Vol. 10, Special Issue 2 (2021)

Author(s):
Muhammed Asif M, Reeja George P, Jiji RS, Anil Zachariah, Dinesh CN and Vidya P

Abstract:
A study was conducted among the traditional keepers of the Wayanad dwarf cattle, the Kuruma tribal folk to describe the sustainable livestock production system adopted by this community as per established guidelines. Data were collected by personal interviews of 30 keepers of the Wayanad dwarf cattle after a prior pilot study to identify descriptors of the system. The results of the study indicated that full day grazing of animals was resorted to by the Kuruma tribes people for meeting the major feeding requirement of the Wayanad dwarf cattle. Straw was fed to the Wayanad dwarf cows by just over three fourth of the respondents. None of the respondents fed their animals market made concentrate feed mixtures. Very few tribal keepers fed their animal’s rice gruel and other home made locally available concentrates like rice and wheat bran. None of the cattle keepers provided separate watering facilities for their animals in the cattle barns. Traditional water sources within and adjoining the forests such as rivers, ponds and paddy fields were a major source of drinking water for the grazing Wayanad dwarf cattle as reported by over eighty six per cent of respondents.