~ 939 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2018; 6(5): 939-941 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2018; 6(5): 939-941 © 2018 JEZS Received: 24-07-2018 Accepted: 25-08-2018 Arun Prabhakar MVSc. Scholar, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India Sofi Aaqib Rashid Ph.D. scholar, LPM section, National Dairy Research Institute, Haryana, India Atul Kumar Singh Tomar Principal Scientist, LPM section, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India Vipin Maurya Ph.D. scholar, LPM section, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India Ganga Prakash Channa Ph.D. scholar, LPM section, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India Correspondence Arun Prabhakar MVSc. Scholar, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India Effect of coat characteristics on milk production and milk composition traits in Tharparkar cattle Arun Prabhakar, Sofi Aaqib Rashid, Atul Kumar Singh Tomar, Vipin Maurya and Ganga Prakash Channa Abstract The present study was conducted on a total of 24 Tharparkar cattle (Bos indicus) at Cattle and Buffalo farm (Indian Veterinary Research Institute. The objective was to study the effect of coat characteristics like coat colour, coat score coat thickness etc. on milk production and milk composition traits. Animals were divided into 2 groups: light grey (LG) and dark grey (DG), on the basis of coat colour. Light coloured and thin coated cattle produced more milk with higher values of milk fat, protein, milk solids etc. (p< 0.01). Coat score (higher coat score implies rough, long and a more wooly hair coat) had an inverse relationship with milk production as well as composition (p< 0.01). Cattle with lower hair densities (<400 hair/cm 2 ) had higher milk yields (p< 0.05) than with higher hair densities (>400 hair/cm 2 ). Other coat characteristics like weight of hair coat, hair diameter etc. did not show any significant effect either on milk yield or milk composition. From the present study, it can be concluded that skin and coat characteristics can be used as potential selection tools to improve production potential of cattle especially in tropics. Keywords: Coat score, Tharparkar, hair density, coat thickness 1. Introduction Animal husbandry is an integral part of Indian agriculture. Cattle and buffaloes are important contributors to our national economy. India has 41 registered cattle breeds which thrive in different agro-climatic regions. Major milch breeds include Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar and Gir. Tharparkar is an important indigenous milch breed ( Bos Indicus) with lyre –horns. The animals are very well adapted to desert conditions due to their capacity to thrive on poor quality forage and high heat tolerance. The composition of milk from dairy animals is of major interest to milk producers, processors and consumers because of its health related issues and also market demand [1] . It directly affects the economy of milk production as well as the economic condition of dairy farmers, though the composition of milk has received little attention in breeding programs [2] . Various traits related to the coat of animals have been correlated with milk production. Coat characteristics including coat color, coat type, coat score etc. are closely related with the milk production traits. The morphological characteristics of the skin (color and thickness) and of the hair coat (thickness, number of hair per unit area, diameter of the hair, length of the hair) regulate exchange of heat with the environment and thus are important with respect to the overall productive performance of animals [3] . It was found that the phenotypic correlation of skin and coat traits with economically important traits of growth, milk production and reproduction were mostly significant [4] . The information on milk composition and genetic and non-genetic factors influencing milk constituents traits in Indian dairy cattle especially in Tharparkar is meager [2] . It has been reported that the components of the milk are affected by hot weather and there is a reduction in milk protein due to heat stress. Since, coat traits are closely related with the maintenance of body temperature and occurrence of heat stress, therefore, it is suggested that these traits may also affect the milk quality and composition of dairy cattle. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to ascertain the effect of various coat characteristics on milk production as well as milk composition. 2. Materials and Methods The coat traits studied were: coat colour (CC), hair density (ρ), coat thickness (TC), weight of hair coat (W) and coat score (CS).