MILK PRODUCTION OF LOCAL AND MURRAH CROSSBRED BUFFALOES AND LOCAL AND JERSEY CROSSBRED COWS ON FARMS IN THE HILLS OF EASTERN NEPAL

The lactation milk yields of 209 buffaloes and cattle were measured on farms in Taplejung and Dhankuta Districts in East Nepal. This includes local and crossbred buffaloes and cows. The average milk yield (${\pm}\;SD$) of 97 local buffaloes was $833\;{\pm}\;94.6\;kg$ whereas that for 83 local cows was only $455\;{\pm}\;61.5\;kg$. The milk yield of buffaloes decreased with number of calvings, but that for the cows increased. The milk yields of 18 Murrah crossbreds were on average 215 kg higher than the yields of local buffaloes, and the yields of 11 Jersey crossbred cows averaged 247 kg more than the local cows. Lactation length (${\pm}\;SD$) which averaged $326\;{\pm}\;100$ days for the buffaloes and $292\;{\pm}\;98$ days for the cows, was not affected by crossbreeding. The milk yields of the crossbreds were more variable than the local buffaloes and cows. In addition to milk yield the overall productivity of a milking animal depends on calf mortality, age at first calving, calving interval, longevity, food intake, the work performance of male cattle and the meat production of male buffaloes. Among these parameters, the work performance of Jersey crossbred and local male cattle was studied later. However, other factors could not be measured.