Out of Gir, calves will learn survival lessons

AHMEDABAD: Technology has come to the rescue of pure-bred calves of Gir cows and Jaffarabadi buffaloes, which have a high mortality rate.

In a bid to contain the high death rate of the calves in the first three months of birth, Junagadh Agriculture University is building a special shed on the basis of a technology developed by an IIM-A professor.

The shed being constructed at the Cattle Breeding Farm in JAU using award-winning Earth Tube Heat Exchanger (ETHE) technology developed by Girija Sharan will maintain conducive temperature to help young calves survive.

The ETHE technology was initially designed for greenhouse where the temperature needs to be constant to increase yield. It uses earth's heat to keep temperature inside a dwelling constant at 27-28 degrees Celsius.

"At a given point of time, we have nearly 100-120 young calves, less than three months old, in our breeding farm. They need to be dealt with extra caution as they are very sensitive to variation in temperature," JAU Research Scientist and Head of the Cattle Breeding Farm, P U Gajbhiya told PTI.

"Despite all the care we take, nearly 10-12 per cent of calves of Gir cows die within three months of birth. The mortality among calves of Jafrabadi buffaloes is higher at 20 per cent. This is mainly because of the variation in temperature here," Gajbhiya said.

"So, we are building a special shed using the ETHE technology. It will be completed in a couple of months."