Reproduction and Breeding
Buffaloes are said to be seasonal breeders. However, this is a simplification of the truth. Buffaloes are polyestral animals and may breed all year round. Both males and females are sensitive to heat stress and to changes in nutrition. These factors contribute to a lesser frequency of breeding and conception rate in the summer time.
2.1 Breeds
The domesticated river buffalo is divided into several breeds (see Table A). The most important in milk production in India is the Murrah breed. The Murrah originates from the area around Delhi. From that area it has been spread to other parts of India. The breeds Surti and Nili-Ravi are believed to have developed from the Murrah through geographical isolation. The Nili-Ravi buffaloes were two different breeds (Nili and Ravi) but are now considered to be a single breed. The Kundi breed is also of importance in the milk production.
Traditionally the breeds of Europe have been of the local Mediterranean type and the breeds of Caucasia, the Caucasian type. The most important breed of Bulgaria is the Bulgarian Murrah, which is the result of the cross breeding between the local Mediterranean buffaloes and the Indian Murrah followed by upgrading with Indian Murrah. Cross breeding the local buffaloes with high yielding elite buffaloes has not started in several countries.
Table A: River breeds of the world
| Geography |
Large size |
Medium size |
| Pakistan, North India |
Murrah
Nili-Ravi
Kundi |
Bhadawari
|
| Central India |
Jafrabadi |
Surti
Mehsana
Nagpuri
Pandharpuri
Marathwada
Dharwar |
| South India |
|
Toda
Malabari |
| Egypt |
Beheri |
Saidi |
| Bulgaria |
Bulg. Murrah |
Mediterranean |
| Brazil |
Murrah
Nili-Ravi
Kundi
Jafrabadi |
Nagpuri
Surti
Bhadawari |
| Italy |
|
Mediterranean |
2.2 Males
Bulls reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years of age. Semen is produced all year round but it is highly affected by heat stress and low quality feed. The buffalo bull seems to be most fertile in spring when the volume of ejaculate and the sperm concentration is the highest. The vitality of the sperms are also much higher in spring than other times of the year. Corresponding values are lowest in summer time. Heat stress may have a negative effect on libido.
2.3 Females
Wild or feral female buffaloes reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years of age. Domesticated buffaloes that are cared for and fed properly may reach puberty earlier. Puberty is highly affected by management factors. Size is more important than age and a Murrah heifer should weigh around 325 kg at insemination or mating and 500 kg at her first calving.
The estrus cycle varies between 21 and 29 days depending on breed. The total duration of estrus is usually 24 hours but varies between 12-72 hours. The most reliable sign of estrus is frequent urination. The signs are much less pronounced than in cattle. Many buffaloes show estrus only at night time, and then it is difficult to detect. A lactating animal may have a slight decrease in milk yield when in heat, although it is seldom as pronounced as in cattle. The buffalo may be more restless and be difficult to milk.
Buffaloes, generally, have more difficulty conceiving when using artificial insemination than cattle do. Reports from NDRI, Karnal, India, shows that the conception rate for first insemination is around 40% and the conception rate for third insemination is around 77%
The gestation period for buffaloes averages 308 to 318 days. The age of the heifer at her first calving is usually around 37-40 months (3 to 3.5 years).
The first post partum heat varies greatly with season, breed and individual. It has been reported to appear within less than 60 days in some cases and over 230 in others. Average post partum estrus in the Murrah breed of India has been reported to be 100 days. The first post partum estrus is not always fertile, especially if it comes very near partus.
Table B
| Breed/Country |
Gestation Period, Days |
Age at First Calving in Months |
Services per Conception |
Calving Interval, Days |
| Egypt |
315 |
|
1.8 (AI) |
452 |
| Egypt |
315 |
|
1.42 |
400 |
| Iraq |
|
37 |
|
408 |
Mediterranean/
Bulgaria |
315-318 |
37 |
|
434 |
| Mediterranean/Italy |
308-312 |
39 |
|
425 |
Mediterranean/
Rumania |
315 |
39 |
|
433 |
| Murrah/Bulgaria |
312 |
38 |
|
436 |
| Murrah/India |
307-314 |
38 |
1-3.5 |
334-537 |
| Murrah/Nepal |
|
52.3 |
|
594
|
| Nili-Ravi/Pakistan 308 |
|
43-48 |
|
528
|
| Native/Nepal |
|
44.5 |
|
570 |
2.4 Breeding
In order to achieve a high lifetime milk production, regularity in conception and a short calving interval are the most important factors. The female must be serviced soon after the calving in order to conceive.
Having a breeding bull with the dams all the time enhances the chances of fertile mating. This bull seldom misses a female in heat. However, to be able to calculate the time of calving it is advisable to keep some sort of record of expected heat. The observant farmer will soon learn how his buffaloes behave when in heat and when to expect conception and calving. The females can be teased with a bull twice a day around expected estrus.
A breeding bull can be put into service from 3 years of age. In Italy, it is recommended that a breeding bull on a large farm should be exchanged after a maximum of 5 years. One bull, if managed correctly, can serve 20 to 25 females. In a smaller farm, the bull should be exchanged more often to avoid interbreeding. If the bull shows signs of loss of interest in the females or is otherwise ill, he should be taken out of service immediately.
In order to perform best, the bulls must be fed high quality feed and be protected from heat and cold stress in the same ways as the rest of the herd. Bulls should not be used for service more than twice a week.
Calving interval is highly dependable on season of breeding, farm and year and can therefore be shorter in some farms while longer in others. (See table B). In order to shorten the calving interval the female should be serviced again as soon as possible after calving (See Figure 6).
Weaning of calves at birth has shown to decrease the service period compared to unweaned buffaloes. A shorter service period will lead to a shorter calving interval (see Figure 6); a calving interval of less than 410 days is recommended.
Although intensive research is going on at various universities and institutions around the world, breeding programs for buffaloes are not readily available for the common farmer. In the state of Gujarat in India, the National Dairy Development Board has a breed improvement program called Dairy Herd Improvement Programme Actions (DIPA). The genetic gain of the buffaloes are being increased through selection of sires to breed sires and dams to breed sires. A progeny testing program is being followed producing 100 completed first lactation records of progeny per bull. 20 bulls are put to test every year, 2000 doses of frozen semen from each bull is being distributed to the selected villages and 5000 doses are stored until the test results are available.
By replacing good milking buffaloes with their own daughters instead of purchasing new buffaloes from the market some advantages are gained. Firstly, spreading of diseases is limited compared to selling and purchasing on the market. Secondly, the farmer has full control over his herd. He knows the heritage of each buffalo and can make more accurate decisions concerning the future. He will know whether the buffalo has had any diseases or problems with fertility. The buffaloes will get to know the farmer and are therefore easier to handle, which is most important when it comes to machine milking.
High milk yield, ease to milk, short let down time, high conception rate and temperament are some of the selection criteria which are desirable in a good breeding buffalo.
When creating a breeding program it is important to keep records of the buffaloes (see Appendix 2, breeding records). Heritage, milk yield of mother, peak yield, lactation length, services per conception are parameters that are important to keep track of. When breeding for a higher milk yield it is especially important to register the milk production correctly at regular intervals. The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) has put up some basic rules for milk recording which are similar in all countries:
- all buffaloes of the herd must be recorded
- milk yield should be recorded once a month
- lactation yield is calculated by summing the average yield of two consecutive tests multiplied by the number of days between tests
- lactation duration should be 270 to 310 days
Acknowledgements:
The main author of Buffalo Milk Production is Mikaela Stahl Hogberg, Agr. Lic. Animal Husbandry, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, SLU, Sweden . For significant and special efforts the following contributors are in particular acknowledged:
- Ole Lind, Delaval, Tumba, Sweden
- Prof. Dr. N.C. Ganguli, former Secretary of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, India
- Dr.S.C. Chopra, Director of Research, C. G. S. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar India
- Dr. Saad Alhayani, Director, Dunaya, Cairo, Egypt
- Mr. C. S. Thomas, Officer Buffalo Projects, Alfa Laval Agri, Pune, India
- Mr. G. Cionini, former President, Alfa Laval Agri, Italy
- Mr. G. Merlo, former Marketing Manager Milking, Alfa Laval Agri, Italy
- Mr. E. Crespo, ProductCenter Manager, Buffaloes, Alfa Laval Agri, Sweden
- Dr. K. Svennersten-Sjaunja, L O SjaunjaAB (LOSAB), Uppsala, Sweden
Appendices & Further Reading:
Appendix 1, dairy farm journal
Appendix 2, breeding records
Appendix 3, quality control
Selected references and further reading
Related Links:
An encompassing article on water buffalo including links to additional web sites |