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LONGEVITY AND RE-PRODUCTIVITY IN HARIANA CATTLE
By M. L. KOHLI and K. R. SURI, Government Livestock Farm, Hissar,
Punjab
[Received for publication on November 8, 1954
Accepted for publication on April 9,
1957]
(With 1 Text Figure)
I NFORMATION in regard to the life span and fertility of different breeds
of cattles is of importance to a breeder in the selection of the breed. It
assists him in estimating the breeding efficiency of the herd and facilitates in rais-
ing a profitable herd by treating heifers that have not bred at the average age of
first conception and by culling the stock which is below the standard or has passed
the useful breeding age.
The present study was undertaken in the Hariana cattle, a famous general
utility breed of the country, capable of providing first quality plough bullocks
as well as fairly good milkers.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Smith and Robinson 6 reported that the average age of the dams of the three
beef breeds (Angus, Short-horn, and Hereford) was 6.02±0.05 years at the time of
calving. Lacy 3 found that the average age of dams of registered Hereford calves
was 5.48±0.06. Only 19.7 per cent of the dams were less than 3 years of age at the
time of first service while percentage of dams less than 3 years of age was observed
to be higher in the dairy breeds (Holstein 33.5 per cent, Jersey 35.8 per cent, Guernsey
37.5 per cent and Brownswiss 34.6 per cent) than in Herefords. Plum and Lush 4
studied the data of Iowa Cow Testing Associations and found that the mean age at
first calving varied from about 25.5 months for Jersey and Guernsey cows to almost
35 months for Red Polled cows. Asdell 1 stated that the average life span of cattle
(Bos taurus) from conception was 225 months. Sharma, Vali and Suri 5 on 182
cases found that the average age at first calving of the experimental Hariana herd
at Hissar was 1618.18±10.53 days. Einsiedl 2 observed the average age of Pinzgan
herd book cows was approximately 9 years and the average number of calves was
5.92. Food and Agricultural Organisation publication 7 revealed that the average
age at first calving of the milch breeds, Red Sindhi and Sahiwal, was 41 and 33
months respectively while Tharparkar, Gir and Kangayan, the general utility
breeds, had 47.2,2.5, 51.0 and 39.0 months respectively. The average number of
calvings during life time varied from 5 to 8 in the different breeds. The active
breeding life of bulls for the milch breeds was about 7 years whereas for general
utility breeds it was about 10 years.
105
18 AR/56
8
106
LONGEVITY IN HARIANA CATTLE
[Vol. XXVII, Part III,
FIG. 1. Distribution of the ages of Hariana heifers at first calving
September, 1957]
M.
L.
KOHLI
AND
K.
R.
SURI
107
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The data used in the study were taken from Hariana herd of cattle, bred and
reared under semi-ranch conditions at Government Livestock Farm, Hissar, from
1924 to 1938 for cows and from 1925 to 1942 for bulls. The study was based on
1917 normal records of cows and 28 stud bulls maintained at the Farm. The data
was purposely confined to this period with a view to study the span of life and repro-
ductive period of the animals that were born during this period and died after having
had their normal life. The study beyond 1938 could not be included as most of the
animals born were yet alive.
The main herd, to a larger extent, depended on natural grazing for a considerable
part of the year. Stall feeding was only resorted to, when grazing became scanty
and the stock began to show signs of losing condition. In the case of milch stock
the grazing was supplemented by the concentrates according to the milk yields.
The cattle, generally, for the most part of the year remained in the open, thorny
enclosures except during severe winter nights. Young bulls were given a grain
ration for a month or 6 weeks when they were ready for nose-ringing and again
for a month or more at the age of 2½ years when they were ready to be issued in the
state for breeding. Systematic prophylactic measures were adopted to check the
incidence of contagious diseases like rinderpest, haemorrhagic septicaemia and
black-quarter.
The reproductive period of the cows was worked out from the first calving
date to the end of the last lactation. The life span was calculated from birth to
the date of death of the animal. Period of 15 days and above was taken as a complete
month while calculating the age.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Age at first calving. The age distribution of Hariana cows freshening for the
first time (Fig. 1) showed that it was extremely skew. The mode was at 50
months and the mean was 58.83±0.20.
The higher value of the mean was due to positive skewness of the distribution.
The age, before which half of the heifers freshened, was near about 55 months.
Only 22 per cent of the dams were less than 4 years of age at the time of first calving
which was almost similar to the results obtained by Lacy 3 in Hereford cattle. The
mean value differed from that of Sharma et. al. 5 as their study was confined to a
limited number of cases extending over a shorter period.
Reproductive life. The average reproductive life of a cow in the herd was
76.88±0.92 months. It was observed (Table I) that the maximum percentage of
cows remained fertile for 9 years, one month from the date of first calving.
108
LONGEVITY IN HARIANA CATTLE
[Vol. XXVII, Part III,
TABLE I
Reproductive life in the Hariana herd
Period after first calving
(months)
Up to 19
20—34
35—49
50—64
65—79
80—94
No. of cases
265
114
182
178
161
239
Percentage
of cows
reproducing
after first
calving
13.82
5.95
9.49
9.28
8.40
12.47
Age after
first calving
(months)
95—109
110—124
125—139
140—154
155—169
170 & above
No. of cases
295
270
154
48
5
6
Percentage
of cows
reproducing
after first
calving
15.39
14.08
8.03
2.51
0.26
0.32
Calvings during life period. The average number of calves dropped during life
time of a cow in the herd (Table II) was 4.67±0.11. The average number of calvings
was observed to be less than that of Tharparkar (5.85±0.25), a similar general
utility breed.
TABLE II
Number of calvings in the Hariana herd
Number of calvings
1
2
3
4
5
6
No. of cows
170
211
268
244
254
331
Percentage
of cows
8.87
11.01
13.98
12.73
13.25
17.26
No. of
calvings
7
8
9
10
11
12
No. of
cows
252
137
36
8
5
1
Percentage
of cows
13.14
7.15
1.88
0.41
0.26
0.05
Life span of cattle. The average age at death of the cow and bull in the Hariana
herd was found to be 136.3±0.95 and 98.1±4.6 months respectively. The maximum
age recorded for the cow was 18 years 9 months and 7 days whereas the bull lived
for 15 years 9 months and 21 days. It may, however, be stated that the results
obtained for the bulls were based on a smaller number of cases and hence no reliable
comparison could be made for the age at death of the cow and the bull.
Sex ratio. It was observed from the study of 1917 cows that there were 4,498
male and 4,469 female calves. The overall sex ratio (number of male for every 100
females) was calculated to be 100.4 per cent.
September, 1957]
M.
L.
KOHLI
AND
K.
R.
SURI
109
TABLE III
Causes of mortality in different ages of Hariana cattle
(Age in years)
Causes for death
Tuberculosis
Kherwan disease*
Rinderpest
Haemorrhagic septicaemia
Black Quarter
Metritis
Respiratory diseases
Traumatic pericarditis
Old age and debility
Miscellaneous diseases
Total
Mortality percentage
3
—
—
—
—
—
8
—
1
—
16
25
1.88
4
2
1
1
1
—
6
7
8
—
33
59
4.45
5
4
—
6
—
—
5
18
21
—
38
87
6.56
6
19
2
3
—
—
4
8
17
—
33
86
6.48
7
30
—
2
—
—
11
26
31
—
81
182
13.72
8
20
4
2
—
—
12
9
33
—
58
138
10.40
9
24
2
1
—
—
9
8
32
—
42
118
8.89
10
21
1
—
—
—
4
16
36
1
49
128
9.65
11
19
—
—
—
—
5
6
16
6
35
87
6.56
12
24
—
—
—
—
7
9
16
6
35
97
7.30
13
25
5
—
—
—
9
11
18
16
20
105
7.91
14
41
2
—
—
—
5
4
3
22
20
97
7.30
15
36
1
—
—
—
—
4
3
24
4
72
5.43
16 and
above
25
—
—
—
—
1
2
1
10
7
46
3.47
Total
290
18
15
2
1
86
123
236
85
471
1327
—
Mortality
21.85
1.36
1.13
0.15
0.08
6.48
9.27
17.78
6.41
35.49
—
—
*An obscure disease.
18 AR/57
9
110 LONGEVITY IN HARIANA CATTLE [Vol. XXVII Part; III,
The incidence of twinning was found to be 0.09 per cent which is in agreement
with the findings of Bhattacharya et al.who studied 1,892 calvings of the Hariana
herd as reported in the publication of Food and Agricultural Organisation 7 .
Causes of mortality. The diseases responsible for the death of the cattle coul d
only be ascertained for 1327 cases. It was seen (Table III) that the single disease
responsible for the heaviest toll of life was tuberculosis. The mortality from this
disease was fairly high from 6 years onward and was highest in the older stock.
It may probably be due to the fact that no systematic testing of the herd against this
disease was adopted before the year 1940 with the result that the diseased animals
were allowed to live with the healthy stock which resulted in the spread of the
infection. The lowering of vitality of the animals with the advancement in age
might be a reason for a higher mortality amongst older stock. Traumatic percicarditis
was another cause of high mortality. It affected largely the cattle of ages 7 to 10
years. Although no definite reason could be given for the high mortality of the
cows for these ages it was obvious that careless feeding of the stock with the
stacked hay containing pieces of loose wire, nails, etc. resulted in the death of the
animals. Similar high mortality for these ages was also observed for other non-
contagious diseases. The mortality from the contagious diseases was minimum
due to the timely adopted prophylactic measures.
SUMMARY
A study of the ages of 1917 Hariana cows and 28 Hariana stud bulls, extending
over a period of 15 years and 18 years respectively, showed that :
1. The mean age at which the cow first freshened was found to be 58.83±0.20
months.
2. The average reproductive life of a cow was 76.88±0.92 months.
3. The average number of calvings during the life time of a cow was 4.67±0.11
4. The average life of the cow was 136.30±0.95 months and that of the bull
was 98.1±4.6. The maximum age recorded for the cow and the breeding
bull was 18 years 9 months 7 days and 15 years 9 months 21 days res-
pectively.
5. The highest mortality in the herd was due to tuberculosis and most of the
cattle between the ages 7 to 10 years died of other non-contagious diseases.
REFERENCES
1 . Asdell, A. S. (1946). Comparative chronologic age in man and other mammals. J. Gerontology 1,
224-236
2 . Einsiedl, A (1952). Fertility and duration of life in Pinzgan cattle. Vet. Dissertation, Munich.
3 . Lacy, M. D. (1932). The ages of sires and dams of registered Hereford cattle. Am. Soc. Ari. Pord.
4 . Plum, M. And Lush, J. L. (1934). Freshening ages of pure bred cows in Iowa cow testing associa-
tions. J. Dairy Sci. 17, 625-638
5 . Sharma, G. P., Vali, K. N. and Suri, K. R. (1951). Studies on the Hariana breed of cattle. Res.
Bull. E. Pb. Univ. 18, 57-68
6 . Smith, A. D. B. and Robinson, O. J. (1931). The average ages of cows and bulls in six breeds of
cattle. J. Agr. Sci. 21, 136-149
7 . ——(1953). Zebu cattle of India and Pakistan. Food and Agricultural Organisation, Rome : 256 p.
A HIGH PROTEIN VERSUS A NORMAL PROTEIN RATION
FOR EGG PRODUCTION IN POULTRY
By ALEX REED1 and JOHN G. VELU2, Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad,
U.P.
[Received for publication on April 3, 1957
Accepted for publication on May 16, 1957]
I N most of the important egg producing countries, protein feeds are costlier
than cereal grains. Much work has, therefore, been done in this direction with a
view to developing economical rations for poultry which may have less amount
of costly protein feed. However, same price relationship does not exist in many
areas of India. In some areas the cost of protein concentrates such as groundnut
cake is less than the cost of cereal grains.
Jull [1938], Heuser [1946], Winter and Funk [1947], Bird [1948], and Romanoff
and Romanoff [1949] have reported that when feeding an all mash ration to laying
hens, it should contain approximately 16 per cent protein as the optimum amount.
Vernon et al. [1942] found that from an economic standpoint the all mash ration
for laying hens should contain not more than 16 per cent protein although an 18 to
20 per cent protein ration produced a few more eggs. This work was carried out in
an area where protein feeds are more costly than cereal grains.
Ewing [1951] reported that increasing the percentage of protein in the diet of
laying hens within limits of 11.2 per cent and 23.6 per cent, increased egg production,
egg weight and body weight. He also stated that when from 62 to 94 per cent of
an all animal protein supplement was replaced with peanut meal (groundnut cake)
there was no reduction in egg production, hatchability or livability.
The economic relationship between groundnut cake and cereal grains favours
the use of a higher percentage of groundnut cake and less grain in poultry rations.
It was considered desirable to determine the effects upon egg production and feed
consumption of a ration containing 30 per cent total protein with groundnut cake
making up 54 per cent of the total ration, as compared with a normal ration.
EXPERIMENTAL
Fifty-eight White Leghorn pullets about five months of age, hatched at the
same time and raised on the Agricultural Institute farm, were randomly divided
into two groups. The groups were assigned by chance to one of the two adjacent
1. Professor, University of Illinois, College of Agriculture, assigned to the Allahabad Agricultural
Institute for research in Animal Nutrition.
2. Member of Staff, Department of Animal Husbandry, Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad,
U.P.
111
18 AR/57
1.
112
RATION
FOR
EGG
PRODUCTION
[Vol. XXVII, Part III,
pens of equal size and type in which no hens had been kept previously. The groups
were assigned by chance to the high protein or normal ration (Table I). Both
groups were fed ad libitum.
A small amount of greens was given to each group daily.
Weights of individual birds were recorded at the beginning and each month
thereafter until the end of the experiment.
The total amount of feed consumed by each group was recorded monthly.
TABLE I
Composition of rations used
Ingredients
Ground yellow maize
Wheat bran
Groundnut cake (decorticated)
Gram
Pish meal
Oyster shell
Mineral mixture*
Total protein (N × 6.25)
Average cost per 100 pounds
No. I (High protein)
10 per cent
15 per cent
54 per cent
10 per cent
5 per cent
3 per cent
3 per cent
30.31 per cent
Rs. 8/11/6
No. II (Normal protein
38 per cent
15 per cent
26 per cent
10 per cent
5 per cent
3 per cent
3 per cent
21.73 per cent
Rs. 9/15/6
* Containing 50 per cent salt, 50 per cent sterilized bone meal plus 0.05 per cent potassium
iodide.
Daily production of eggs was recorded for each group. The experimental period
was from September 10, 1955 to April 10, 1956.
At Allahabad this is the cooler period of the year.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The total numbers of eggs produced daily by each group from the date of first
egg until completion of the project are shown in Table II. The group of pullets
on the normal protein ration produced the first egg on October 13 and the group
on the high protein ration produced the first egg on October 20. During the
month of October ten hens on the normal protein ration produced at least one egg
while only eight hens on the high protein ration produced at least one egg during
the month.
September, 1957] ALEX REED AND JOHN G. VELU 113
TABLE II
Total eggs produced daily by two groups of White Leghorn hens from October 13,
1955 to April 9, 1956
(Started with 29 birds in each group and ended with 26 birds in each group)
Date
Oct. 13
.. 14
.. 15
.. 16
.. 17
.. 18
.. 19
.. 20
.. 21
.. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
.. 30
.. 31
NOV. 1
.. 2
..
3
..
4
..
5
..
6
..
7
..
8
..
9
.. 10
.. 11
.. 12
.. 13
.. 14
Protein
Normal
2
1
0
1
0
2
3
2
3
4
3
2
5
4
5
4
4
5
7
5
9
7
8
10
7
7
11
5
9
7
8
9
11
High
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
2
3
3
4
8
3
7
2
4
7
7
7
6
9
10
8
10
10
12
7
13
11
Date
Nov 15
.. 16
.. 17
.. 18
.. 19
.. 20
.. 21
.. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
.. 30
Dec. 1
..
2
..
3
..
4
..
5
..
6
..
7
..
8
.. 9
.. 10
.. 11
.. 12
.. 13
.. 14
.. 15
.. 16
.. 17
Protein
Normal
9
11
9
8
6
7
9
7
11
9
7
12
7
4
10
9
6
9
10
10
11
12
12
7
11
4
7
2
4
2
5
3
4
High
9
10
12
8
12
10
12
13
10
12
13
10
12
11
12
11
12
8
15
11
13
15
11
12
17
11
13
10
8
8
11
9
6
Date
Dec. 18
.. 19
.. 20
.. 21
.. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
.. 30
.. 31
Jan. 1
.. 2
..
3
..
4
..
5
..
6
..
7
..
8
.. 9
.. 10
.. 11
.. 12
.. 13
.. 14
.. 15
.. 16
.. 17
.. 18
.. 19
Protein
Normal
4
5
6
5
3
2
0
1
0
2
0
1
0
2
4
6
6
9
13
8
11
13
6
13
S
11
6
8
6
11
8
6
13
High
14
9
9
12
4
8
7
10
11
7
12
13
10
11
15
12
11
17
15
10
14
17
18
13
17
10
8
11
10
10
15
10
12
Date
Jan. 20
.. 21
.. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
.. 30
.. 31
Feb. 1
..
2
..
3
..
4
..
5
..
6
..
7
..
8
..
9
.. 10
.. 11
.. 12
.. 13
.. 14
.. 15
.. 16
.. 17
.. 18
.. 19
.. 20
.. 21
Protein
Normal
9
9
16
14
11
14
9
9
12
12
13
8
16
11
13
15
12
10
13
13
9
11
13
17
12
10
16
16
9
12
15
15
13
High
17
13
15
15
16
15
14
13
20
13
17
14
14
19
14
16
18
15
21
9
20
15
17
17
17
17
20
17
23
15
19
14
20
114
RATION FOE EGG PRODUCTION
[Vol. XXVII, Part II
TABLE III—(contd.)
Total eggs produced daily by two groups of White Leghorn hens from October 13,
1955 to April 9, 1956
Date
Feb. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
Mar. 1
..
2
..
3
..
4
..
5
..
6
Protein
Normal
15
14
15
11
19
14
17
14
18
16
13
14
17
9
High
17
16
15
15
19
17
17
12
22
17
16
16
21
13
Date
Mar. 7
..
8
..
9
.. 10
.. 11
.. 12
.. 13
.. 14
.. 15
.. 16
.. 17
.. 18
.. 19
.. 20
Protein
Normal
17
16
14
10
16
14
14
16
10
18
14
14
13
16
High
19
21
19
20
16
19
17
16
16
16
18
16
15
17
Date
Mar. 21
.. 22
.. 23
.. 24
.. 25
.. 26
.. 27
.. 28
.. 29
.. 30
.. 31
Apr. 1
..
2
..
3
Protein
Normal
11
19
5
16
16
9
12
10
14
8
7
10
7
8
High
13
13
13
12
18
13
16
11
17
15
15
12
13
14
Date
Apr. 4
..
5
..
6
..
7
..
8
..
9
total
Average
Daily
Protein
Normal
7
7
8
8
9
9
1636
9.1
High
16
18
11
11
14
22
2199
12.2
The average daily production of the hens on the high protein ration was 12.2
eggs and of those on the normal protein ration 9.1 eggs daily for the 180 days from
the time, the first egg was gathered to the completion of the experiment. The
difference is highly significant statistically.
Analysis of variance of daily egg production of two groups of White Leghorn hens
Source of Variation
Treatment
Days
Error
dF
1
179
179
Sum of Squares
880.5
7,424.1
1,450.0
Mean Square
880.5**
41.5
8.1
**=Highly Significant.
September, 1957]
ALEX
REED
AND
JOHN
G.
VELU
115
Because of a mild infestation with intestinal roundworms the hens in both groups
were treated with carbon tetrachloride on December 20, 1955.
There was no significant difference in body weight at each of the monthly
weighings
TABLE III
Average body weight of White Leghorn hens at monthly intervals from September
10,1955 to April 10, 1956
Weight on indicated dates (lb.)
Ration
High protein
Normal protein
Sept. 10
2.42
2.45
Oct. 10
2.78
2.88
Nov. 10
3.45
3.33
Dec. 10
3.63
3.50
Jan. 10
3.70
3.82
Feb. 10
3.93
3.98
Mch. 1.0
3.94
3.68
Apr. 10
3.80
3.53
There was no significant difference in the amount of feed consumed by the two
groups of hens (Table IV).
TABLE IV
Total amount of feed consumed monthly from September 10, 1955 to April 10, 1956
by two groups of White Leghorn hens
Date
September 10 to October 10
October 10 to November 10
November 10 to December 10
December 10 to January 10
January 10 to February 10
February 10 to March 10
March 10 to April 10
Total feed
Ration
High protein
(lb.)
190.5
207.0
245.0
225.0
260.0
230.0
219.0
1576.5
Normal portein
(lb.)
180.0
180.0
206.0
248.0
258.0
228.0
233.0
1533.0
The amount of feed consumed per dozen eggs produced during the seven months
period of the experiment was 8.59 pounds on the high protein ration and 11.13 pounds
on the normal protein ration. With the high protein ration costing Rs. 8/11/6 per
hundred pounds and the normal protein ration costing Rs. 9/15/6 per hundred pounds
18AR/5
11
116
RATION FOR EGG
PRODUCTION
[Vol. XXVII, Part III
the total feed cost per dozen eggs produced was twelve annas for the high protein
and Rs. 1/1/9 per dozen for the normal protein rations, respectively.
The mortality rate was the same in each group. Three hens died from each
group. Two of the deaths, one in each group, were accidentally caused during the
treatment with carbon tetrachloride.
SUMMARY
One group of twenty-nine White Leghorn pullets was fed on the commonly
recommended all-mash ration containing approximately 21 per cent protein while
a similar group of twenty-nine was fed on an all-mash ration containing approxi-
mately 30 per cent protein for a period of seven months.
There was a highly significant difference in daily egg production in favour of the
high protein ration.
The difference in the amount of feed consumed by the two groups was not statisti-
cally significant.
The hens on the normal protein ration consumed 11.1 pounds feed per dozen
eggs produced and the hens on the high protein ration consumed 8.6 pounds feed
per dozen eggs produced during the seven months of the experiment. The cost of
feed per dozen eggs produced by the group on the normal protein ration was Rs. 1/1/9
while the group on the high protein ration produced eggs at a feed cost of twelve
annas per dozen.
There was no difference in mortality in the two groups.
On the basis of this one trial it appears that under Allahabad conditions, laying
hens will do as well and possibly somewhat better on a ration containing more
groundnut cake and less maize than on a similarly compounded ration containing
less groundnut cake and more maize. The difference in cost of the two rations at
Allahabad favours the use of the high protein ration for laying hens.
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