have a good productive lifespan.
• Low Maintenance: They can thrive on limited feed and fodder resources commonly available in their native areas, making them suitable for small and marginal farmers.
• Strong Bullocks: Their bullocks are highly prized for heavy farm work, making them an asset for agricultural communities.

The Deoni breed plays a vital role in the agrarian economy of its native region, providing both sustenance through milk and crucial support for agricultural operations. Efforts are continuously made to conserve and improve this valuable indigenous breed.

Source: https://breeds.okstate.edu/cattle/deoni-cattle.html