The Gangatiri cattle breed is an important dual purpose cattle breed. It is an indigenous breed of cattle from India that is bred for milk production as well as animal traction.
The breed is known to originate from the region along the banks of the Ganges in eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar. It is a very important dual purpose cattle breed from northern India.
Gangatiri’s total cattle herd has recently declined. It is also known as Eastern Haryana Where Shahabadi.
Currently, the main breeding area of the breed includes Varanasi, Gazipur, Mirzapur and Ballia districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Bhojpur district in the state of Bihar. Learn more about the breed below.
Characteristics of Gangatiri Cattle
Gangatiri cattle are very beautiful animals completely white or gray in color. Cows and bulls have horns. And their horns are medium in size, coming out from the side of the back of the head behind and above the eyes outward and curving inward, ending in sharp points.
They have a prominent, straight, and broad forehead with a shallow notch in the middle. The color of the hooves, muzzle and eyelids is mainly black.
The average height of adult bulls is around 142 cm at the withers, and that of cows is around 124 cm. Photos and information from the Dairy Knowledge Portal and Wikipedia.
Advantages
Gangatiri cattle are dual purpose animals. They are grown for both milk production and traction.
Special Notes
Gangatiri cattle are very hardy animals known for their good pulling ability. They are mostly kept in open or thatched dwellings next to the farmer’s house.
Balanced or concentrated feed is rare and the animals are kept on pasture 6 to 8 hours a day. Most animals reproduce by natural mating.
Large herds are kept in Diyar, in the area adjacent to the Ganges, and the herd size ranges from 2 to 150 animals. Most farmers usually keep 2-3 cows and a few bulls.
The total number of Gangatiri cattle in their breeding range is estimated at around 67,000 individuals. With good draft power and average milk production, the breed has made a significant contribution to the livelihoods of people in its native region.
Cows are fairly good milkers and on average a cow can produce around 1050 kg of milk per lactation. Although their milk production can vary from 900 to 1200 kg.
Their milk is of very good quality and contains about 4.9% fat, ranging from 4.1 to 5.2%. See the full breed profile of Gangatiri cattle in the following table.
video
| Breed name | Gangatiri |
| another name | Eastern Haryana or Shahabadi |
| Purpose of the breed | Milk and draft |
| Special Notes | Very hardy, active, well adapted to the natural climate, very good for traction, fairly good dairy |
| Breed size | medium |
| climatic tolerance | native climate |
| coat color | Usually white or gray |
| horned | Yes |
| milk production | Medium |
| scarcity | general |
| Country/place of origin | India |
