Country: India
Home or breeding tract: Uttarakhand (India)
The Red Hill Cattle or Badri is a dual-purpose ‘native’ cattle breed – reared for milking and draught purposes. The petite Badri cow is found only in the hill districts and was earlier known as the ‘pahadi’ cow. These cattle are well adapted to the hilly terrain and the climatic conditions of Uttarakhand. This sturdy and disease-resistant breed is found in hilly regions of the Almora and Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttarakhand, India.
Disease resistance is a very important characteristic of this breed as it rarely gets any disease. It remains healthy throughout life, as these cattle are live in the natural and fresh, pollution-free condition of the hilly areas of Uttarakhand.
Badri breed is the first registered/certified cattle breed of Uttarakhand. In its endeavor to promote cattle-rearing of the Badri breed, the Indian government has started initiatives by improving marketing facilities, providing nutritious feed and fodder, and providing employment opportunities to the locals of the region.
According to a research study conducted by the Uttarakhand State Council for Science & Technology & IIT Roorkee, the milk of the Badri cow contains almost 90% A2 beta-casein proteins – and is one of the highest in any indigenous varieties.
The constitution of an organized market for the Badri cattle products and the promotion of organic farming with appropriate incentives are needed for promoting Badri cattle-keeping among the farmers of Uttarakhand.
Morphological characteristics
Body: Small sized
Body colour: Red coat colour (Banga et al. 2005) to varied body colours black, brown, red, white or grey (Mohapatra 2017); of which red colour cows are comparatively more in numbers in comparison to others (Chauhan and Prasad 2004).
Eyes: Very bright and alert
Ears: Always erected and show the alertness of the animal
Neck: Wide and small
Horns: Badri Horned cattle
Tail: With black switch
Limbs: Small and straight with hard foot pad and hooves
Udder: Less developed