Vechur Cattle Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Vechur cattle breed is a small quaint breed with good milking abilities with their milk said to have medicinal qualities.
The Guinness book of world records claims these cattle to be the smallest cattle breed in the world.
They are sweet, docile and easy to handle with milk that is said to be easily digestible with smaller fat globules they are also very strong, hardy and self-sufficient and there do not require much maintenance.

VECHUR CATTLE BREED OF CATTLE QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
Vechur cows’ milk is thought to have medicinal properties due to its smaller fat globules and easy digestibility.
Country of Origin:	India
Other Names:	None
Main Purpose:	Milk
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Can be used for	Breed, Milk
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most Climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Rare – FAO Critical/Maintained list
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Cattle?	Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level
Cattle Associations:	Vechur Conservation Trust
Cattle Clubs:	Please refer to the Vechur Conservation Trust for more information about the breed
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Vechur Conservation Trust for more information about the breed
Child Friendly?	Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children
General Information:	The Vechur cows’ milk has long since thought to have medicinal qualities. In a study, it was shown that the Vechur cows’ milk may just be healthier than any other cows’ milk. It contains beta casein A2 which is a milk protein that is known to prevent diseases such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, autism, and diabetes. This beta casein A2 is found in higher quantities in the Vechur cow’s milk. Currently, the Vechur cattle breed are listed by the FAO as endangered and are on their watch list. There are also various conservation efforts in place to get the breed numbers back up to a more acceptable level. The Vechur cattle breed are perfect for the small homestead or farmer that are looking for a low maintenance, low cost cattle breed for their farm.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Vechur cattle breed are a small breed of a cow getting no bigger than around 90 cm. They have a small compact muscular body with a protruding hump that is larger in the males than in the females. They have a loose dewlap and long slender but powerful legs. They have a long rectangular face with a straight profile and round cheeks.

Size:

Small

CATTLE ⇒	COW	BULL
Breed Color:	They have a variety of colors from fawn to deep rich reds, chestnut, etc.	They have a variety of colors from fawn to deep rich reds, chestnut, etc.
Breed Weight:	130 kgs	130 kgs
Breed Height:	90 cm	90 cm
Horns:	Yes, they have small thick horns	Yes, they have small thick horns
Temperament:	Calm, docile and easy to manage	Calm, docile and easy to manage
Matures at age:	6 to 8 months or 9 + months	6 to 8 months or 9 + months
Puberty Age:	6 to 15 months	9 to 1o months
Breeding Age:	13 to 15 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Cow breeding & Milking Info	Cover 25 to 30 Cows in 1 season

COW BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
Most Cattle produce milk but not all of them are used in the dairy Cattle capacity for their milk. Cows only calve once a year and should have 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. They have a good quality of milk that some claim to have medicinal qualities, is easy to digest due to its smaller fat globules and contains a higher beta casein variety A2 rather than the A1 variety. The A1 variety is implicated in diseases such as ischemic heart disease, autism, and diabetes. The protein component in the Vechur cows milk has an improved antimicrobial property in it. Vechur Ghee which is clarified butter is produced from the Vechur cows’ milk and is famous because of its medicinal value and is said too much better for the health of convalescing people. The cows are also great mothers, have good maternal instincts and have little to no birthing problems.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 6 to 24 hours Most ave. 12 to 16 hours Cows usually come on heat every 21 days.
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days to 24 days Heifer – usually ave. 20 days Cows – usually ave. 21 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 279 to 287 days but most gestation is 283 days. Cows that are carrying bull calf’s their gestation period is usually a little longer than cows that are carrying heifer calves.
No. Calves/Litter:	1 calf at a time. Cows rarely have twins or triplets, but it can happen
Lactation Period:	Cows lactation period can last for up to about 10 months (305) days.
Milking From:	1 to 6 weeks after Calving
Drying off Period:	The cow should have a 12 to 14-month inter-calving cycle. Drying off period for around 60 days before she can calve again.
Milk Quality:	Excellent, Butterfat = 5% Quantity: 3 liters Per: Day
Milk Ideal for:	Calves, drinking, cheese, and other dairy products
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CATTLE MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Vechur cattle breed is not bred for its meat and it is also a protected breed as it is very rare these days and listed on the FAO endangered species list.

Meat Production?

N/A

CATTLE ⇒	VEAL	BEEF
Ave. Maturity Age:	6 to 8 months	9 months up to 4 years

CATTLE SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Most meat Cattle will have a skin by-product, and these are usually used in some form or just as a hide. They are not bred for meat and they are also quite rare these days.

Skin Production?

N/A

Skin is used to Produce:

Calf/cow skin leather products such as shoes, car seats, fine leather coats, gloves, handbags, belts, furniture, rugs, etc.

CATTLE ⇒	CALF	ADULT
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months for Calf skin	1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

HISTORY

The Vechur cattle breed are named for the village of Vechoor in Kottayam district of the Kerala state of India. They have for many a generation been noted for the great and healthy milk supply in comparison to the amount of feed it requires.

A professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Sosamma Lype along with a team helped save the breed from complete extinction when they put together a conservation project on behalf of the breed in 1989. In 1998 a conservation trust was set up for the breed and continues with the help of various farmers.

The Vechur cattle breed feel out of popularity when native breeds of cattle were being crossbred with the more exotic breed in order to increase milk or beef production. There are still only around 200 of the cattle in existence today of which 100 of them are kept at the Veterinary College. They are in dire need of more farmers to help turn the breeds numbers around to a much more positive set.