Breeds of Cattle and Buffaloes
Breed identity matters
The exam tests whether you can match a breed to species, purpose, coat colour, horns and home tract. Cattle questions usually compare Hariana, Sahiwal, Gir and crossbreds; buffalo questions centre on Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Surti, Jaffarabadi and Mehsana.
Core rules and concepts
- Hariana: dual-purpose cattle breed of Haryana; grey-white coat, compact body, heat-tolerant, used for milk and draught.
- Sahiwal: red-brown milch cattle, loose skin, high-fat milk; a cattle breed, not a buffalo.
- Murrah: jet-black buffalo with tightly curled horns; high fat, high yield, native to Haryana's Rohtak–Hisar–Gurgaon belt.
- Nili-Ravi: black buffalo with white markings on face and legs and wall eyes; not the same as Murrah.
- Surti: medium buffalo with sickle-shaped horns; Jaffarabadi: heavy body and drooping horns; Mehsana: Murrah–Surti cross.
- Crossbred cattle such as Holstein Friesian and Jersey crosses give higher volume but need better feeding and cooling.
Worked example
A hot, dry district wants a milch animal for high-fat milk from local fodder. Murrah is the better choice than a Holstein Friesian cross because Murrah combines heat tolerance, local adaptation and high fat; HF crosses yield more litres but are more stress-prone. The reasoning weighs fat, adaptation and feed cost, not yield alone.
Traps that cost marks
Do not call Sahiwal a buffalo. Do not describe Murrah horns as drooping; they are curled. Do not treat Hariana as a high-yield dairy breed. Do not confuse Nili-Ravi's white markings with Murrah's solid black coat.