Comparative study of feeding and breeding management practices of dairy farmers in two different production systems

A field survey was conducted in peri urban and urban areas of Hyderabad city of Telangana state. The data was collected from hundred farmers selected from ten mandals by simple random sampling method for the study. The data on feeding and breeding management practices was collected by personal contact by using a pre-tested questionnaire. The study revealed that farmers followed colostrum feeding to new born calves, fed concentrates in soaked form before milking to the lactating animals, practiced haymaking, provided extra allowance during advanced pregnancy and fed mineral supplements. Proper heat detection and insemination ofthe animalsat righttime was significantly(P<0.01) higher in peri urban areasthan urban area. Majority of farmers followed combination of A.I and natural service formating of their animals. Most of the farmers followed pregnancy diagnosis at three months in the peri urban (82.0%) area than in urban (36.0%) area. Majority of the dairy farmers bred their animals between 3–5 months after calving in urban and peri-urban areas. Overall farmers were well aware of scientific and organized herd management practices.