Assessment of Reproductive Performance and Problems in Crossbred (Holstein Friesian X Zebu) Dairy Cattle in and Around Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia

Mekonnin, Alemselam Birhanu

doi:10.11648/j.avs.20150303.14

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although results from the current study indicated that the majority of farmers visually observed for heat in cows, this method alone is not efficient. This case was also observed by Harlow et al (2015) who reported that there were high incidences for farmers missing the opportunity to either inseminate or mate their animals when they use visual inspection. This is because farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems, which is common to small-scale farmers, tend to spend less time in the cow sheds and are therefore less likely to see cows in estrus.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Multi-country investigation of factors influencing breeding decisions by smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Mwanga

Mujibi

Yonah

et al. 2018

Trop Anim Health Prod

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Artificial insemination (AI) and selective bull mating are considered as robust methods for dairy cattle breeding. Globally, these methods have been used to enhance productivity and realize rapid genetic gains. However, these technologies have had low adoption rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Even though available evidence suggests that this is due to various infrastructural and technical challenges. There is limited information about what drives this low uptake of AI from a farmer's perspective. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine and characterize factors that influence the choice by smallholder farmers between bull service and AI for dairy cow breeding. Further, the relationships between the breeding choices and the bio-physical elements of dairy farming, mainly, farmer characteristics, household income levels, farm management practices, and institutional support structures, were investigated. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews from a total of 16,308 small-scale dairy farmers in Ethiopia (n = 4679), Kenya (n = 5278), Tanzania (n = 3500), and Uganda (n = 2851). The questionnaire was coded in an electronic form using Open Data Kit (ODK) platform to allow for real-time data entry and management. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and a t-test were used to evaluate the independent and dependent variables, while logistic regression and factor analysis were used to identify factors that influenced farmers' breeding decisions. Results showed that there was a significant difference in animal husbandry practices between farmers who used artificial insemination (AI) and those who practiced bull mating. The majority of farmers who used AI kept records, purchased more animal feeds, had more labor by hiring workers whose average wages were higher than those of bull service farmers. However, farmers who used AI pay more for services such as water access and breeding while their service providers had to cover long distances compared to farmers who used bulls. This indicates limited access to services and service providers for AI farmers. The ratio of AI to bull service users was even for Ethiopia and Kenya, while in Uganda and Tanzania, more farmers preferred bull service to AI. It was established that the factors that influence farmers' breeding decision were not the same across the region. Factors such as farmer's experience in dairy farming, influence of the neighbor, farmer's ability to keep records, and management practices such as water provision and availability of feeds had a significant association (p < 0.001) with AI adoption among dairy farmers. In contrast, large herd and large land size negatively influenced AI adoption. Institutional settings including cost of AI service and the distance covered by the service provider negatively affected (p < 0.001) the choice of AI as a breeding option. There was a high probability of continued use of a specific breeding method when there was a previous conception success with that same method. Based on the results obtained, we...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Multi-country investigation of factors influencing breeding decisions by smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Mwanga

Mujibi

Yonah

et al. 2018

Trop Anim Health Prod

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“…Grunert, (1986) observed that retained placenta due to apart from bacterial infection, may also be caused by hormonal and nutritional imbalance, housing system and stress at the time of calving, difficult delivery, premature and induced birth and twinning. Mekonnin et. al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of obstetrical disorders in dairy cows of northern Bangladesh

Sarder

Uddin

Islam

et al. 2015

Asian J. Med. Biol. Res

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The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of obstetrical disorders (ODs) of 975 dairy cows in relation to genotype, age, parity, housing system, feed quality, rearing system, breeding systems and professional training of owners at Rajshahi, Bangladesh from the period 1 January, 2009 to 31 December, 2009. Extensive survey was conducted in 15 areas of Rajshahi and in each area 65 dairy cows were selected randomly. Individual farmers were interviewed to obtain information about ODs of dairy cows viz; abortion, dystocia, retained placenta, uterine and vaginal prolapse. Out of 975 cows, 117 animals were found to be affected by various ODs showing an overall prevalence of 12.00%. Among the ODs, retained placenta showed the highest prevalence (4.10%) followed by abortion (4.0%), dystocia (2.77%), uterine prolapse (0.66%) and vaginal prolapse (0.51%). The observation of genotype wise ODs in cows revealed that the maximum prevalence was in the Local × Friesian (15.97%), followed by Local (14.68%) and Local × Jersey (9.80%) while the minimum prevalence was in the Local × Sahiwal (5.55%). The age group (>48 months) showed highest prevalence (20.25%) of ODs while the lowest (6.66%) was recorded in < 24 months of age in cows. Parity-wise splitting of the data showed that the maximum prevalence of ODs was in the >5th parity (15.35%) and minimum in the 1st parity (6.15%) of cows. The traditional rearing and farming system revealed highest (17.26%) and lowest (8.51%) prevalence of ODs in cows, respectively. The quality of feed had effect on prevalence of ODs in dairy cows (P<0.05). The ODs were also increased in artificial inseminated cows (12.59%) than naturally service groups (11.90%). The training of farmers had significant effect among the non trained and trained groups for the occurrence of ODs in cows. The study revealed relatively low prevalence of reproductive disorders in cows at Rajshahi compare to other regions of Bangladesh, might be due to better management practices adopted by the farmers and efficient veterinary services as well as awareness among farmers.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2015, 1(2): 216-221

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“…The recommended body weight of Holestin at the first service is 340 kg. Holestin cattle reach puberty at about 37.21 months of age [10] than their cross with zebu which reach puberty at about 24.8 months of age [16].…”

Section: Age At First Service (Afs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on Reproductive and Productive Performance of Dairy Cow in Ethiopia

Alem¹

2021

IJEE

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Ethiopia has largest livestock population in Africa. Despite the largest cattle population, its productive and reproductive performance is very low productivity is relationship between inputs and outputs. The information about reproductive and productive performance in Ethiopia is limited for smallholder. Therefore; the objective of this review paper was to highlight the overall aspects of reproductive and productive performance parameters under Ethiopian condition. Reproductive performance is a trait of outstanding importance in dairy cow enterprises. The production of milk depends heavily on reproductive activity. Reproductive performance traits include number of service per-conception (NSC), calving interval (CI) and days open (DO). Productive performance traits include lactation length (LL), lactation yield (LY) and daily milk yield (DMY) are important criteria for profitable dairy farming. In Ethiopia, crossbred dairy cattle mainly are crosses of zebu with Holstein-Friesian and the mean reproductive performance like CI and productive performance like LL were near to the optimum. The mean values of reproductive and productive traits lower in case of indigenous breed than Friesian and their crosses. However, information is limited about the reproductive and productive performance of dairy cows in smallholder, urban and peri-urban dairy farms in the tropics, particularly in Ethiopia. With efficient management of cows, it is possible to improve performance traits. It is concluded that by improving genetic makeup of dairy cow it is possible to improve the reproductive and productive performance of dairy cattle in Ethiopia.

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Assessment of Reproductive Performance and Problems in Crossbred (Holstein Friesian X Zebu) Dairy Cattle in and Around Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia

Cited by 21 publications

References 18 publications

Multi-country investigation of factors influencing breeding decisions by smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Multi-country investigation of factors influencing breeding decisions by smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Prevalence of obstetrical disorders in dairy cows of northern Bangladesh

Review on Reproductive and Productive Performance of Dairy Cow in Ethiopia

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