Housing Patterns for Dairy Cattle in Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

A field work was conducted to assess the effect of climatic variables on dairy cattle under different housing patterns in Nilgiri, the Hilly zone of Tamil Nadu, India.  Initially a survey was conducted in this agroclimatic zone of Tamil Nadu with a prestructured interview schedule for identifying the present dairy cattle housing patterns, production and management measures. The annual compounded growth rates of T. maximum, T. minimum and temperature humidity index (THI) were worked out on the basis of the representative areas selected for the study. The result showed that the highest values for T. Max (Mean±SD) were recorded in metal sheet roofed shelter (22.13±1.66 ºC); whereas T. Min was reported in open housing (11.94±1.09 ºC). However, during cold season there was no significant difference (p<0.05) between the housing systems in temperature and THI at 8:00 am. The overall result of analysis of housing pattern in hilly zone indicated that the prevailing environmental condition in hilly zone is conducive for commercial dairy farming in all seasons.

Keywords: Dairy housing, hilly areas, temperature, THI, season

Cite this Article

T. Sivakumar, P. T. Suraj, A. Yasotha et al. Housing Patterns for Dairy Cattle in Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, India. Research & Reviews: Journal of Dairy Science and Technology. 2016; 5(2):  21–24p.