Origin and distribution:
Sahiwal breed cattle are primarily reared for milk production. Its origin can be traced in in the central and southern parts of Pakistan-Punjab, mainly in the districts of Montgomery (now called Sahiwal) and Okara. In India Sahiwal can be found in districts of Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Gurgaon in Haryana state, Union Territory of Delhi and in West Uttar Pradesh. This area is characterized by a subtropical and arid climate. There are although their numbers have dwindled considerably. There are no authentic records available to explain how in early days this breed developed. It is believed that it is a mixture of strains of diverse breeds that migrated from south of India, north of Pakistan and the adjoining territory of Afghanistan. There is an apparent similarity with the Gir breed hence it is considered as parental breed of Sahiwal cattle.
In India Sahiwal breeding herds are mostly restricted to various institutions and military farms in the northern parts of the country. The best known being at the National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal. A cooperative progeny testing program was established in 1982/83 between 9 institutional herds. These farms have around 900 cows and according to the plan 6–8 young bulls in each set are progeny tested of which one or two will be selected. In north India Sahiwal-HF crosses (Also called Frieswal) have been found to have improved productivity and fertility.
Characters:
Sahiwal cattle are long, fleshy and heavy with symmetrical body and loose skin, when compared with Red Sindhi which it closely resembles. The mature weight of cows is around 340–400 kg and of bulls up to 700 kg. They are colored reddish dunn or pale red, sometimes flashed with white patches. Muzzle and eyelashes are light in color. The skin color ranges from reddish brown through to more predominant red, with varying amounts of white on the neck, and the underline. In males color darkens towards extremities, such as head, legs and tail. The bulls have a large, massive hump which frequently falls to one side. The height at withers is around 136 whereas the female height averages 120 cm. These animals have small heads with long, narrow faces from which emerge short and somewhat horizontal horns, which grow longer and curve upwards and inwards in bullocks. In cows horns are very short, thick and loose. Legs are sturdy and long with well-shaped hooves. The tail is thin and short. In cows the udder is well developed with prominent teats. Compared to other Zebu breed cows these have comparatively smooth milk let down even when calves are weaned very early. This is because of selection over many years. The cows have large, sometimes pendulous udders and big teats. The sheath is quite pendulous and the dewlap is also large and heavy. Males are usually lethargic in work and are considered slow breeders.
Global distribution: Sahiwal is considered best dairy breed of the Indian subcontinent. Desirable characters like high productivity, heat tolerance, tick resistance, resistant to internal parasites and efficient feed conversion led to spread of this breed internationally. The Sahiwal breed arrived in Australia via New Guinea in early 1950s where it was initially used as dual-purpose breed. It played valuable role in development of two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the ‘Australian Milking Zebu (AMZ)’ and the ‘Australian Friesian Sahiwal (AFS)’. Sahiwal cattle are now predominantly used in Australia for beef production, as crossing high-grade Sahiwal sires with European breeds produced a carcass of lean quality with desirable fat cover. The contribution and adaptability of Sahiwal in rural development is well documented in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Guyana, Burundi, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and several ecological zones of Africa, the West Indies and many Latin American countries. A new breed called ‘Jamaica Hope’ has been evolved using Sahiwal x Jersey crossbreds.
In many countries Sahiwal and Bos taurus crosses have shown high milk producing capability and beef production but adaptability to local hot climate has been a big constraint.
