Vechur Cow, Vechur cow breeding programme, Vechur cattle.

Vechoor cow is One of the dwarf cattle breed from Kerala among the 30 cattle breeds found in India.  This Vechoor cow is the first among Kerlala Cattle.  This is as per the latest calendar of Indian Council of Agrocultural Research (ICAR) on Cattle Breeds of India. 

Vechoor cows from Kottayam district are one of the most sought after cows in the world.  These dwarf cows attracted the attention of the world ists patent  had been registered by a German firm. 

It is said that average Vechur male reaching  a height of about 87 cms and the Vechur  female about 82 cms, can even be grown in flats.  Eating anything from kitchen  wastes to wall posters, the Vechur cow’s daily yield of milk is between 2 to 3 litres.  This animal has been made out as an ideal cow for the milk requirements of every house hold.

 The  Veterinary college, Mannuthy, in Thrissur District  in Kerala has been engaged in a project of breeding Vechur Cows which have a long waiting line of buyers.  The Vetineray college has a good specimen of bulls and cows. 

    The Vechur cow has now attracted international recognition and attention . The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has listed the Vechur cattle among the Indian breeds in their Domestic Animal Diversity Information System. The World Watch List of Domestic Animal Diversity, also published by the FAO, has listed the Vechur cattle under the category of Critical Breeds, meaning nearly extinct.
    The credit of saving the Vechur cattle from the brink of extinction goes to a conservation programme undertaken by the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU). Had the programme been delayed for a few years, the Vechur cattle would have now been listed among the extinct animals.
   
The studies conducted by Kerala Agricultural University shows that this is the smallest cattle available in the world.  Before this was recognized, the smallest cattle known was a Mexican breed measuring  100 cms in height. The height of a Vechur cow is maximum 91 cms.  Average weight of the cow is also calculated to be 107 Kgs.  Rated as the smallest cow in the world, the Vechur Cow is valued for the large quantity of quality of milk it produces in terms of its food intake and proportionate to its body weight, the Vechur cow yields maximum milk in the world.  The highlights of Vechur cows are dwarfism, small intake of food, high resistance to disease  and pleasant, quite disposition. 

Vechur cow got its  name from the village where it is supposed to have evolved.  The place Vechur is Kottayam District in Kerala. The people of the area had distinguished the Vechur cow from others by means of certain inheritable and defined charecterestics.  By the selective method of breeding the Vechur