Choose the animal your fodder, water and climate can support, not the one with the biggest yield on paper. A crossbred cow gives the most milk when she is well fed and kept cool; native cattle and buffaloes manage better on less. This chapter compares cows and buffaloes, native and crossbred animals, and the dairy breeds on our pages, and lists the signs of a good milch animal.
Cow or buffalo?
You can run a dairy with either. The table shows how they differ on typical Indian farms; your own animals will vary with feed and care.
| Native cow | Crossbred cow | Buffalo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk fat | 4.5–5.5% | Lower: 3–4% in pure HF, 3.5–4.5% in pure Jersey | 5–6% on average; about 7–8% in the breeds on our pages |
| Milk in a 305-day lactation | 1,000–1,500 kg | 2,500–4,500 kg | 1,800–3,500 kg |
| Heat | Copes up to about 40.5 °C | Feels the heat; needs shade and cooling | Feels the heat most; needs shade and a wallow or shower |
| First calf, target age | 30–36 months | 24–30 months | 30–36 months |
| A calf every | 12–14 months | 12–14 months | 13–15 months |
Sources: NDDB; buffalo fat — TNAU and ICAR-NBAGR; buffaloes and heat — ICAR-CIRB. The first-calf ages are NDDB's targets with good feeding; in NBAGR's breed records, buffaloes first calve at about 3.5–4 years.
- Where the society pays by fat, buffaloes do well. NDDB suggests buffaloes where fat is the main basis of the milk price (NDDB). See the milk price.
- Buffaloes need more care in the heat and at breeding time. They have dark skin and few sweat glands (ICAR-CIRB), and they often show heat only faintly or not at all (ICAR-CIRB). See Cow and buffalo breeding: heat signs, AI and calving.
- Udder infection (mastitis). Pure exotic cows get it most, then crossbreds; local cows get it less, and buffaloes least (NDDB).
Native or crossbred?
- Decide by your resources. NDDB's advice: where feed, water and veterinary care are scarce, keep native cattle or buffaloes; with moderate to good resources, crossbred cows (NDDB).
- Native cattle suit our climate and make milk from poorer feed. They also resist tick fevers better, while crossbreds can fall severely ill with theileriosis, a tick-borne disease (NDDB); crossbreds need a vaccine against it. See Cow and buffalo health: vaccine calendar and warning signs.
- Half exotic blood is the usual advice. TNAU prefers crossbreds with about 50% exotic blood, which keep the native cow's tolerance of heat and disease (TNAU).
- Jersey crosses for the plains, HF crosses for the hills. Jersey crosses are medium-sized, stand heat better and can give 2–3 times the milk of their local mothers; HF crosses give more milk with less fat but cope less well with heat and tropical diseases (TNAU). In Tamil Nadu, Jersey crossbreds are kept mainly in the plains and HF crossbreds in suitable cooler areas (TN Animal Husbandry).
- Big crosses need big feeding. HF crossbreds are larger and need more feed; underfed, they have more breeding problems (TNAU).
- Breeding your own cows? Ask the AI worker which breed, and how much exotic blood, the semen carries; NDDB advises following your state's breeding policy (NDDB). See Cow and buffalo breeding: heat signs, AI and calving.
Dairy breeds compared
Each name opens its breed page, with milk figures from the breed register. The breed in an ad is the seller's word, so check the breed signs yourself.
| Cow breed | Home area | Kept for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gir | Saurashtra, Gujarat | Milk | Red or speckled red; long, folded ears |
| Sahiwal | Punjab and Rajasthan | Milk | Reddish brown, with loose skin |
| Red Sindhi | Pakistan; organised farms in India, some in Tamil Nadu and Kerala | Milk | Red, from dark to yellowish |
| Tharparkar | Western Rajasthan and Kutch | Milk, farm work | White or light grey; a desert breed |
| Deoni | Bidar (Karnataka) and Latur (Maharashtra) | Milk, farm work | Black-and-white spotted |
| Malnad Gidda | Malnad hill districts, Karnataka | Milk, farm work, manure | Small, mostly black; hills with heavy rain |
| Vechur | Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, Kerala | Milk, manure | Very small |
| Punganur | Old Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh | Farm work, milk | Very short |
| Jersey | Jersey island, UK (exotic) | Milk | Smallest dairy breed, reddish fawn; its crosses suit the plains |
| Holstein Friesian (HF) | Friesland, Netherlands (exotic) | Milk | Largest dairy breed, black and white; its crosses suit cooler hills |
| Buffalo breed | Home area | Kept for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murrah | Haryana | Milk, some draught | Jet black, short curled horns; used all over India to improve local buffaloes |
| Surti | Central and south Gujarat | Milk | Medium-sized, brown to silver-grey; eats less than the heavy breeds |
| Mehsana | North Gujarat | Milk | Mostly black; milks steadily and calves regularly |
| Jaffarabadi | Saurashtra, Gujarat | Milk, heavy draught | The heaviest Indian breed; heavy, drooping horns |
| Pandharpuri | Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur, Maharashtra | Milk, some draught | Black, with very long horns |
| Dharwadi | North Karnataka, around Dharwad | Milk | Black; its milk goes into Dharwad peda |
| Toda | The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu | Milk, draught | Fawn to ash-grey hill buffalo on grazing; very rich milk |
| Bargur buffalo | Bargur hills, Erode, Tamil Nadu | Milk, manure | Small and brown; forest grazing; milk mostly used at home |
Sources: native cows and buffaloes — ICAR-NBAGR; Jersey and HF — TNAU, TNAU; Dharwadi — ICAR-CIRB.
Tamil Nadu's own registered cattle breeds, Kangayam, Umblachery, Pulikulam and Bargur, were bred mainly for farm work, as were Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillari, Krishna Valley, Ongole and Poda Thurpu: see native cattle of Tamil Nadu.
Find cows and bulls near you on Kattutharai
See cows, calves and bulls for sale direct from farmers near your village, with photos, the village name and the distance. No middlemen. Call or chat with the farmer, then see the animal milked by hand and check it yourself before you pay.
Looking for a particular breed? Search its name in the Kattutharai app, for example Kangayam, Hallikar or Gir.
Signs of a good milch animal
- Shape: an alert, feminine look, a wedge-shaped body, bright eyes and a lean neck (TNAU).
- Udder: well attached and set forward, with a network of milk veins; not sagging, not too fleshy, and not swinging much from side to side as she walks (TNAU, NDDB).
- Teats: four quarters clearly marked, with four well-placed teats (TNAU).
- Body condition: a score of 3–4 on the 5-point scale, neither thin nor fat, and she walks and gets up easily (NDDB).
- Temper: calm, and she lets a stranger milk her (TNAU).
- Age: yields are highest in the first five lactations, so choose a cow in her first or second (TNAU). Check her age by the teeth: see age by the teeth.
Common mistakes
- Buying a high-yielding crossbred without the green fodder, cattle feed and water she needs.
- Keeping HF crosses in the hot plains without shade and cooling.
- Judging a cow by the size of her udder.
- Paying a breed price for an animal whose breed you cannot confirm.
- Choosing buffaloes without water for a wallow or a shower in summer.
Frequently asked questions
Which dairy breed is best?
There is no single answer. NDDB's test of a good dairy animal is one calf a year, resistance to disease, and the most milk for the least cost (NDDB). Which breed passes that test depends on your fodder, water and climate.
Do buffaloes pay more than cows?
Not always. The society pays more per litre for richer milk, and buffalo milk is richer in fat. But a buffalo usually gives fewer litres than a well-fed crossbred cow, and calves later and less often (NDDB). Compare what a whole year's milk brings, using your own society's rate chart.
Are native cows good for selling milk?
Native dairy breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal give far more milk than local draught breeds (ICAR-NBAGR), and native cattle cope better with heat and poorer feed. But on Indian farms they give less milk than well-fed crossbreds (NDDB), so they suit farms with less fodder and water.
Can I keep an HF cross in the plains?
It is harder. TNAU advises HF crosses for the cooler hills, because they tolerate heat less, and Jersey crosses for the plains (TNAU). If you keep HF crosses in a hot district, plan shade, cooling and plenty of water: see keeping animals cool.
Next
Next, read How to buy a milch cow or buffalo: checks and papers to check an animal before you pay. To see which breeds farmers near you are selling, browse cows for sale and buffaloes for sale.