The Dhanni or Dhani is a Pakistani breed of draught cattle of zebuine type. It is distributed mainly in the Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Rawalpindi and Sargodha Districts of the Province of Punjab in eastern-central Pakistan. The breed name derives from Dhan, in Jhelum District; other names for it include Awankari, Pahari, Pakhari and Pothwari.
History
The Dhanni formerly consisted of three separate local populations: the Awankari or Pakhari in Talagang Tehsil and parts of Fatehjang Tehsil in Attock District, the Pothwari from Gujarkhan Tehsil and the area of Jatli in Rawalpindi District, and the Dhanni in the former Chakwal Tehsil in Jhelum District. As trade and communication between these areas increased, it was recognised that there was little significant difference between the three, and they were consolidated into a single breed, the Dhanni, which was distributed mainly in the Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Rawalpindi and Sargodha Districts of the Province of Punjab in eastern-central Pakistan.
The Nawab of Kot Fateh Khan in Attock District took steps to support the breed from 1932, including the distribution of breeding bulls in the area; other landowners took similar action. A herd-book was established in 1938, and milk yields were recorded from about the same time. A government livestock farm – now the Barani Livestock Production Research Institute – was established for the cattle in 1962 by the West Pakistan Agriculture Development Corporation at Kherimurat in Attock District; a herd of about 150 head is kept there.
In 2006 a total population of just under 1.5 million head was reported, and in 2007 the conservation status of the breed was listed by the FAO as "not at risk". No population has been reported since then, and in 2025 its conservation status was listed as "unknown".
Characteristics
The Dhanni is of medium size: cows weigh on average and bulls ; average heights at the withers are and respectively.
The coat is most commonly white with black spots, Three other coat colourings occur: black with white spots, ; white mottled with black and brown, ; and red with white spots, . Short horns are present in both sexes.
Use
The Dhanni is a good draught breed, capable of moving fast in quick short steps, and suitable for provision of power for industrial or agricultural machinery.
Milk yields recorded in the 1930s averaged in lactation lasting 228 days, while yields recorded seventy years later at the government farm at Kherimurat averaged in a longer lactation period of 270 days.
References
Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived 23 June 2020.
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Breed data sheet: Dhanni / Pakistan (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2025.
Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. .
N.R. Joshi, Ralph W. Phillips (1953). Zebu Cattle of India and Pakistan. FAO Agriculture Studies No. 19. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived 1 December 2017.
Annual Report 2021-22. Lahore: Livestock Punjab, Government of The Punjab. Archived 25 January 2025.
[s.n.] (2010). Cattle Breeds. Lahore: University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences. Accessed January 2025.