The ‘Vicky Donor’ of the bovine species is the three-year-old Ramu, a native Deoni breed from Halasi-L village in Bhalki taluk of Bidar. The degree of popularity of the bull among the neighbouring villages is evident in the success of his owner, Suryakant Batagera, in turning natural insemination into a legitimate business model.
A record register is maintained, and even receipts are issued in Marathi that notes the dates of insemination. The receipt comes with a guarantee that 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 full-time job. An insemination attempt costs Rs. 300 if the cow comes to Mr. Suryakant’s farm and is more 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 center of the Karnataka veterinary, animal and fisheries university. “Conception rate is impressively high. Nine out of ten 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, says Dr. Patil.
However, Mr. Suryakant says Ramu may remain this virile only for the next two years. The future after that seems grim. “We will sell him to a farmer who will castrate him and use him as a draught animal,” says Mr Suryakant.
