VECHUR – THE MINIATURE CATTLE BREED OF THE MILLENIUM
VECHUR – THE MINIATURE CATTLE BREED OF THE MILLENIUM
Dr. T. P. Sethumadhavan
Dr. R. Radhika
Vechur cattle of kerala is having a place in the latest calendar of Indian breeds of cattle published by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, ICAR, Karnal as a miniature breed. Moreover FAO has also listed vechur cattle among the Indian breeds in their domestic animal diversity information system. Now a day’s vechur cattle conservation project of kerala is acquiring more popularity due to its unique characters. They originated from vechur, a village in the Kottayam district of Kerala State. Cross breeding coupled with farmer’s preference for cows yielding more milk led to the near extinction of this breed.
Vechur cows are small sized with an average body weight of 130 kg and height of below 90cm. They are seen in black, red and gray colours, humped in nature and tail almost touches the ground. They excel in adaptability to the hot humid environment and low feed requirement. Average milk yield is 2-3kg. Due to high medicinal value milk was extensively used in Ayurvedic systems of medicine.
Vechur conservation project came in to effect in 1989 with the active involvement of Dr. Sosamma Iype, Professor and Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Animal Breeding and Genetics, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Mannuthy and a team of students and veterinarians of the state. The project is under progress with the financial aid from KAU and ICAR. At present around 90 animals are maintained in the two university farms located at Mannuthy and Thumburmuzhi. Its objective is to meet the requirement of farmers who need a small milch cow for home consumption under less sophisticated management systems. Moreover for achieving the sustainable biodiversity its genetic resources can be preserved.
Recent research findings revealed that vechur cattle’s age at first calving and Inter calving period was 36 and14months respectively. The mean milk fat percentage was 4.7-5.3. Size of the fat globule was found to be lesser than crossbred cows milk (4.87micron) and Murrah buffalo milk (5.81micron) but higher than that of goat’s (2.61). Karyotyping revealed the acrocentric nature of Y-chromosome thus denoting the nativity of the breed. Moreover they are more resistant to mastitis and respiratory diseases. Mortality rate of calves was significantly lower than crossbred calves.
posted by Dr.T.P.Sethumadhavan @ 10:09 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
It is good to see there is now a growing awareness of the need for small cows in integrated farming especially organic farming.As far as I am concerned the happiness is that of a Mother seeing the baby grow strong and healthy.The Vechur cow was almost extinct. The whole Vechur conservation team now feels satisfied.The earth is getting warmer and the climate is changing.As Dr.Sethumadhavan remarked the Vechur cow could be a promise for the Millenium
Prof.Sosamma Iype (Vechur Conservation Trust)
Former Director of the CAS in Animal Genetics and breeding ,Kerala Agricultural University
Is it possible to get a Vechur cow in the United States?
we would like to bring a vechur cow to our farm... is it possible to get one of them? should we register in vechur conservation trust in advance for this or something?
thanks
Hi Sir,
Can I have your contact number or mail-id, I'm looking out to have a pair of these. Please help me with info. about how and where to buy these cows.
Thanks,
Vamshi
It will likely be some time before population is large enough to support sales and exporting of animals, however when such a time arrives,I hope I will be able to get them to Maui, as I believe they would be the perfect small cow for our Island sized farms. Thank you all for the good work you are doing.
Aloha from the middle of the Pacific Ocean
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