Tucked away in the verdant surrounds of the Adelaide Hills in general, and Mt Compass in particular, plans are afoot to relaunch a little-known Sri Lankan beef cattle variety in Australia. ANDREW MOLE reports.
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If you thought Peter Piper picking a peck of pickled peppers (etc, etc) was a definite tongue twister, try telling someone how to pronounce Nadudana.
Which, in case you are unaware, is a natural small cattle breed out of Sri Lanka.
It has been part of the landscape there for the past 3000 years, but in Australia it’s a relative newbie, only arriving in 1995 (and only 19 of them) and using those past 28 years to build herd numbers to a genetically threatened 200 head.
Even the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia has the Nadudana’s future here listed as ‘critical’.
None of which holds much water for enthusiast and breed society member Damien Belle, who has a lion’s share (15 females and four bulls) of the small numbers of this small breed on his Mt Compass property, about 60km south of Adelaide.
But getting back to where this all started, the Sri Lankans (whose official languages are Sinhala and Tamil) apparently pronounce it ‘Nar-dar-nah’, which is Hindi for ‘small cow’.
The Australians (who speak English and Strine) prefer Nadda-darna.
Damien is now part of a group working hard to put the Nadudana safely back on the bovine map — and get it off the critical list.
He said the cattle in Australia originated from the United States, where (about 100 years ago) some were taken from then Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to be the basis of a breeding project for the zoo and circus markets.
Since reaching Down Under, there have been a couple of false starts to try and run a national breed association and Damien is now one of those working hard to make sure the latest incarnation increases awareness of, support for, and investment in, the breed.
“We reckon 200 might be a slightly ambitious number for the national herd, but it’s close enough, and we now have around 20 members in the Australian Nadudana Association,” Damien said.
“Of those 200, about 125 are currently registered, 50 to 80 have part or lost ancestry and all the Nadudana in Australia will now be put under the breed microscope so we can stabilise and ensure the quality and the measurements of every animal — the currently registered ones will all be given a size, score and grade.
“I got my first Nadudana nine years ago, and building up numbers from such a small selection, and such a narrow genetic base, hasn’t been easy because, understandably, they are very hard to find.”
The Rare Breeds Trust of Australia described the Nadudana as “probably the oldest small breed in the world, and perhaps the oldest altogether”.
It said they were thought to have developed from cattle taken to Sri Lanka about 3000 years ago and, as Hindu regarded cattle as sacred, smaller beasts were less costly to maintain and were ideal to be kept at temples. They were eaten only on special sacrificial occasions. Many smallholders also meant smaller cattle were ideal.
“Racing them in chariots has always been popular in Sri Lanka — no whips are allowed to be used, the animals are run on their merits, encouraged by voice only,” the report said.
“Regarded as rare to extinct in their homeland Sri Lanka, due to genetic pollution — outcrossing to western dairy breeds — ironically, Sri Lanka has banned exports too. So those few little pure herds in other countries are important insurance populations.”
The naturally small cattle (also known as miniature cattle), the Nadudana is a Bos indicus (zebu) with a humped back — although in its case the hump is far less pronounced than on the bigger breeds, even though the size of the hump gradually increases with age.
The hump is muscle, regarded as very good eating. Ears are far smaller than most zebu breeds, and self-supporting — going outward, not drooping.
Vitally, for a small breed, they are tested for the dwarfism gene — to keep it out of the bloodlines.
A genuine small cattle breed, there is a standard measurement, devised by the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society (American).
Whereas other breeds are measured to the top of the hind quarters, miniature zebu are measured to the back behind the hump (although like many Americans they do not realise zebu are Asian cattle of many diverse breeds — not a single breed — they have Miniature Zebu listed as a breed, as well as an Australian breed which doesn’t exist).
They are all measured at three years (heights are 107cm to below 90cm — some go down to 70cm) as keeping the dwarfism gene out of the breed also keeps out a multitude of problems that gene and its mutations cause.
The Nadudana is a wonderful old breed free from problems associated with some breeds of miniature cattle.
Nadudana thrive on rough herbage, and being small, can deliver a better return per hectare. Being Asian-bred they are also resistant to hot climate parasites and are excellent and protective mothers and noted for their easy calving.
Calves are born with a red cap on their head, which grows into their body coat colour as they mature. Black, creamy white and silvery grey colours are seen.
A long-lived breed, they are productive into their 20s and their outstanding conversion rate of grass and roughage to meat makes them popular for crossing.
The boffins at Rare Breeds also say the meat is highly sought after, being lean, very tender and full of flavour. Being fine-boned, the carcases yield high meat-to-bone ratio.
And for Damien, those words aren’t just fighting words, they are horrifying.
He asked why, with so few of the breed in Australia, would you want to take a Nadudana calf and process it for eating when there are nearly 28 million other cattle in this country from which to choose?
“Nadudana are much like miniature horses or goats — their numbers are so low you would have to work hard to consider killing a $2000 calf just for meat,” Damien said.
“Nadudana are ideal for small breeders, small farmers — they are, quite simply, a unique, lovable and lovely pet or house cow.”
Damien, mind you, is a self-confessed soft touch for the unusual — in addition to his potentially-burgeoning Nadudana herd he also breeds Golden Tamworth pigs (another critical species on the Rare Breeds register), African geese and Black Sumatra chicken (the latter also known as the Indonesian jungle fowl or pheasant fowl).
The Nadudana might have come from the Subcontinent via the New World, but the Tamworth came from the Old Country via a ship, apparently descended from the wild hogs resident in the Midland Counties of England and domesticated around 300 years ago.
The Australian Pig Breeder’s Association first listed Tamworths in its herd book in 1914, with numbers peaking at around 1000 between 1950 and 1960.
Golden Tamworth is now classified as critically rare, and Australian Tamworths have also been exported back to England as they are also rare in their country of origin — where King Charles also maintains a herd.
Damien’s own Nadudana breeding strategy has evolved around outcrosses through the Queensland Small Boran and Dexters.
“I crossed them and then put the females to my Nadudana bull and have then started crossing them back — at the third cross the offspring is 86 per cent pure, from the fourth cross it rises to 97 per cent and allows entry into the herd book.
“The fifth cross is pure obviously.”
Damien’s connection with life on the land might have started being raised on a dairy farm but his love for all animals was crystallised on “my nanna’s wildlife sanctuary at Mt Compass”.
He has also worked closely with William Marshall’s Rare Breeds Farm on Kangaroo Island, which also has a small Nadudana herd, with Watusi cattle also introduced for upgrading.
“My cattle have already gone as far afield as Tasmania and Victoria, proving very popular with their new owners,” Damien said.
“They are a naturally docile animal, mine are handled all the time, which makes the transition to new owners much easier.”
Nadudana cattle are highly suited to small farms and can on average be stocked at 2.3 head to each standard size animal normally run on a property.
They intake higher levels of low-quality feeds; have high meat-to-bone ratios; higher feed conversion ratios than full-size cattle; and their dark pigmented eyes and muzzles reduce the risk of cancer.
The animal’s sleek short-haired coat includes an increased number of very efficient sweat glands which, combined with its lower metabolic rates, generates less heat. The combination also makes them incredibly unattractive to ticks and flies and Nadudana cattle also resistant to internal parasites.
And, not surprisingly, is the only small Bos indicus tropical breed in Australia.
Damien sees his Nadudana as highly intelligent — they require sensitive handling and become tractable and docile.
Although they can’t be mustered like many old zebu breeds, they will follow you once they know what is required, helped by a bucket of feed or opening gates — and they like to remain together, not be separated.
“Due to their ancient genetic structure, embryo transfer isn’t going to be the breeding solution it is for other cattle, so it is critical the breed is fostered.”
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