SAHIWAL

Synonyms: lambi Bar, lola, multani, teli.

Origin and distribution: Original breeding tract lies in Montgomery(now sahiwal) district pakistan, indo-pak border in ferozepur, amritsar district of Punjab and sri Ganganagar district of rajasthan. This cattle is related to cattle of afganistan And may contain some Gir blood also.

Location and Topography: The breeding tract in India lies between 29° 10’ and 30°55’ north latitude, and 73°6’ and 74°4’ east longitude.

Soil: Sandy loam and loam soils are predominant in this area.

Climate:Weather in this area is extremely hot during summer (April to August) and extremely cold during winter (December to February)

Temperature: varying between 0° and 48°C.

Annual rainfall: around 25 to 30 cm .

Physical Characteristics:

1)Coat colour: reddish dun but pale red or brown occasionally mixed with white spots is also not uncommon.

2)Animals: long, deep, fleshy and comparatively lethargic. Forehead is medium sized in females but broad and massive in males. Horns are short and stumpy. Ears are medium sized with black hair on the fringes. Dewlap is large and heavy. Hump in males is massive and frequently falls on one side. Navel flap is loose and hanging. Sheath in males is also pendulous. Tail is long and fine with a black switch reaching almost to the ground. Udder is generally large, bowl shaped, pliable, firmly suspended from the body.Pendulous udder is also found in high producing females. Teats are large and cylindrical in shape.

Morphometric and Performance Parameters:

1) Average body length, height and heart girth: Males 150, 170 and 190 cm. Females 131, 124 and 164 cm.

2) Birth weight: 20 to 25kg in male calves and 18 to 23 kg in female calves.

3)Average birth weight: around 22 kg. Adult body weight is around 540 kg in males and 327 kg (range 301 to 360 kg) in females.

4)Average age at first calving: 1,183 days (range 940 to 1,520 days).

5)Average milk yield:2,326 kg (range 1,600 to 2,750 kg). Average lactation length is 318 days (range 285 to 375 days). Fat is 4.8 to 5.1% (average 4.93%). Service period averages 176 days (range 140 to 200 days). Calving interval averages 451 days (range 390 to 550 days).

  SKIN CHARACTERISTICS (SAHIWAL ADULT) :