Buffaloes are the backbone of the Indian dairy industry, where they contribute about 54.5% of the total milk production (Economic survey, Govt. of India 2008- 2009). Though anatomically the buffaloes are very similar to cattle, they are physiologically different in many aspects including early embryonic loss and high neonatal mortality (Banerjee, 1998) causing a heavy drain on economics of livestock production. A survey of 28 livestock farms spread...