Skin
The coat colour of Gir animals varies from shades of red and white to almost black and white or entire red. Their skin is soft, thin, glossy, loose and pliable. Hair is short and glossy too.
Head
Forehead is prominent, convex and broad like a bony shield with a long face. The convex forehead of Gir cattle is the most unusual feature of this breed. Their convex forehead acts as a cooling radiator to the brain and pituitary gland. Their eyes are hooded and black pigmented and there are lot of loose skin around their eye area. Ears are long and pendulous and folded like a leaf with a notch at the tip. They act as an excellent fly and insect swatter. The horns of Gir cattle are set well back on their heads and thick at the base. Horns are curved turning back at the tip. They orient downwards and backwards from the base and incline a little upwards and forwards, thereafter.
Body Charectaristics
Gir cattle is known for its distinct appearance, height & weight and natural beauty which makes it very different from the Jersey cows etc. Their body is well proportioned and the udder in cows is well developed and round. They have a large hump considered to be the largest of the Zebu breeds and is very well marbled. It is used as a pot roast. Gir animals have moderately developed dewlap: males have a large and pendulous sheath. Hipbones are prominent and the body is well proportioned. The females average 385 kg with a height of 130 cm and the males average 545 kg with a height of 135 cm. The tail is long and whip like. They have very hard hooves black in color and medium-sized. They love being with humans. They adore being brushed and scratched on their big dew laps, around the head, and between the back legs. They are very gregarious and at night form a circle very close together with their calves sleeping under their necks.
Milk Yield
Gir cattle is a dairy cattle breed and mainly raised for milk production in India. The average milk yield for the Gir is 1590 kg per lactation, with a record production of 3182 kg at 4.5% fat in India. In Brazil they average 3500 kg per lactation, with a world record production of 17.120 kg by the cow Profana de Brasília. Girs are highly fertile and calve very regularly. Their calves are born small so calving problems are unheard of. In comparison to other breeds of cows, the Indian cow’s milk ranks special and is called A2 in technical terms. That is because of the presence of gold lust in cows milk. Hence the milk, butter and Ghee from an Indian cow is golden yellow in color.