Red Sindhi
A humped dairy zebu from Sindh in Pakistan, deep red, with short curved horns
A humped dairy breed from Sindh in what is now Pakistan, deep red in colour, compact and rounded, with short curved horns. Kept mainly for milk, it has been crossed around the world to blend its heat tolerance with the bigger yields of European cows.
- A cow yields about 1,188 to 1,675 kg of milk in a 270-day lactation
- Cows stand 115 cm and weigh 325 kg; bulls 132 cm and 530 kg
- Crossed with Jerseys in Australia, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and the United States
- The FAO rated it of no concern in 2007
- Three-quarters Sahiwal crosses pass for pure Sahiwal animals
What do Red Sindhi cattle look like?
The Red Sindhi is a humped dairy cow from Pakistan, most often a deep red, though coats run from a brownish red all the way to a yellowy red. Bulls are usually darker than cows. The body is compact and rounded, with the look of a true milk breed, and the skin is said to be brick red. The horns are short and curve gently. Cows stand about 115 cm at the withers, the ridge between the shoulders, and weigh around 325 kg; bulls reach 132 cm and some 530 kg. It is a smaller, rounder animal than the taller, work-shaped Tharparkar of the same province, and also a little smaller than the Sahiwal.
Where does the Red Sindhi come from?
The breed is thought to have come from western Sindh and from the Las Bela tract of Balochistan, at a time when the Indian subcontinent was not yet divided; both areas now lie in Pakistan. Its alternative names recall these homes: Las Bela, Malir, and Sindhi itself. The cow remains a familiar sight across Pakistan and is also kept in India and Bangladesh. In the mid twentieth century a few cows were shipped to Brazil, where their descendants are milked to this day.
What the Red Sindhi is known for
Red Sindhis carry the classic zebu equipment for hot lands: they stand heat well, resist ticks and disease, and the cows keep breeding even when temperatures climb. These qualities, rather than record yields, are what make the breed valuable elsewhere. Another plus is the carcass: it carries enough meat that beef calves from its crosses do well. One drawback is size. The frame is a little smaller than that of its near neighbour the Sahiwal, and each animal gives a little less milk as a result.
How the Red Sindhi is bred and kept
The aim of most crossing is simple: pair the breed's staying power in hot, ticky climates with the heavier yields of European cows. Jersey blood has been added in Australia, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and the United States, and Holstein-Friesian, Brown Swiss and Danish Red have been tried as well. Because the cow carries reasonable meat, her crosses also suit farms keeping animals for both milk and meat: calves grow quickly on their mothers' milk and are ready for sale at about a year old. In South Asia the breed's fortunes have slipped. The larger Sahiwal milks a little more per cow, so several big milk farms in India and Pakistan have been moving their herds away, mating Red Sindhi cows to Sahiwal bulls. After a few generations the young cows are three-quarters Sahiwal and pass for pure Sahiwal.
Red Sindhi, drawn
What the Red Sindhi is kept for
Milk is the main product. Counts of yield vary, but a lactation of 270 days is put at between 1,188 and 1,675 kg, which works out at roughly 4.5 to 6 kg a day per cow. Meat plays a secondary part: the animal is meaty enough that its beef crosses are worthwhile, and the cows' milk feeds fast-growing calves. In Brazil, where a few cows arrived in the mid twentieth century, the breed is milked but attracts less interest than other zebu kinds there. Elsewhere its chief role is as a genetic contributor to new dairy lines.
The land and climate of the Red Sindhi
This is a cow built for warm country. It tolerates heat that would strain European breeds, stays fertile as temperatures climb, and carries some shield against ticks and sickness. Those qualities explain why its blood has been sought for tropical herds from South Asia to Brazil. In its Sindh home it sits apart from the Tharparkar, the province's other dairy breed, which is taller, longer in the horn and much paler.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Celebrations
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
Global watchers of farm animals rated the breed as of no concern in 2007, so it is not counted among the world's threatened cattle. Its range covers Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and its blood has travelled much further: cows sent to Brazil in the mid twentieth century are still milked there, and Jersey crosses carry the breed's genes in Australia, Sri Lanka and the United States as well. In its home region, however, some large milk farms are quietly replacing it with Sahiwal blood.
From the Red Sindhi
Questions people ask about Red Sindhi
Where does the Red Sindhi come from?
It is thought to have arisen in western Sindh and in the Las Bela tract of Balochistan, at a time when the Indian subcontinent was still undivided. That home lies in present-day Pakistan, and the breed is also kept in India and Bangladesh.
What are Red Sindhi cattle kept for?
Milk. A cow gives roughly 1,188 to 1,675 kg across a 270-day lactation, about 4.5 to 6 kg a day. Its meaty build also makes it a valued parent in crosses for farms keeping cattle for meat as well as milk.
How do I tell a Red Sindhi from a Tharparkar?
The Tharparkar, sometimes called the White Sindhi, is taller, built more along work-zebu lines and carries longer, lyre-shaped horns. The Red Sindhi is smaller and rounder, of a typical dairy shape, with short curved horns and a much deeper red coat.
Why are some Indian and Pakistani dairies moving away from the breed?
The Sahiwal, a close and somewhat larger relative, gives a little more milk per cow. Some big milk farms in India and Pakistan have therefore been mating their Red Sindhi cows to Sahiwal bulls; after a few generations the young stock is three-quarters Sahiwal and passes for pure Sahiwal.
Which breeds has it been crossed with?
Jerseys, in Australia, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and the United States, plus Holstein-Friesian, Brown Swiss and Danish Red. The goal is to join the Red Sindhi's heat tolerance, tick resistance and fertility in hot weather to the heavier milk output of European breeds.
Good reading and sources
- Red Sindhi on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Red Sindhi", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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