Vol. 9, Special Issue 1 (2024)

Author(s): SJ Patil, DS Chauhan and BS Gaikwad

Abstract: The present study conducted on “Studies on Management Practices Adopted by Gaushalas in Sangli and Kolhapur districts”. Data were collected from 40 selected Gaushalas and grouped into 3 categories based on total number of animals as small (100 animals), medium (300 animals) and large (>300 animals), 13 Gaushalas in small whereas 15 Gaushalas medium and 12 Gaushalas in large category in Sangli and Kolhapur districts. About 37.50 percent of the Gaushalas possessed medium herd size (between 300 cattle), followed by 32.50 percent with small herd size (below 100 cattle) and 30.00 percent with large herd size (above 300 cattle). Gaushalas have also been identified as the centres for conservation of declining cattle breeds. It is noteworthy that the vast majority (100%) of Gaushala cattle compared to native cattle in general were found to be old and unproductive, which may have something to do with their main goal of caring for the elderly, sick, and unproductive cattle. The majority of the native animals kept in the Gaushalas were aged and unproductive small (32.28%), medium (49.44%), and large (36.66%) Gaushalas. Enough labor is necessary for the proper administration of Gaushala and the care of the cattle. For proper management of Gaushala and care of cattle, enough manpower is essential. The cattle's current feeding habits in the Gaushalas region of the research. It was noted that cattle in small, medium, and large Gaushalas were fed an average of 3-6 kg/day of dry fodder, 2.0-3.0 kg/day of green fodder, 0.2-0.5 kg/day of concentrate, and 50 gms of mineral mixture.