Indian Buffaloes

The Murrah breed of Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is the premier milking buffalo.The home tract of Murrah buffalo is Rohtak, Jind and Hisar districts of Haryana (India). It is also found in Nabha and Patiala districts of Punjab (India) and around Delhi . In Italy, it is the basis of Mozzarella cheese production, and therefore Italian Pizza. By Italian law, Mozzarella may only be made from buffalo milk, which is preferred for its very high butterfat content, up to 16% compared with 4% for European (Bos taurus) dairy breeds such as Jersey cattle and 8% for Zebu (Bos indicus) breeds such as Sahiwal.They are Jet black in colour, sometimes with white markings on face or legs. Bulls weigh 550 kg and cows 450 kg.
Age at fist calving : 3 years but we have also the buffaloes, which calved at 3 years with good milk production.
Eyes : Should not be walled i.e. the cornea should not have whiteness.
Inter-calving period : 400 to 500 days.
Lactation period : 300 days. (with minimum of ~230 days recorded under top quality Murrah)
Daily lactation in peak period : 14 to 15 litter but upto 31.5 Kg milk production had also been recorded. The elite Murrah buffalo produces above 18-litter milk per day. A peak milk yield of 31.5 kg in a day has been recorded from a champion Murrah buffalo in the All India Milk Yield Competition conducted by the Government of India.

The name Pandharpuri is from the town Pandharpur in Solapur district which is the home range of these buffalo. They are found in Solapur, Kolhapur and Sangli districts of Maharashtra state of India.

Most of the region is highly draught prone, but some parts of the Sangli and Kolhapur districts do have good irrigation facilities.

Characteristics:
The breed can be easily identified by its long, sword shaped, sometimes twisted horns, which measure from 45-50 cm upto 1-1.5 m of length.
The majority of the breed are black with white markings found on the forehead , legs and switch of tail. The Pandharpuri are medium sized with average body weight of 450-470 kg.

The long horns usually turned upwards or lateral. The udder is compact, trough shaped with cylindrical teats. The head is long, narrow with prominent nasal bone and the horizontal ears.

The breed is famous for its high reproductive ability, producing a calf every 12 months. Under average management conditions and hot -dry climate these buffaloes yield 6-7 liters of milk per day; however under good management they are reported to yield up to 15 lit of milk per day.