Abstract

A study was conducted to find out various feeding management practices of Vechur cattle farmers of Kerala. Three districts of the state namely Kottayam, Thrissur and Palakkad were selected for the study. By employing chain referral sampling, a total of 60 farmers were selected as respondents and data were collected through personal interview method using a structured pretested interview schedule. It was found that majority (75%) of the farmers followed tethering and only 5 percent practiced grazing. All the farmers fed their animals green grass and majority (75%) prepared concentrate feed mixtures on their own. Only 15 per cent of farmers gave commercially available concentrate feed to their animals. Only 20 per cent of the farmers provided supplements like mineral mixture or calcium. About 36.67 per cent of the farmers had fodder cultivation.

Keywords : Feeding practice, Indigenous breed, Vechur cattle