author(s)
Parameshwara Prathapa Simha BV, KC Veeranna, Manjunatha L, Vijayakumar B Shettar, Gopala GT, Krishnamurthy TN and GS Naveenkumar

abstract
The results indicated that majority of the respondents detected animal in heat by bellowing symptoms (88.43%) and used natural service for breeding their Malnad Gidda cattle (56.48%). The lactation length was perceived to be more than seven months by majority of them (50.92%); about 6-7 months as perceived by one-fourth (26.85%) and the rest reported it to be about 5-6 months or below five months. Majority of the respondents followed grazing cum stall-feeding (86.12%) and provided concentrated feeds only to milking cows (80.09%) and mostly twice daily (61.57%). Heifers and calves were not given any concentrate feeds by almost all of them. Majority of respondents (77.31%) fed colostrum to newborn calves within one hour after calving. Only 20.83 per cent of them cut umbilical cord and treated it with tincture or turmeric powder. Majority of them allowed calves to suckle all the four teats (53.24%); did not wean the calves from their mothers (94.90%) and allowed the calves to suckle for the entire lactation period (96.30%). Majority of the respondents (68.98%) gave some sort of special feed to the calved mothers. Among various categories of farmers, viz. small, medium and large, significant variations were seen with respect to heat detection, cultivation of green fodder, feeding of concentrate feeds to milking cows, calf feeding and post parturient cow feeding.