Cattle Farming-Improvement in Food Resources

Cattle farming is the branch of animal husbandry in which cattle are raised, reared, and bred for milk and other work. In cattle farming two different kinds of cattle are raised and managed that are: 

1. Used for food production, such as milk.
2. Used for labor-intensive tasks, such as field work, irrigation, etc.

Cattle Breeds

Cattle breeds are of three types:

1. Indigenous cattle breed
2. Exotic cattle breed
3. Cross breed

Indigenous Cattle Breed

The cattle breeds that belong to India are known as Indigenous cattle breeds. Sahiwal, gir, khillari, kenkatha, hariana, and tharparkar are a few examples of Indigenous cattle breeds.

These Indigenous cattle breeds are classified based on the utilization:

1. Milch breed
2. Draught breed
3. Dual-purpose breed

Milch breed

• These breeds are usually used for milk production.
• In milch breeds, Female breeds are better than females.
• Cows of this breed give more yield in milk production.
• Buffaloes of this breed are of poor quality.
• Examples of this breed are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir, and Deoni.

Draught breed

• These breeds are usually used for work (either on farms or on roads).
• In draught breeds, Males breeds are better than males.
• Cows of this breed give less yield in milk production.
• Buffaloes of this breed are of high quality.
• Examples of this breed are Kangayam, Siri, Khillari, etc.

Dual-purpose breed

• These breeds are intermediate Milch and draught breeds.
• Both males and females of this breed are good.
• Cows of this breed give good yield in milk production but less than the milch breeds.
• Buffaloes of this breed is of good quality but less than the draught breeds.
• Examples of this breed are Hariana, Kankrej, Tharparkar, etc.

Exotic Cattle Breed

The cattle breeds that belonged to or were developed from outside of India are known as Exotic cattle breeds. Holstein frieswal, Red Dane, Jersey, and Brown Swiss are a few examples of exotic cattle breeds.

What is Cross Breed?

The cattle breeds that had been made by humans by the crossing between an exotic breed and an indigenous cattle breed is known as a crossbreed. Karan fries, Karan Swiss, and Jar Sindh are a few examples of crossbreeds.

Karan Fries: This breed has been developed at NDRI (National dairy research institute) in which they crossed a male exotic breed (Holstein frieswal) with the female indigenous breed (Tharparkar).

Karan Swiss: This breed has been developed at NDRI (National dairy research institute) in which they crossed a male exotic breed (Brown Swiss) with the female indigenous breed (Sahiwal).

Buffalo Breeds

The scientific name of the buffalo is Bubalus bubalis, and it belongs to the family of cattle. Murrah, Surti, Jafrabadi, and Mehsana are a few examples of buffalo breeds.

Farm Management

Farm management requires abilities including basic animal husbandry, nutrition, communication, planning, adaption, assessment, attention to detail, and nurturing a farm culture. Animals raised with basic husbandry are hydrated, dry, clean, and low-stress. This farm management focuses on more milk production from cattle and good health of cattle. Key features of farm management are:

1. Animals must be brushed often to eliminate loose hair and dirt.
2. They should be protected from rain, heat, and cold by well-ventilated roofed sheds.
3. The cow shed's floor must slope to maintain moisture-free conditions and make cleaning easier.
4. Animals should be allowed to stay comfortably within the shelter without being crowded.
5. The shelter needs to be set up properly for safe drinking water.

Food Requirement of Dairy Animals

1. Maintenance requirement: Foods that support the body's regular metabolic processes. 
2. Milk-producing requirement: The food that is necessary during lactation.

Cattle Feed

These are of two types: Roughage and concentrate.

1. Roughage: It mostly consists of fibers like grass, forage, green fodder, and cowpeas.
2. Concentrates: They have little fiber but a lot of protein and other nutrients. It contains by-products including wheat, barley, beans, oats, gram, and oilseeds like cotton.

Cattle require well-balanced feeds that are proportionately rich in each nutrient. In addition to such nutritious food, several feed supplements that include micronutrients support the health and milk production of dairy cows.

Types of Disease in Cattle

Cattle diseases are classified into: 

1) Parasitic diseases

2) Infectious diseases or communicable diseases

3) Non-infectious diseases or non-communicable diseases

Parasitic diseases

They can be caused by both external and internal parasites.

The external parasites include fleas, ticks, mites, and lice (blood-sucking lice). They mostly cause skin illnesses and thrive off the skin of cows and buffaloes.
Internal parasites like worms harm the stomach and intestines of cows and buffaloes, whereas flukes that live inside the host (cow/buffalo) harm the liver.

Infectious Diseases or Communicable Diseases

These are infectious diseases that transmit through animal-to-animal contact. Bacteria and viruses are the primary causes of infectious diseases. The following are a few examples of infectious or communicable diseases: foot-and-mouth, anthrax, Rinderpest, tuberculosis, etc.

Non-Infectious Diseases or Non-Communicable Diseases

Non-infectious illnesses are brought on by nutritional deficiencies or malfunctions of the body's organs. Mastitis, Milk fever, Hoof disease, and white muscle diseases are a few examples of Non-infectious diseases or non-communicable diseases.

Animal Disease Symptoms Include:

1. Animal moves slowly or becomes immobile.
2. Animals may discharge colored urine and lose waste excreta.
3. The animal may begin to shiver.
4. Animal productivity or milk yield is decreased.
5. They suddenly start less feeding or sometimes stop feeding.

Prevention of Cattle Diseases: 

1. The animal should be kept in an adequate, clean, and open shelter.
2. The animal needs to be fed nutritious meals.
3. Regular vaccinations should be given to them.
4. When they recognize the infected animal, they should be kept away from others as soon as possible to stop the spreading of diseases.
5. It's crucial to properly dispose of waste and restrict sick animals.