Cows and bulls: native breeds, crossbreds, buying and care

Cattle are kept all over South India for milk, farm work and calves. This page compares native cattle (nattu maadu) with crossbreds, lists each state's breeds, and shows what to check before you buy and how to keep cattle healthy. To start or run a dairy farm, read the dairy farming guide.

What cattle are kept for

• Milk. A cow gives milk for some months after each calf. Crossbreds give the most; most native draught cows give little more than the calf and the family need.
• Farm work. Bullocks plough, pull carts and haul loads; most native breeds of the south were bred for this work (NBAGR database).
• Calves and manure. Cows raise heifers and male calves, and the dung goes back to the fields.

Native cattle or crossbreds?

Choose by the feed, water and care you can give, not by milk alone (NBAGR database, TNAU).

	Native cattle	Crossbred cows
Milk in a lactation	Tamil Nadu's draught breeds about 350–540 kg; native dairy breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal about 2,100–2,300 kg	A first cross with Jersey can give 2–3 times the milk of its local mother
Feed	Grazing, straw and crop leftovers	Green fodder, concentrate feed and mineral mixture every day
Heat	Suited to the local climate	Feel the heat more; Holstein crosses suit cooler hills, Jersey crosses the plains
Best for	Farm work, low-cost keeping, raising bullocks	Selling milk, where fodder and a vet are close at hand

TNAU advises crossbreds with about half exotic blood, which keep more of the native cow's tolerance of heat (TNAU). Crossbreds also need one vaccine that native cattle do not: see keep cattle healthy.

How cattle are kept in South India

• Shed. Most cattle are tied on an earth floor near the house. A better shed has a dry, non-slip floor with about 65–70 square feet per adult cow, and a tiled roof or iron sheets painted silver on top, which stay cooler than bare iron (TNAU).
• Grazing. Native cattle graze common land and harvested fields; some breeds, such as Pulikulam, live in big grazing herds.
• Stall-fed milking cows. As a guide, a crossbred cow giving 6–7 litres a day needs about 20–25 kg of green fodder, 5–6 kg of dry fodder and 3–3.5 kg of concentrate feed a day: about 1 kg of concentrate for every 2.5–3 kg of milk, with mineral mixture as 2% of the concentrate (TNAU). Keep clean water in front of them always.
• Grow fodder. TANUVAS's Pulikulam research station grows hybrid Napier grass (CO-5), fodder sorghum (CoFS 29), desmanthus, agathi and subabul for its cattle (TANUVAS).

Native cattle of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has four registered cattle breeds, all bred mainly for farm work (ICAR-NBAGR):

Farmers also know Alambadi cattle, a dark-grey draught type from Dharmapuri district; TANUVAS researchers describe it as a breed still to be characterised, and it is not on NBAGR's register (TANUVAS study, ICAR-NBAGR).

Native cattle of Karnataka

Karnataka's registered breeds are mostly draught cattle; Khillari and Deoni are shared with Maharashtra (ICAR-NBAGR):

NBAGR has also registered Koppal cattle from Karnataka (ICAR-NBAGR).

Native cattle of Kerala

Kerala has two registered breeds, Vechur and Periyar (ICAR-NBAGR):

NBAGR's Vechur record counts Kasaragod district in that breed's home area; the small Kasaragod cattle are not registered as a breed of their own (NBAGR database, ICAR-NBAGR).

Native cattle of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Andhra Pradesh has two registered breeds of its own and Telangana one (ICAR-NBAGR):

Motu, a small brown breed of Odisha, is also registered for the bordering parts of Andhra Pradesh (NBAGR database).

Dairy breeds from elsewhere

These native dairy breeds come from north-west India and Pakistan (NBAGR database):

Exotic breeds and crosses

Crossbred cows come from local cows bred to Jersey or Holstein Friesian sires (TNAU).

Buying a cow or bull

See the animal yourself, in daylight, before you pay. Count the large permanent front teeth in the lower jaw to judge its age; younger animals have small milk teeth there (TNAU):

Large front teeth	Age, about
2	2 years
4	2.5–3 years
6	3–3.5 years
8	4 years or more

• Watch her milked. See three complete milkings in a row if you can, done fully by hand, and measure the milk yourself; a good cow lets a stranger milk her and stands quietly. Buy in her first or second lactation, about a month after calving (TNAU).
• Pregnant? Ask a vet to check. A vet can confirm pregnancy 60–90 days after mating or insemination (TNAU). Ask for the insemination date; the seller's word is not proof.
• Brucellosis test. TNAU advises buying a cow only after a blood test for brucellosis, a disease that causes abortions (TNAU).
• Ear tag and receipt. Cattle are being registered on the government's Bharat Pashudhan portal with a 12-digit ear tag that also records FMD and brucellosis vaccinations (PIB). Write the tag number on your receipt with the date, the seller's name and village and the price; insurance claims depend on the tag (livestock insurance).
• Moving cattle. Each load needs a qualified veterinary surgeon's certificate, written within 12 hours before the journey, that the cattle are fit to travel, free of infectious disease and vaccinated; without it, the carrier must refuse them. A goods vehicle may carry at most 6 cattle, with about 2 square metres each, a non-slip floor, one attendant, feed and water, and no other goods (AWBI). Some states add their own rules, so ask your veterinary hospital before crossing a state border.
• Pay safely. Never pay an advance for an animal you have not seen: see paying safely.

Keep cattle healthy

Vaccinate on the official schedule; your vet or veterinary hospital gives the dates for your area (NDDB). FMD and brucellosis vaccines are given under the government's National Animal Disease Control Programme (PIB).

Disease	First dose	After that
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)	From 4 months; a booster 1 month later	Every 6 months
Brucellosis	Female calves at 4–8 months	None: once in a lifetime
Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS)	From 6 months	Every year, where it occurs
Black quarter (BQ)	From 6 months	Every year, where it occurs

• Crossbreds and local risks. Crossbred and exotic cattle also need a theileriosis vaccine (a tick-borne disease) from 3 months; native cattle do not (NDDB). Ask your vet whether a yearly theileriosis booster is needed, and about lumpy skin disease in your area.
• Clean milking. Wash and dry the udder, milk with clean, dry hands using the full hand rather than two fingers, and milk the udder out fully; this helps prevent udder infection (mastitis) (TNAU).
• No injections to let down milk. Do not give any injection to let down milk without a vet.
• Warning signs. Call the vet at once for high fever, loss of appetite, a swollen throat, a hot swollen leg with limping, mouth blisters with drooling, sores between the hooves, or an abortion (TNAU).
• Worms, ticks and help. Ask your vet for a deworming and tick-control plan. Dial 1962 to reach the mobile veterinary unit for your area (PIB).

Frequently asked questions

Which gives more milk, a native cow or a crossbred?

A well-fed crossbred, usually: a first cross with Jersey can give 2–3 times the milk of its local mother (TNAU). Native dairy breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal give far more than Tamil Nadu's draught breeds. Crossbreds need more feed and care: see native cattle or crossbreds.

How can I tell a cow's age without papers?

By the large front teeth in the lower jaw: 2 at about 2 years and the full 8 at about 4 years (TNAU). After that, only wear gives a rough idea.

Are bulls and bullocks the same?

No. A bull (kaalai) is kept for breeding; a bullock (eruthu) is a castrated male kept for work. On Kattutharai, both are listed under Bull.

Next

Open the page of a breed from your own state, or read about buffaloes. To see what farmers near you are selling, browse cows for sale and bulls for sale.