IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION OF INDIGENOUS BREEDS OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY

Team Pashudhan Praharee

October 30, 2023

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IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION OF INDIGENOUS BREEDS OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY

Ankur Pandey and Abhinov Verma*

Department of Veterinary Anatomy

College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry

U.P. Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya

Evam Go-Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU), Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India, 281001

*Corresponding author- abhinovverma281283@gmail.com

The conservation of breeds means the preservation of genetic potential as well as its improvement and maintenance of a breed for use in the future.

Conservation of indigenous breeds of livestock:

Indigenous breeds are the breed of animals that belong to India (local breed of a particular country). eg- indigenous breeds of cows are Sahiwal, Gir etc. Indigenous Breeds are classified under three groups based on utility / purpose.
a) Milch breeds / Milk breeds
b) Dual Purpose breeds
c) Draught breeds

Milch Breeds / Milk Breeds:
The cows of these breeds are high milk yield and the male animals are slow or poor work animals. The examples of Indian milch breeds are shahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir and Deoni. The milk production of milch breeds is on the average more than 1600 kg per lactation.

Dual Purpose Breeds:
The cows in these breeds are average milk yielder and male animals are very useful for work. Their milk production per lactation is 500 kg to 150 kg. The example of this group is Ongole, Hariana, Kankrej, Tharparker, Krishna valley, Rathi and Goalo Mewathi.

Draught Breeds:
The male animals are good for work and females are poor milk yielder are their milk yield as an average is less than 500 kg per lactation. They are usually white in color. A pair of bullocks can haul 1000 kg. Net with an iron typed cart on a good road at walking speed of 5 to 7 km per hour and cover a distance of 30 – 40 km per day. Twice as much weight can be pulled on pneumatic rubber tube carts. The example of this group Kangayam, Umblacherry, Amritmahal, Hallikar.

There are thirty seven recognized breeds of cattle in India, in addition to large number of non-descript cattle. Several of the indigenous breeds suffered decline mainly due to their becoming uneconomical. Draught breeds utility has decreased because of mechanization in agriculture.

The indigenus breeds have following merits over exotic breeds viz:

Better disease resistance than exotic breeds
More suitable for low input management system
Survive better in local environment
Suitable for draught work

Following Conservation Strategies are advice for indigenous breeds of livestock:

Breeding Policy:-The States may review their respective breeding policy so as to prioritize conservation of Indigenous breeds in their breeding tract and allowing no cross breeding of recognized indigenous cattle in the home tract of important and recognized indigenous breeds.
Implementation of the Breeding Programme:-The State may consider region specific and breed specific breeding strategies, programmes and plans to implement the conservation programme.
Promotion of Breeders organization:-

(1)Breeding Farms:- The existing States breeding farms of indigenous breeds should be declared as germplasm repositories and used for production of bulls. Only pure breeding should be practiced at these farms.

(2)Gaushala:-Gaushala may be supported to maintain indigenous breeds so that they can supply improved quality of germplasm for breeding. They should be provided with scientific and technical inputs and training for genetic evaluation.

(D) Use of Science and Technology:-

(1) Technologies such as artificial insemination, Frozen semen production, progeny testing, embryo transfer technology should be used, after proper evaluation where ever required

(2) National gene bank should maintain the germplasm in the form of semen & embryo.

Regional gene banks should meet the requirements of National gene bank.

(E) Creation of Public Awareness:-

Breeds shows should be arranged for local breeds and owners should be rewarded for maintaining pure local breeds. Publish success stories on local breed conservation and innovative utilization.
Some farmers are the proud owner of the popular breeds of their area. Such farmers, if encouraged through financial & veterinary help will help in preservation of breeds
Available information on different breeds should be published in the form of pamphlets, books, calendar etc. This will create awareness and motivate farmers to conserve the important breeds.

Conservation of Indigenous Breeds of Poultry:

The importance of native breeds of poultry birds for rural economy in developing countries is very high as they play a major role for the rural poor and marginalized section of the people as a source of subsidiary income as well as nutritious egg and meat for their own consumption. The Indian birds are mostly non-descripts, and are of very little value as layers. They have several local breed names such as Naked Neck, Punjab, Ghagus, Brown, Lolab, Kashmir Faberella, Tilri, Busra, Telllicherry, Danki, Nicorai and Kalahasti. A large number of flows of different size, shapes and colours, and for the most part resembling the jungle fowls, are found all over India. They vary in appearance according to the locality in which they have been bred. These with Chittagong, Aseel, Langshan or Brahma blood in them are bigger in size and better in meat quality than the common flows.

READ MORE : CHIHUAHUA DOG BREED

The local breeds have following merits over exotic breeds viz:

They generally adapt well to unfavorable management conditions, and resistance to prevailing diseases is usually assumed to be high, although juvenile and sometimes adult mortality rates can be high in extensive production systems.
The meat from native fowl has significantly higher amino acid contents (arginine and lysine) than meat from exotic birds and is widely preferred especially because of their pigmentation, taste, leanness and suitability for special dishes and often fetches higher prices.
Fertility and hatchability are also high in local birds.

Conservation Strategies for Indigenous Breeds of Poultry:

(A)Modifying local breeds using major gene types:-The incorporation of such genes could be significant in the development of appropriate breeds and strains for smallholder poultry production in the tropics. There are now seven potentially useful major genes:

Na – naked neck (autosomal -A);
Dw – dwarf (sex-linked -S);
K – slow feathering (S);
Fa – Fayoumi (A);
F – frizzle (A);
H – silky (A); and
Fm – fibro-melanosis (A).

The use of major genes to improve productivity in smallholder poultry breeding programmes has been researched in various tropical countries (including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Bolivia, India, Cameroon and Nigeria). Other morphological traits that allow better heat dissipation include large combs, large wattles and long legs. Gene coding for these traits, which are not major genes but the result of multiple genes and their interactions, could also be considered for incorporation into the development of high performance local birds for the tropics.

(B) Management :- The strategies for scavenger free-range systems is to reduce the high mortality in both growing and adult age groups, but especially the 60 to 70 percent mortality in the growers. This high mortality means that many eggs laid by the hen need to be used for reproduction to maintain flock size, instead of for sale or consumption. It also means that many birds that die could instead be sold or consumed as meat.