CLASSIFICATION OF BUFFALO

• FAMILY BOVIDAE
– Subfamily Bovinae
• Tribe Bovini
– Genus Bubalus
» Domestic Asian water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis
» Wild Asian water buffalo, Bubalus arnee
» Lowland anoa, Bubalus depressicornis
» Mountain anoa, Bubalus quarlesi
» Tamaraw, Bubalus mindorensis
» Cebu tamaraw†, Bubalus cebuensis (extinct)
Buffalo population in Indonesia
4,000,000

3,500,000
Population (head)

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Year
 Percentage
Distribution of lain-lain, NAD, 14.8

Buffalo sumsel, 3.8

Jateng, 5.4
19.0
sumut, 10.3

Sumbar,
Sulsel, 6.3 10.0
Jabar, 7.2 NTB, 7.9
NTT, 7.6 Banten, 7.7

Population

400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
 Maluku + irian,
Sulawesi, 7.5 1.5
Percentage
Kalimantan, 3.3

Sumatera, 49.1

Jawa ++, 38.6

Distribution based
on island
Population

1000000

800000

600000

400000

200000

0
Sumatera Jawa ++ Kalimantan Sulawesi Maluku + irian
Habitat of River Buffalo
• chromosomes
– Swamp buffalo = 48
– River buffalo = 50
– Cattle = 60

• Buffalo classification
based on
– Body hair
– Body color
– Ear size and shape
– Skull and forehead
– Horn shape
Asian Buffalo African Buffalo
• Often called water • Short spinal ridge
buffalo • Solid body
• Thicker hair layer conformation with
• Small ear thin layer of hair
• narrow and long • Wide and big ear
skull • Short skull
• horns grow • Thicker horn with
outward, and curve bosses nearly touch
in a semicircle each other
 Differentiation between swamp and river buffalo
parameters Swamp buffalo River buffalo
type Draft animal dairy
Latin name Buffelusus asiaticus Buffelusus asiaticus
paludestris reparius
Mammary gland Less develop Develop, in the right
position
growth Mature > 3 years Mature < 3 years
Length of pregnancy 325 – 330 days 307 – 326 days
Habitat swamp Moist, warm river
food Roughage, rice straw Concentrate, grain, forage
Milk production 1 l/day 2 – 5 l/day
245 – 778 kg/lactation 1700 – 2000 kg/lactation
Lactating period (days) 240 – 293 280 – 315
Milk fat content (%) 6-7 8
Carcass (%) < 50 > 55
Peubah Kerbau Lumpur Kerbau Sungai

General Short & fat massive

appearance Stocky body Deep
Heavy and taller Tubuh kurang melingkar
Big horn, fusion
Body weight Buffalo bull= 500 kg Buffalo bull= 300 – 700 kg
Buffalo cow= 400 kg Buffalo cow= 250 – 650 kg
Girth height Buffalo bull= 135 cm Buffalo bull= 120 - 135 cm
Buffalo cow= 130 cm Buffalo cow= 115 - 135 cm
Body Swamp buffalo are heavy-bodied and longer faces, smaller girths, and bigger limbs
stockily built; the body is short and the than swamp buffalo. Their dorsal ridges extend
belly large further back and taper off more gradually. The
neck is comparatively long, and the withers and
croup are prominent. A dorsal ridge extends
backward and ends abruptly just before the end
of the chest.
Horn fusion of their bases, forming a horns grow outward, and curve in a semicircle,
continuous bone shield referred to as a but always remain more or less on the plane of
"boss". From the base, the horns diverge the forehead.
downwards, then smoothly curve
upwards and outwards
Color grey skin at birth, but become slate blue black, but some specimens may have dark,
later. Albinoids are present in some slate-coloured skin
populations
History of Buffalo farming in Indonesia
• Multi-purposes (draught, meat, milk)
– Java and Sumatera Islands : meat & draught
– Sumatera Island: Milk
– 95% Indonesian native buffalos area swamp buffalo
– 5% river buffalo
• Management:
– Smallholder: 2 – 3 heads in Banten, West & East Nusa Tenggara = 10
heads
– Traditional, lack of attention to feed, reproduction
– Lack of expert in buffalo nutrition and reproduction
• Nutrition:
– Feed: grass, plant by-product, no concentrate
– Lack of feed (quantity, quality)
– Low reproduction performance
 Buffalo Reproduction Performances
Parameters Age
First calving 3 – 5 years
First estrous after calving 5 – 7 months
Calving interval 13 – 16 months
Estrous cycle 17 – 29 days
Length of estrous 40 – 48 hours
Length of pregnancy 10 – 11 months
Estrous manifestation Silent
 Buffalo Production Performances
Parameters Values
Milk Production
Swamp Buffalo 3 – 5 l/e/d
River Buffalo 6 – 10 l/e/d
Milk Fat contents 7 – 9%
Length of Lactation (period) 10 months
Calving weight 32 kg
Daily gain 0,43 kg/e/d
Carcass percentage 44% BW
Slaughtering weight:
age > 6 years 300 – 700 kg
Age 2 years < 300 kg
 Buffalo Dairy Breeds
• Indian
– Murrah
– Nill & Ravi
– Kundi
– Surati
• Middle east and Europe
– Behari
– Saldi
– Mediteranean
– Murrah Bulgaria
Anatomy and Physiology of Buffalo
• Anatomy
– Rumen capacity : Buffalo > cattle; Omasum : Buffalo < cattle
– Laminae = space between laminae narrow
– Bufallo Abomasum have different mucosa cell
• Digestive Physiology
– Rumen function faster
– contains a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria,
lower protozoa, and higher fungi zoospores.
– Buffalo microorganisms more responsive to feed and seasonal fluctuations
– Digesta flow slower, longer retention time and microbial contact, higher
digestibility,
– Higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found as
compared to those in cattle. Rate of ammonia absorption is higher, leads to
higher efficiency of N protein utilization
 Milk Production
Breeds Milk Production (kg) Lactating period (days)
Murrah Bulgaria 2023 300
Murrah Malaysia 1030 300
Nilli/Ravi India 2440 326
Murrah India 1635 – 1813 283 – 296
Surti India 1460 – 1934 313 – 316
Bhadawari India 1165 276
Nagpuri India 926 295
Italia 1030 – 2981 100 – 558
Rusia 669 – 1500 300
China/Taiwan Rawa 778 293
 Milk composition
9

8 Fat
Lactose
7
protein
6

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
 Feeding Strategy
• Physiological condition
– growth
– pregnancy
– lactating
– Reproduction
• Buffalo groups
– calf
– Young buffalo
– Pregnant cow
– Lactating cow
– Drying cow
– Adult bull
 Calf
• Colostrum : 1 – 4 days
• milk: d4 – 7 until 5 weeks
• Milk replacer > 1 weeks
• Calf starter & high quality forage: 2 – 13 weeks
• weaning: 3 months
 Buffalo’s stomach development
age Reticulo-rumen omasum Abomasum
calving 68,8 1,6 29,6
23 days 87,8 1,6 10,6
7 weeks 92,7 1,2 6
24 weeks 95 3,7 1,3
adults 88 12
 Buffalo growth rate
600

500

400
weight (kg)

300
Swamp buffalo
200 Murrah buffalo

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Months
 Production
Milk production (kg/cycle)
350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
cycles