The Gir cattle breed of India - characteristics and present status

Abstract

SummaryThe Gir is a famous milk cattle breed of India. The native tract of the breed is Gir hills and forests of Kathiawar including Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Amreli districts of Gujarat. The breeding tract lies between 20°5’ and 22°6’ north latitude and 70° and 72° east longitude. The total cattle population of Saurashtra region i.e., breeding tract of Gir cattle is 2.5 million and Gir breed accounts for 37 percent of total cattle population in the region. The body of Gir animals is well proportioned. Udder in cows is well developed and round. The body weight at one year of age was 138 kg in males and 136 kg in females. Adult body weight, height at withers, body length and heart girth in cows averaged 313 kg, 120 cm, 125 cm and 160 cm, respectively.Age at first heat and calving averaged 1 149 and 1 534 day, respectively. Average dry period and inter-calving period were 123 and 423 days, respectively. Heifers received an average 1.07 inseminations for successful conception whereas cows received 1.64 inseminations per conception. Total lactation milk yield averaged 2 063 litres in an average lactation period of 326 days. Average milk yield in 300 days was 1 930 litres. Milk yield per day of calving interval was 4.98 litres. Average fat percentage in the milk ranged between 4.69±0.04 and 4.97±0.02. Gir animals are considered as hardy with low overall mortality (3.63 percent).

Selection of Brahman crossbred-breeding bulls based on phenotypic performance

“…Rabeya et al (2009) also worked on the same cattle and were obtained 76.2±4.0 and 73.2±3.3 kg yearling weight for male and female, respectively. Guar et al (2003) reported the mean yearling weight for Gir male and female was 138.5±0.52 and 135.7±5.7 Kg, respectively and overall mean yearling weight was 137.0±4.9 kg. The yearling weight of Brahman crossed calves was larger resembling the findings from different workers stated above.…”

Genetic Diversity and Structure of Two Prominent Zebu Cattle Breeds Adapted to the Arid Region of India Inferred from Microsatellite Polymorphism

“…In earlier studies of Indian native cattle, the major focus was on assessment of morphological parameters and information gained from local sources (Nivsarkar et al 2000;Joshi et al 2001;Singh et al 2002;Gaur et al 2003;Karthickeyan et al 2006). Recently, assessment of genetic diversity and delineation of the genetic structure of cattle breeds have become a major concern, as some of the important populations and breeds are either declining or breed characters are being diluted under the present production system.…”

Microsatellite Analysis of Genetic Population Structure of Zebu Cattle (Bos indicus) Breeds from North-Western Region of India

“…Over the years, categorization of these cattle breeds has often been based on morphological data and information gained from the local breed keepers. 1,[4][5][6][7] Hence, an effort to deduce the genetic structure among the Indian native cattle breeds becomes pertinent for the development of future management strategies. For this purpose, microsatellites markers previously exploited for diversity studies in cattle populations from Africa, Europe, and Asia [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] are utilized herein to characterize Indian native cattle breeds.…”