Also known by various names throughout the country – Bannai, Nagar, Talabda, Vaghiyar, Wagad, Waged, Vadhiyar, Wadhiar, Wadhir, and Wadial, the Kankrej cow is a dual-purpose breed of cows used for both milk production as well as draught work. It is a pure Indian breed of Zebuine cattle. The cattle was named after their native place Kankrej town in the Banaskantha district of North Gujarat. These cattle are found in the southeast of the Rann of Kutch in the districts of Mehsana, Kutchchh, Ahmedabad, Kheda, Anand, Sabarakantha, and Banaskantha – Gujarat, and Barmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan.
Kankrej, also known as Guzerat in Brazil, is being maintained as a pure breed in large numbers in that country. The Guzerat was the also most important breed in the development of American Brahman. The unique characteristics like resistance to heat stress, tick fever, tuberculosis and very little incidence of contagious abortion made Kankrej a very popular one among these countries.
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How To Identify Kankrej Cow Among Others?
The easiest method to identify these cows is by their body colour and structure.
Kankrej cows are usually silver-grey, iron grey, or steel black in colour. Their face is slightly short and the shape of the nose is upturned.
Kankrej cows are usually recognizable because of their large pendulous shape and lyre-shaped horn. In male Kankrej, the hump on their body is well developed and the forequarters, and hindquarters, including the hump, are slightly darker in colour than any other area of the cow. The newborn calves have rust coloured redpolls.
Milk Production and Lactation
While this breed is known to be strong and has high resistance to diseases, the estimated daily milk yield of a Kankrej cow is around 3-5 litres. But there are some cows of the same breed that can yield 20-25 litres of milk/ day.
The Kankrej cow milk yield can be estimated somewhere from 1780 kg to 1800 kg in their lactation period. This mark can also reach somewhere up to 4900 kg if the cow is in great condition and the farmers are keeping good care during lactation.
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How to maintain the Kankrej Cow?
Kankrej cows are a very popular breed among the other breeds of the cow because of their dual nature. They are good milk yielders and bullocks are used for road transport and agricultural operations.
Generally, concrete walls or tin shade shelter is used to save the cow from strong snowfall, heavy rainfall, sunlight, parasites, and frost. The house should be properly oxygenated and a clean air facility must be there. Cleaning should be done regularly to avoid the spreading of parasites and incubation of mosquitoes and as well as viruses. Give them proper nutrient supplements like – Protein, Calcium, Vitamin A, and Phosphorus with their food. Manage them properly and provide proper care whenever the cow gets pregnant. Good management practices will result in a healthy calf and also gives a high milk yield.
Common Diseases & Treatments
Most of the Kankrej cows can be treated by using antibiotics for certain situations. Some of the common diseases and their treatments are:
Rinderpest
Rinderpest is a disease caused by the Rinderpest virus. It is like a plague disease for cattle and it is highly contagious. The most common symptoms are wounds on the mouth, diarrhoea, fever, discharge from areas like the nose and eyes, etc.
Rinderpest has no permanent cure but it can be controlled by maintaining a proper quarantine situation.
Black Quarter
The main symptom of the Black Quarter disease is that the legs of the cows get swollen. Black Quarter affects the calves who fall in the age category of 6 months to 10 years. This disease spreads very rapidly but can be controlled by using Penicillin. Avoid feeding the battle bad fodder or infected food and this disease can be treated with supreme care.
Mastitis
Affecting all the dairy cattle, Mastitis affects the udder area and results in reaching the mammary glands due to an increase in white blood cells. It is a disease that can be treated by the use of antibiotics at the right time.
Digestive system disease
Diseases related to the digestive system like acidic indigestion, simple indigestion, saline indigestion, constipation, bloody diarrhoea, and acidity.
Treatment of acidic indigestion
Avoid feeding acidic fodder to animals.
During the start of this disease, feed animals saline elements like baking soda and medicines which will help to energize their liver.
Treatment of simple indigestion
Feed them spices which will help them to increase their hunger.
Provide them feed which digests easily.
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Where can I get Kankrej cow?
If you are looking to purchase Kankrej cow, then right away pick up your mobile phone and go to the play store, and download the “Animall” app. Register yourself by verifying your phone number and then tap on the cow section where you will find different-different breeds of cow. Then filter out Kankrej cow breed, calving, and milk capacity, and then select the best cow from the options available.
Bring home the best Kankrej cow by following these 3 easy steps.
Enter your district or village name or Pincode.
After entering, tap on the cow section. Here choose the breed of Kankrej cow and select the calving and milk capacity as per your preference.
Now you will start seeing all the cows around you. You can then select any cow of your preference. Go ahead and bring your most preferred Kankrej cow to your home.
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How to list my Kankrej cow for sale?
If you wish to sell your Kankrej cow, then for that also you can install our “Animall” app. First, you need to register yourself and then go to the sell animals section. After that, enter the milk capacity, rate, and price of your Kankrej cow. After you are done filling in all the required details, your cow will be registered on the “Animall” app. Anyone interested in purchasing your cow will call you directly.
Apart from selling and purchasing cattle, you can also get all the necessary information related to all the cattle by installing our app. If your cow is not keeping well then you can directly talk to veterinary doctors through our app. You can get the verified cattle at the best quality and affordable rates and that too without paying any commission to any middleman.
Kankrej cows are called the pride of Gujarat because of their good milk-yielding abilities and the hard labour they can handle in the field. Their dual purpose makes them unique and valuable, justifying their popularity in the market.
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