Indian Animal Breeds
A practical guide to India's indigenous livestock — breed characteristics, home tract, milk and wool yield, and the real benefits each breed offers a farmer.
Browse by Animal
Select a species to explore its registered Indian breeds.
Cattle Breeds
Desi Gauvansh
India has over 50 registered indigenous cattle breeds. Zebu (Bos indicus) cattle are heat tolerant, disease resistant and thrive on low-input feeding, which makes them the backbone of rural dairying and draught power.
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Buffalo Breeds
Bhains / Mahish
The Indian water buffalo contributes nearly half of the country's milk. Buffalo milk is far richer in fat and solids than cow milk, making it the first choice for ghee, khoa, paneer and curd across India.
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Goat Breeds
Bakri — the poor man's cow
With over 30 registered breeds, the goat is India's most accessible livestock. Low capital, fast returns and twin births make goat farming the quickest route to income for landless and marginal families.
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Sheep Breeds
Bhed
India has more than 40 registered sheep breeds, ranging from fine-wool Himalayan types to the hair sheep of the southern plains. Sheep supply wool, mutton, manure and skins from land too dry to farm.
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Pig Breeds
Sukar
Pig farming gives the fastest return of any livestock enterprise: high fertility, rapid growth and efficient feed conversion. Indigenous breeds are well adapted to low-input, backyard rearing in the eastern and north-eastern states.
Explore PigWhy breed knowledge matters
Choosing the right breed for your climate, fodder and market decides whether a livestock enterprise earns or loses. Indigenous breeds resist disease, tolerate heat and produce on low-cost feed. Artificial insemination with proven bulls of the right breed is the fastest way to raise the yield of an existing herd — which is exactly what we train our students to do.
Reference data compiled from the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (Pashupedia) and the ICAR–NBAGR registered breed list. Yield figures are typical ranges and vary with feeding and management.
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