Three-year-old Ramu is clearly the ‘Vicky Donor’ of the bovine species.
His credentials: native Deoni breed from Halasi-L village in Bhalki taluk of Bidar district; father of 800 offspring.
So popular is the bull in the neighbouring villages that his owner, Suryakant Batagera, is turning natural insemination into a legitimate business model.
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A record register is maintained, and even receipts are issued in Marathi that notes the dates of insemination. The receipt comes with a guarantee — if the cow does not conceive in 21 days, the second attempt will be entirely free.
The demand is so high that this has become Mr. Suryakant’s fulltime job. An insemination attempt costs Rs. 300 if the cow comes to Mr. Suryakant’s farm, and charges go up if Ramu’s ‘services’ are required in far-away villages. The farmer claims Ramu can inseminate up to five cows a day during breeding season. “We keep him well fed on a diet of eggs, vegetable oil, chaff, green grass, and grains,” says Mr. Suryakant. Ramu’s ‘skills’ have impressed Vivek Patil, officer in-charge of the Deoni breed development centres of Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University. “Conception rate is impressively high. Nine out of 10 attempts have resulted in pregnancies,” he says.
The Deoni breed remains in demand as it is disease-resistant, while its milk contains the nutritious Type2 protein, according to Dr. Patil. However, Mr. Suryakant says Ramu may remain this virile only for the next two years. The future seems grim. “We will sell him to a farmer, who will castrate him and use him as a draught animal,” says Mr. Suryakant.
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Three-year-old Ramu in Bidar has become famous for his insemination ‘skills’