SummaryPhenotypic characterization is critical in breed improvement and conservation. To determine the performance and morphological features of Ankole cattle in three livestock production systems (LPS) of Uganda, 248 farms were studied. Height at withers (HW), heart girth (HG), body length (BL), ear length, horn length (HL), distance between horn tips (HS) and body weight (BW) were then measured on 120 bulls and 180 cows. Data were analysed using LPS (crop livestock, agropastoral, pastoral), county (Gomba, Kazo, Kiboga, Mawoggola, Nyabushozi) and sex (females, males) as main factors. In the results, age at sexual maturity was 23.6 ± 0.5 months for bulls and 22.7 ± 0.5 months for cows. Age at first calving was 33.2 ± 0.5 months, whereas calving interval was 12.9 ± 0.8 months. Lactation length differed between LPS (5.5 ± 0.4, 6.3 ± 0.3 and 7.4 ± 0.2 months in agropastoral, crop livestock and pastoral, respectively). Mean daily milk off take was 2.2 ± 0.1 kg/cow whereas preweaning calf survivability was 90.0 ± 6.5%. Sex and LPS significantly influenced HW, HL and HS. Positive correlations were observed between BW and HG, BL and HL. Correlation coefficients were much lower in females than in males, except for BW vs HG and BW vs HW. Results show wide variations both in performance and morphology suggesting that within breed selection scheme and/or management improvement may lead to productivity improvements.Keywords: morphometric, characterization, reproductive performance, Ankole cattle Résumé La caractérisation phénotypique est fondamentale dans l'amélioration et la conservation de la race. Afin de déterminer la performance et les caractéristiques morphologiques des bovins Ankolé dans trois systèmes de production animale de l'Ouganda, on a entrepris des études dans 248 fermes. La hauteur au garrot, le périmètre thoracique, la longueur du corps, des oreilles et des cornes, la distance entre les pointes des cornes et le poids corporel de 120 taureaux et de 180 vaches ont été alors mesurés. On a ensuite analysé les données en utilisant comme facteurs principaux le système de production animale (mixte, agropastoral, pastoral), le district (Gomba, Kazo, Kiboga, Mawoggola, Nyabushozi) et le sexe (femelle, mâle). Les résultats ont été les suivants: l'âge à la maturité sexuelle était pour les taureaux de 23,6 ± 0,5 mois et pour les vaches de 22,7 ± 0,5 mois, l'âge à la première mise bas était de 33,2 ± 0,5 mois, tandis que l'intervalle entre les mises bas était de 12,9 ± 0,8 mois. La période de lactation variait selon le type de système de production (5,5 ± 0,4, 6,3 ± 0,3 et 7,4 ± 0,2 mois respectivement dans les systèmes agropastoral, mixte et pastoral). Le rendement moyen journalier de lait était de 2,2 ± 0,1 kg par vache tandis que la survie des veaux avant le sevrage était de 90,0 ± 6,5 pour cent. Le sexe et le système de production influençaient de façon significative la hauteur au garrot, la longueur des cornes et la distance entre les pointes des cornes. On a observé des corrélations positives entre le poids corpor...

The criteria for identification, selection and kinship assignment of Ankole cattle and their roles to pastoralists were studied on 248 farms in Kiboga, Mbarara, Mpigi and Sembabule districts of Uganda using a questionnaire, administered during one-to-one interviews. Farms were randomly sampled along transects originating from the headquarters of each of the 19 sub-counties studied. We found that male Ankole cattle are reared for income from sales, meat for home use and ceremonies, aesthetic value and to maintain cultural heritage. Female cattle are mainly kept for milk production, income from sales, heritage and aesthetics, and in few cases, for home use as meat. Other functions included savings, manure and butter production. All cattle are named at birth with coat colour or pattern being the main identification criterion; hence, it is also useful in assigning kinship. Selection criteria for males are more stringent than for females. On most farms, all females are kept for further breeding and are only culled in cases of poor reproductive health. Primary emphasis in selecting males is on the performance of ancestors in milk and reproductive traits, and then on the qualities of the bull itself. Bulls are selected mainly focusing on a big body frame and size, horns that are white, large and curved upward and a plain dark red "ruhogo" coat colour. The results of this study show that pastoralists have a rich body of indigenous knowledge on this breed, and this should effectively be incorporated into planned selective improvement schemes of the Ankole cattle breed.

Availability and access to fresh water will likely constrain future food production in many countries. Thus, it is frequently suggested that the limited amount of water should be used more productively. In this study we report the results of our investigation on effects of feed, age and weight on livestock water productivity (LWP). The main objective is to identify technologies that will help enhance LWP. We combined empirical knowledge and literature values to estimate the amount of water depleted to produce beef, milk, traction power and manure. We estimated the LWP as the ratio of livestock products and services to the depleted water. In the feeding trials, various combinations of maize and oat stover, vetch, lablab and wheat bran were combined in different proportions to make 16 unique rations that were fed to the experimental animals of different age and weight groups. We observed differences of LWP across feed type, age and weight of dairy cows. The value of LWP tended to increase with increasing age and weight: the lowest LWP (0.34 US$/m3) for cows less than five years whereas the highest LWP value was 0.41 US$/m3 for those cows in the age category of 8 years and above. Similarly, there was an increase in LWP as weight of the animal increased, i.e. LWP was lowest (0.32 US$/m3) for lower weight groups (300–350 kg) and increased for larger animals. There were apparent impacts of feed composition on LWP values. For example, the highest LWP value was observed for oat, vetch and wheat bran mixes. Taking livestock services and products into account, the overall livestock water productivity ranged from 0.25 to 0.39 US$/m3 and the value obtained from a cow appeared to be higher than for an ox. In conclusion, some strategies and technological options such as improved feeds, better herd management, appropriate heard structure can be adapted to enhance LWP.

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