Evaluation of losses of replacement heifers in pastoral and peri-urban camel herds in semi-arid northern Kenya

Shibia, Mumina; Owuor, George; Bebe, Bockline Omedo

doi:10.1186/2041-7136-3-23

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In each of the herds visited, questions were asked on herd growth, problems and prospects of camel rearing in the region using structured open-ended questionnaires. Past studies have shown that pastoralists have good memory about individual animals and are useful in epidemiological data collection (Kaufmann 2005;Shibia et al 2013). Responses from these interviews were qualitatively analysed.…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herd growth parameters and constraints of camel rearing in Northeastern Nigeria

et al. 2017

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The one-humped camel, Camelus dromedarius, is an important pack and ride, dairy and meat animal in semi-arid northeastern Nigeria. This study was carried out to document reproductive information for scientists and farmers on camel rearing for improved productivity. A structured open-ended questionnaire on herd growth parameters and constraints of camel-rearing in the region was administered to 147 respondents. Results showed that most camel owners were middle aged, married, Arab men with over 20 years of experience in camel-rearing. The camels were made up of predominantly mixed breeds originating from eastern and northern Africa. Sexually matured heifers are detectable at three years of age, have good body conformation and are receptive to bulls during estrus. They have a long rutting period that stretched from rainy to harmattan seasons (July to January). Length of gestation is 13 months, and pregnancy is detectable by observing a successfully mated cow raising her tail on being approached by a bull at two weeks into pregnancy or the distension of the abdominal region towards mid pregnancy. Up to 60% conception rate was reported while age of cow at first parturition was five years. Other herd growth parameters reported include calf mortality rate of up to 40%, milking duration of one year and productivity of at least 10 calves per cow per life time. Only 4% of respondents in this study consult veterinary care while few (23%) respondents helped the dam to suckle its new born. Abortion, biting flies, trans-border conflicts and armed banditries were the major constraints to camel production in the study area. It was concluded that despite the knowledgeability of camel herders in this study, there appears to be poor herd management that needs to be addressed by adequate education and access to veterinary care in order to improve productivity.

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Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herd growth parameters and constraints of camel rearing in Northeastern Nigeria

et al. 2017

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“…Camels were frequently given drugs designed for cows, sheep or goats. Research into ‘peri-urban camels’ in Isiolo County (south of Marsabit) also identified camel mortality as a serious problem, and veterinary services as inadequate (Noor et al 2012; Shibia et al 2013). …”

Section: Social Differentiation and Unexpected Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Camels and Climate Resilience: Adaptation in Northern Kenya

2016

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In the drylands of Africa, pastoralists have been facing new challenges, including those related to environmental shocks and stresses. In northern Kenya, under conditions of reduced rainfall and more frequent droughts, one response has been for pastoralists to focus increasingly on camel herding. Camels have started to be kept at higher altitudes and by people who rarely kept camels before. The development has been understood as a climate change adaptation strategy and as a means to improve climate resilience. Since 2003, development organizations have started to further the trend by distributing camels in the region. Up to now, little has been known about the nature of, reasons for, or ramifications of the increased reliance on camels. The paper addresses these questions and concludes that camels improve resilience in this dryland region, but only under certain climate change scenarios, and only for some groups.

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Reproductive performance and herd growth potentials of cattle in the Borana pastoral system, southern Ethiopia

et al. 2017

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The pastoral communities in the Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia mainly rely on cattle (Bos indicus) for their livelihoods. The reproductive performance of cattle is affected by environmental variability and mobility practices that affect fodder availability. This study was conducted to investigate the reproductive performances and herd growth potentials of cattle reared in three ecologically varied zones of Golbo, Malbe and Dirre in the Borana rangelands with different levels of mobility constraints. Using the progeny history technique we gathered life histories of 95, 44, and 138 breeding females and their 411, 203, and 448 calves from the pastoral zones of Golbo, Malbe and Dirre, respectively. The average number of breeding females per household showed a declining trend over the past 10 years. The age at first calving was 53 ± 1 (mean ± s.e.), 52 ± 2 and 56 ± 1 months for the cows from Golbo, Malbe and Dirre, respectively. The mean calving interval was 18. ± 0 for Golbo, 17 ± 0 for Malbe and 19 ± 0 for Dirre. The average number of calves per cow was 3.8 ± 0.1 and was highest in Golbo. Dirre had the lowest calving rate and higher calf mortality than Malbe and Golbo. A simulation of herd growth showed that in Golbo and Malbe the average number of females were 100% higher after 20 years than in Dirre. It is concluded that reduced pastoral mobility that affected resource access across ecological zones can compromise the reproductive performance and hence the growth potential of cattle populations. These findings underscore the importance of policy frameworks such as those by the African Union that call for upholding of pastoral land rights and enabling of mobility practices.

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Evaluation of losses of replacement heifers in pastoral and peri-urban camel herds in semi-arid northern Kenya

Cited by 3 publications

References 16 publications

Herd growth parameters and constraints of camel rearing in Northeastern Nigeria

Herd growth parameters and constraints of camel rearing in Northeastern Nigeria

Camels and Climate Resilience: Adaptation in Northern Kenya

Reproductive performance and herd growth potentials of cattle in the Borana pastoral system, southern Ethiopia

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