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ECONOMIC CHARACTERS IN DAIRY CATTLE AND BUFFALO :
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The various economic characters in Dairy Cattle and Buffalo management are:

1. Lactation yield:
  • The lactation yield in a lactation period is known as lactation yield.
  • Normally in dairy cattle 30 - 40 % increase in milk production from first lactation to maturity is observed.
  • After 3 or 4 lactation the production starts declining.
  • After parturition the milk yield per day will be increased and reaches peak within 2-4 weeks after calving. This yield is known as peak yield.
2. Lactation period:
  • The length of milk producing period after calving is known as lactation period.
  • The optimum lactation period is 305 days.
3. Persistency of Milk Yield:
  • During lactation period the animal reaches maximum milk yield per day within 2-4 weeks which is called peak yield.
  • The maintenance of peak yield for long period is known as persistency, slow decrease in dairy milk yield after reaching peak yield in necessary.
  • High persistency is necessary to maintain high level of milk production.
4. Age at first calving:
  • The desirable age at first calving in Indian breeds is 3 years, 2 years in cross breed cattle and 3½ years in Buffaloes.
5. Service period
  • It is the period between date of calving and date of successful conception. For cattle the optimum service period is 60-90 days.
  • If the service period is too prolonged the calving interval prolonged, less no. of calvings will be obtained in her life time and ultimately less life time production.’
  • If the service period is too short, the animal will become weak and persistency of milk production is poor due to immediate pregnancy.
6. Dry Period:
  • It is the period from the date of drying (stop of milk production) to next calving.
  • A minimum of 2 - 2 1/2 months dry period should be allowed.
7. Inter-calving period:
  • This is the period between two successive calvings.
  • It is more, profitable to have one calf yearly in cattle and at least one calf for every 15 months in buffaloes.
8. Reproductive Efficiency:
  • The reproductive efficiency means the more number of calves during life time, so that total life time production is increased.
9. Efficiency of Feed Utilization and Conversion into Milk:
  • The animal should utilize the feed efficiently to convert into the milk.
10. Disease Resistance:
  • Indian breeds are more resistant to majority of disease compared to exotic cattle. Cross breeding helps to get this character.





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Developed by :
Jaspal Singh
(Ex. M.V.Sc Scholar )		  Dr. Pranav Kumar
(Assistant Professor) 		Amandeep Singh
(Final Year B.V.Sc & AH student)
Division of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, R.S. Pura, SKUAST Jammu