Morphological and morphometric features of Non-descript cattle in Raigad district of Maharashtra

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to study the morphological and morphometric features of non-descript cattle in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The data were recorded on 360 non-descript cattle. The morphological features included colour pattern of body coat, muzzle, tail switch, hoof and horn, body length, height at wither, heart girth and length of head were taken up for morphometric characterization. The main body coat colour of non-descript cattle was brown (39.72%) followed by black (25.83%), white (17.22%), grey (03.89%) and mixed (13.33%). Most of animals had black muzzle (80.55%), black eyelid (76.66%), black pupil (88.58%), black hooves (71.11%) and black switch of tail (74.44%). The means morphometric characteristics viz., body weight, body length, chest girth, height at withers, face length, horn length, circumference at base of horn, ear length and hair length were found 228.30±1.942 kg, 95.69±0.41 cm, 139.55±0.69 cm, 85.10±0.12 cm, 39.96±0.24 cm, 18.35±0.50 cm, 10.84±0.07 cm, 18.16±0.22 cm and 9.06±0.02 mm, respectively. The morphological and morphometric features of the non-descript indicated that these animals are small in size having variation in colour pattern. The data generated for non-descript cattle of Raigad district would be useful to characterize them. It was concluded that the animals in the district are small in size, suitable for develop dual purpose breed, to support the farming as well as milk production.