Deoni is a white, black-marked breed of the Bidar–Latur border country, kept both for milk and for heavy farm work. It takes its name from Deoni taluk of Latur district in Maharashtra (NBAGR database), and NBAGR registers it as a breed of Maharashtra and Karnataka (ICAR-NBAGR). KVAFSU calls it Karnataka's only viable dual-purpose cattle breed (KVAFSU).
How to recognise it
- Colour: white with black, in three colour types. Wannera is white with black on the sides of the face; Shevera, also called Waghya, is white with irregular black spots; Balankya is clear white, with black spots only low on the body, if any (NBAGR database, Latur study).
- Head: a broad, prominent, slightly bulging forehead that is always white, drooping ears, and bright eyes with black eyelids. The muzzle, horns and hooves are black (Latur study).
- Horns: short to medium and thick. They come out from the sides of the head, behind and above the eyes, and grow outwards and a little upwards to blunt tips (NBAGR database, Latur study).
- Body: medium-sized and strong, close to Gir cattle in build, with a massive hump in bulls, a thick, hanging dewlap with folds, thick skin and a tail switch below the hocks. Cows have a bowl-shaped udder with black teats (Latur study).
- Size and weight: males stand about 140 cm at the shoulder and females about 122 cm. NBAGR's record gives average weights of about 590 kg for males and about 340 kg for females (NBAGR database).
What it is good for
- Milk. NBAGR records about 868 kg of milk in a lactation, ranging from 638 to 1,229 kg, with about 4.3% fat (NBAGR database). In a 2017–18 ICAR survey in Kalaburagi district, Deoni cows gave the most milk of Karnataka's six native breeds, about 3 litres a day each, and milked for longest, about 9 months (ICAR survey).
- Heavy farm work. Bullocks are preferred for heavy work; they reach their best at 5–6 years and keep it until about 12 (NBAGR database). A pair can pull 10–11 quintals in a wooden cart on a mud track, or 28–30 quintals in a light steel cart on a tarred road (NBAGR study). In the ICAR survey, Deoni cattle did the most farm work of the six breeds, about 3.5 hours a day (ICAR survey).
- Calves. One at a time. Cows first calve at about 45 months and then about every 13–15 months (NBAGR database, Latur study).
Where it is mainly found
NBAGR's breed record names Bidar district in Karnataka, and Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded and Parbhani districts in Maharashtra. The breed began in Deoni, Udgir and Ahmadpur taluks of Latur, in the Balaghat hills (NBAGR database). NBAGR scientists add that smaller numbers are kept in neighbouring Kalaburagi district and in Sangareddy district of Telangana (NBAGR study).
KVAFSU's Livestock Research and Information Centre (Deoni), on the Bidar–Humnabad road near Bidar, has worked to conserve the breed since 1970 (KVAFSU). The Karnataka Animal Husbandry Department keeps a Deoni herd at its farm at Kurekuppe, Ballari district (Karnataka AH department). In the 2013 breed survey, Karnataka had about 49,000 pure Deoni and about 62,000 graded, part-Deoni cattle (NBAGR study).
Looking for Deoni cattle?
Search “Deoni” in the Kattutharai app to find Deoni cows and bulls for sale near you, or see all cows for sale. The seller names the breed and Kattutharai does not check it, so look at the animal yourself before you pay.
Rearing tips
- Grazing plus extra feed. NBAGR describes Deoni as grazed by day, while bullocks, bull calves and milking cows also get crop residues and concentrate feed (NBAGR database). In the ICAR survey, Deoni owners fed the most of the six breeds: about 12 kg of green fodder and 1 kg of concentrate a day per animal (ICAR survey). For feed amounts, see how cattle are kept.
- Simple housing, close care. In the home tract, the cattle are housed mostly in open sheds, and most animals get individual care (NBAGR database).
- Do not skip the basics. In the ICAR survey of Karnataka's six native breeds, only about half the farmers vaccinated their cattle and about a third dewormed them (ICAR survey). Vaccinate on the official schedule and ask your vet about worms and ticks: see keep cattle healthy.
Buying tips
- Check the signs: a white body with black on the face or black spots; a white, bulging forehead; drooping ears; short, thick horns with blunt tips; a thick, folded dewlap; a black muzzle, eyelids and hooves. A brown or red coat, or a thin, tight dewlap, does not fit the breed's description and points to a cross.
- Crosses are common. Graded animals outnumber pure ones in Karnataka (NBAGR study). The breed name in an ad is the seller's word, and Kattutharai does not check it. See the mother and the herd, and check the signs yourself.
- Known herds. KVAFSU's Deoni centre sells its surplus cattle to farmers by auction (KVAFSU farm), and the department's Kurekuppe farm issues Deoni bulls and cows to farmers under its schemes (Karnataka AH department). Ask your nearest veterinary hospital how to apply.
- Age, health and papers: count the teeth, see a cow milked by hand, ask a vet to check pregnancy, and get the ear tag number on your receipt: see buying a cow or bull.
Frequently asked questions
Is Deoni a milk breed or a draught breed?
Both. Cows give about 3 litres a day by farmers' estimates and about 868 kg in a lactation by NBAGR's record, and the bullocks do heavy farm work. For milk to sell at scale, see native cattle or crossbreds.
What are Wannera, Shevera and Balankya?
They are the three colour types of Deoni: white with black on the face (Wannera), white with black spots (Shevera or Waghya), and nearly all white (Balankya) (NBAGR database).
How heavy is a Deoni bull?
About 590 kg on average for an adult male and about 340 kg for a female, by NBAGR's record (NBAGR database).
Next
Compare Deoni with Gir, the breed NBAGR believes it came from, and with Khillari of north Karnataka. Read Cows and bulls: native breeds, crossbreds, buying and care for buying and care, and browse cows for sale and bulls for sale.