Sahiwal Bull		Sahiwal Cattle

Sahiwal is a breed of Zebu cattle which primarily is used in dairy production. Sahiwal originated from the Sahiwal district of Punjab province in Pakistan. They produce the most milk of all zebu breeds, followed by the very similar Red Sindhi and Butana breeds.

The Sahiwal originated in the dry Punjab region i.e. central and southern regions, which lies along the Indian-Pakistani border. They were once kept in large herds by professional herdsmen called "Junglies". With the introduction of irrigation systems to the region they began to be kept in smaller numbers by the farmers of the region, who used them as draught and dairy animals. Today the Sahiwal is one of the best dairy breeds in India and Pakistan. Due to their heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other Asian countries as well as Africa and the Caribbean

1. Species: Cattle
2. Synonyms: Lambi Bar, Lola, Montgomery, Multani and Teli.
3. Habitat: Sahiwal cattle lives in parts of districts Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan, Multan, and Faisalabad in Punjab, Pakistan and Ferozepur belt of Punjab, India especially the Fazilka and Abohar towns, Rohtak, Karnal, Hissar, Gurgaon district of Haryana, and the Union Territory of Delhi and in West Uttar Pradesh.
4. Breeding tract: Ferozepur and Amritsar districts of Punjab, Sri Ganganagar district if Rajasthan, pedigree herds are also maintained at Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh.
5. Soil and Climate: The area is sandy, except along the river banks (Sutlej and Ravi) and portions watered by the canals where silt has accumulated. Sandy loam and loam soils are predominant. The whole area is undulating plain. A very large portion of the land is under canal irrigation. The average rainfall of the area is about 25 to 30 cm with an average number of 23 rainy days from April to October and 8 rainy days during the rest of the year. The heat of the summer is severe; the maximum temperature may go as high as 48°C. Winters are mild and -pleasant.
6. Main utility: Milk for food.
7. Origin: Sahiwal area of Montgomery district of Punjab, Pakistan.
8. Distribution: The contribution of the Sahiwal breed to adaptability is well documented in Kenya, Jamaica, Guyana, Burundi, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and several ecological zones of Africa. Due to its unique characteristics, Sahiwal breed is exported to wide list of countries and regions. The Sahiwal breed arrived in Australia via New Guinea in the early 1950s. In Australia, the Sahiwal breed was initially selected as a dual-purpose breed. It played a valuable role in the development of the two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the Australian Milking Zebu and the Australian Friesian Sahiwal.

1. Colour: Brownish red colour, shades may vary from a mahogany red brown to more greyish red. Extremities in bulls are darker than rest of body colour. Occasionally there are white patches.
2. Number of Horns : 2.
3. Shape of Horns: Horns are stumpy and short to medium running outwards, upwards and then inwards.
4. Visible characteristics: Pale red colour, short horns and loose skin (Lola).

1. Body: This breed is medium-sized, and has a fleshy body.
2. Color: Females have reddish dun color; males may have a darker color around the orbit, neck, and hindquarters.
3. Horns: Males have stumpy horns; females are often dehorned.
4. Ears: Ears are medium-sized and drooping.
5. Muzzle and eyes: The distinguishing feature between Sahiwal and Red Sindhi is the muzzle. Red Sindhi has dark color muzzle whereas Sahiwal has lighter color muzzle. Sahiwal has also whitish ring along the eye. Muzzle and eye-lashes are of lighter color.
6. Skin: Skin is loose and fine with a voluminous dewlap and sheath.
7. Hump: The hump in the male is massive and falls on one side, but in the female it is nominal.
8. Tail: The tail ends in a black switch reaching almost ground.
9. Udder: The udder is large and strong and occasionally has white patches.
10. This is tick resistant breed because its skin naturally keeps on shivering.
11. This breed involved in development of new cattle breed Jamaica Hope.

1. Management System: Semi-Intensive
2. Mobility: Stationary
3. Feeding of adults: Grazing, Fodder and Concentrate
4. Housing: kept loose in open area, housing not required for adults, bush enclosures for calves.
5. Feeding system: Animals are let loose for grazing, seldom stall fed.
6. Feeds to be fed: Berseem, oats and mustard are the green fodder in rabi; and sorghum, pearl millet and cluster bean in kharif. Commercial feed can be fed anytime of the year. . Milking cows are provided supplementary feeding in the form of cotton seed, barley and oil cake. Feed is given in soaked form at the time of milking. Calves are reared on whole milk up to 1 month of age after which some green fodder is also fed. Calves are allowed to suck 1-2 teats up to 6 months of age.
7. Feeding of concentrates: 1kg/2kg milk at the time of milking.
8. Feeding of roughages: 1/10^th of body weight per day.
9. Milking: should be done twice a day, however thrice a day milking gives higher milk yield.
10. Milking practice: full hand milking should be done. Avoid knuckling.
11. Milk let down time: 4-5 minutes.

• Peculiarity of the breed: It is tick-resistant, heat-tolerant and noted for its high resistance to parasites, both internal and external, ease of calving, drought resistant, bloat tolerant, good temperament.
• Research highlights: All the productive and reproductive traits were affected by herd, year, season of calving and parity. The phenotypic correlations among various performance traits have also been reported. Phenotypic deterioration in milk yield was noted over the years.