Guest guest Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Hari Hari! If you are talking about milk *and* oxen, I would have to say that for Bos Taurus type cow, the Brown Swiss would be better than Jerseys, but there are several other breeds which may be more suitable. Syamasundara Prabhu, at Bhaktivedanta Manor has experience with other dual-purpose breeds. Offhand I have the following information regarding Brn Swiss and Jerseys taken from "The Family Cow" by Dirk van Loon, (The ox info is gathered from experience and other sources). For the Brown Swiss cow, average weight is 1200 - 1400 lbs, avg. milk yield is 11,000 lbs/year and the milk has 4% butterfat. Of the European breeds, they are certainly recommended for use as oxen. Jersey cows average weight is 800 - 1200 lbs. They eat less and are better or more thrifty foragers. Jerseys are considered to have the lowest milk yield among western dairy breeds, yet their milk has the highest butterfat averaging 5.1%. Though they are sometimes used for oxen, they are not generally recommended, as the oxen are very feisty and much smaller than other breeds. Here is a link with more information on common breeds with regard to oxen: http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/oxbreeds1.htm Unfortunately, most Western research doesn't list breed specific statistics for the various Indic breeds. Some time back the US determined to simply call them all "Brahman" cattle, whether they were gur, zebu, or whatnot - they mostly differentiate between red and white, (the research provided by the links below are the exception). As far as milking information, likewise, since they have never been considered diary cows in the West, there is little or no information on yield and butterfat content. I'm sure there has been some research done by Indian universities or perhaps the Indian government on the subject. They seem to have done a lot of research on similar topics involving village agriculture. How accessible that information is via the Internet, I don't know. The following links are the only ones I've found that deals with specific Indic cow breeds. You can check the links at the left for Gyr, Indo-Brazilian, Nelore, and Zebu.: http://cattle-today.com/Brahman.htm Here is some more of the same from Oklahoma State University, USA (see Gir, Bengali, Red Sindi, etc, as well as Western breeds): http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/ I hope this all helps - If I find any more information, I'll keep you posted. Ys, Gopal Das failure (AT) pamho (DOT) net [failure (AT) pamho (DOT) net] On Behalf Of mark john Sunday, November 12, 2006 8:56 AM Tattva Darshan Cc: Cow (Protection and related issues) Re: Bos Taurus Vs Bos Indicus Thank you all for the information you have provided. >From all the mails sent, I still need to domore research. I live on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, summers of high humidity at between 30 and 35C, with cool humid winters between 5 and 15C, so no real temperature problems there if in the summer there is shade and water available (we are not talking about Indian or Texan weather here). So, with Bos Taurus, the two breeds to look into are Brown Swiss and Jersey. Which one scores best for the needs of oxen and milk production? With Bos Indicus, there is Ongole (Nelore) or the Brahman breeds. Which one scores the best? By the way, I am interested in milk production and not just oxen, though it may not be politically correct to say so! The above questions are of extreme importance to me, as when starting a cow protecion program species and breed selection is one of the first and most important questions, as after it can be very difficult to change track. Please do respond as in this conference lies the answers to my quearies. Thank you, Hare Krsna. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I also vote for the Brown Swiss. The reason Texas ranchers like the brahman breeds is that they can do well in a dry climate. Unfortunately, the fact that the ranchers love them, but the dairy farmers avoid them speaks to the fact that their milk output is substantially less. I think that the Brown Swiss would be better in a humid tropical climate 1. Bigger oxen, much better draft animals 2. Better with humidity. 3. More milk. 4. Mellow, sober disposition. Brown Swiss are used widely throughout Latin America because they are more adaptable that Holsteins. (Also black hooves are stronger for oxen, and many Holsteins have white hooves, which are more prone to problems.) Brown Swiss also are better than Jerseys for all the same reasons -- except I could not tell you how they handle humidity. The big drawback for Brown Swiss is that if you are going to produce all that power (for plowing and pulling carts and removing stumps) or all that milk -- it means you need a lot more food. But if you have a lush area, and are willing to take the time to set up a good program of rotational grazing (with sufficient shade trees) -- then I think you should have great results with the Brown Swiss. Having said all this about the Brahman cows -- I think that Brahman cows are often a better choice in India for several reasons. They don't require as much food. They are more disease resistant. your servant, Hare Krsna dasi mark john wrote: >Thank you all for the information you have provided. >From all the mails sent, I still need to domore research. >I live on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, summers of high humidity at between 30 >and 35C, with cool humid winters between 5 and 15C, so no real temperature >problems there if in the summer there is shade and water available (we are not >talking about Indian or Texan weather here). >So, with Bos Taurus, the two breeds to look into are Brown Swiss and Jersey. >Which one scores best for the needs of oxen and milk production? >With Bos Indicus, there is Ongole (Nelore) or the Brahman breeds. Which one >scores the best? > >By the way, I am interested in milk production and not just oxen, though it may >not be politically correct to say so! > >The above questions are of extreme importance to me, as when starting a cow >protecion program species and breed selection is one of the first and most >important questions, as after it can be very difficult to change track. > >Please do respond as in this conference lies the answers to my quearies. > >Thank you, Hare Krsna. > >Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. > >----------------------- >To from this mailing list, send an email to: >Cow-Owner (AT) pamho (DOT) net > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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