Faridabad: Even today, animal husbandry is the main employment in most of the houses in Mirzapur village of Faridabad. People here especially rear buffaloes of Murrah breed because this breed is considered to be the highest milk yielding buffalo of Haryana. Many families of the village earn their livelihood from the milk of these buffaloes. Due to good milk, good care and proper eating habits, these buffaloes give milk continuously for about 10 to 11 months in a year, due to which their demand is also high.
Price is in lakhs
While talking to Local18, Mahavir Nagar tells that he is originally a resident of Tigaon, Ballabhgarh, but he has a dairy in Mirzapur village. He tells that at present he has 16 buffaloes of Murrah breed. Buffaloes of Murrah breed are very strong and have good milk production. Mahavir tells that a good Murrah buffalo is available for around Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh and most of the good quality buffaloes are brought from Jind.
How much milk do you give in a day?
Mahavir Nagar says that his buffaloes give 18 to 20 kg milk in a day, but for this their right eating habits are very important. We give cottonseed, gram powder, cake, peel and calcium to the buffaloes. Special care has to be taken in winter. Jaggery, fenugreek and cottonseed are given daily, this prevents the buffaloes from feeling cold. In summer they stop giving cottonseeds and keep cool things like barley flour and gram powder on them.
Expenses incurred in maintaining buffaloes
Mahavir explains that fans and coolers are installed in the summer season, while curtains are put up in the winter season to protect from cold. It is also important to bathe buffaloes with water daily, this keeps their body clean and prevents any infection. He says, a buffalo costs around Rs 600 per day. She also eats 8 to 9 kg of ration and 5 to 6 kg of zucchini every day.
Murrah buffaloes are a profitable deal
Regarding the price of milk, Mahavir says that in the village milk is sold for Rs 80 to Rs 85 per liter, whereas in Faridabad city the same milk reaches Rs 100 per liter. Mahavir Nagar has been running a dairy since 2002 and says that animal husbandry has been the main source of income for his family for 22 consecutive years. He says that if hard work and care is taken properly, Murrah breed of buffaloes are still the most reliable source of income for the farmers.
