Domestic livestock resources of Turkey

Abstract

Water buffalo are an ancient component of Turkey's domestic livestock resources. Commonly referred to as the Anatolian buffalo the animal is part of the Mediterranean group which includes Syrian, Egyptian and Southeast European animals. Once quite numerous, there have been drastic reductions in their numbers since the 1970s due to intensification of dairy activities, agricultural mechanization and changing consumer preferences. The main areas of distribution are in northwest Turkey in the Marmara and Black Sea Regions. Buffalo are kept in small herds by livestock and mixed crop-livestock farmers. Milk is the main product, meat is largely a by-product of the dairy function and provision of the once-important draught power is now a minor output. Buffalo milk is used to prepare a variety of speciality products but output of both milk and meat is very low in comparison to cattle. Conditions of welfare and health status are not optimal. Internal parasites are a constraint on productivity. Some buffalo are being used for conservation grazing in the Black Sea area to maintain optimal conditions for bird life in a nature reserve. Long neglected by government there are recent activities to establish conservation herds, set up in vitro banks and undertake molecular characterization. More effort is needed by government to promote buffalo production and to engage the general public in conservation of their national heritage.

Carcass and Meat Quality of Male and Female Water Buffaloes Finished Under an Intensive Production System

“…Coat colour varies from dark black to light black or brown. Body coat is covered with long hairs (Akdağ and Çelik, 2006;Atasever and Erdem, 2008;Soysal, 2009;Yilmaz et al, 2012). Water buffalos had been used as draught animals in Balkan, Mediterranean and Middle-East countries for centuries.…”

“…Water buffalos had been used as draught animals in Balkan, Mediterranean and Middle-East countries for centuries. Water buffalos are well adapted to extensive production system with poor feeding and management conditions, and have relatively better disease resistance than cattle (Soysal, 2014;Yilmaz et al, 2012). Although the number of water buffalos in the world slightly increased during past three decades, water buffalo population in the certain Balkan countries (Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria) has decreased drastically (Borghese and Mazzi, 2005;FAO, 2016).…”

The behaviour and productivity of water buffalo in different breeding systems: a review

“…They also found that milk production increased between days 16 and 60 (11.35 kg/per head), that fatty content was higher (P ≤ 0.01) at the end of the peak production period (8.64%), and that protein levels increased at the onset and end of lactation (4.84 vs. 4.93). Finally, Yilmaz et al (2012) reported milk yields of 24-26 l/day during a lactation period of 225 ± 6 days. Total milk solids were 17.7 ± 0.3%, protein was 4.2 ± 0.1%, and fat was 8.1 ± 0.2%.…”

“…In Asia, the domestic water buffalo is generally classified into two principal sub-species (Yue et al 2013); the river type and the swamp type (Perera 2008). These sub-species have distinct chromosome karyotypes (50 and 48 chromosomes, respectively) (Yilmaz et al 2012), and some differences in morphology (body frame, body weight, horn shape, skin colour) and behaviour (i.e., wallowing in water vs. mud). The best-known breeds are Murrah, Mediterranea, Jaffarabadi, Nili-Ravi, Surti, Mehsana, Kundi, Nagpuri and Bhadawari (Bartocci et al 2002;Cruz 2007;Das et al 2008;Thiruvenkadan et al 2013).…”

Comparision of DGAT1 K232A Polymorphism and its Effects on some Milk Quality Parameters in Holstein and Native Black Race Cattles

“…The individual properties of the related loci of the cattle races can affect the DGAT1 K232A polymorphism and this may produce different effects on milk fat [4,5] . The utility of the cattles for milk and meat production, their adaptation to natural conditions and tolerance to diseases makes them economically advantageous [6,7] . Due to the mentioned reasons, the investigations of K232A polymorphism in cattle plays an important role in in milk industry and procurement of higher quality milk, thus consumer health.…”