6 research outputs found
Sheep breeding practices and reproductive performances in Arba Minch Zuria district of Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia
No full textThe study was carried to characterize sheep breeding practices and reproductive performances in Arba Minch Zuria Woreda of Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia. The district was selected based on its potential for sheep production and distribution of different sheep breeds in the most of villages of the district. It was stratified in to three distinctive agro-ecologies; highland, midland and lowland. A total of 138 households were interviewed using structured questionnaire and probability proportional to size sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data were analyzed using statistical procedures for social science version 20. The overall purpose of sheep rearing across all AEZs was source of income, saving, meat production, sharing the risk and manure production which were ranked first to fifth in the given order. Observed sheep breeding system was generally uncontrolled and no planned selection of breeding stock is practicing. Rams are herding together with ewes. Body size, coat color and long and fatty tail type (from Bonga/Dawuro and Doyagana/Wolaita) were the most frequently reported traits in selecting breeding rams; whereas size, color, tail size and twining rate were mentioned as traits given due emphasis in choosing future breeding ewes. The overall age at first lambing was 12.81±0.14 months, lambing interval was 7.52±.08 months and litter size were 1.50±.08 lamb per sheep (P<0.05). A high lambing month was extended from April to May. As per the current findings, the reproductive performance the sheep of the study area could be categorized as medium level of productivity. Therefore; further confirmatory study is recommended to identify and select the superior breeding animals based on well documented information for economically important traits.
Keywords: Arba Minch Zuria district, Breeding practice, Reproductive performance, Shee
Morphological descriptors of indigenous chickens: as a selection guide
No full textThe visual morphologies in animals are associated positively or negatively with production, adaptation, and behavioral characteristics. For rural farmers with limited records, these features are considered reliable phenotypic markers. Thus, this study was intended to explore the unique morphological features of indigenous chickens as a farmer's selection guide. A total of 1,060 adult chickens from four rural districts were investigated for nine morphological traits. The single-comb type, supposed to be of good fertility, was the most prevalent. Yellow and white shanks were predominant, followed by gray, greenish-yellow, green, and black pigmentations. Crested and silky chickens were more frequent in highland areas, whereas naked-neck chickens were observed in lowlands. Chickens of the lowlands have brighter, more uniform plumage colors and yellow shank, beak, and earlobe colors. On the other hand, the highland and mid-altitude chickens are characterized by dark, colorful combinations of various feather colors: laced plumage, white shank, rose, and deformed rose combs. Moreover, multiple correspondence analyses revealed that morphological features have special associations with districts. Thus, the observed morphological heterogeneity of the indigenous chickens can be used as a good indicator of selective breeding. Therefore, the associations of these characteristics with productivity qualities could be confirmed by quantitative and molecular tools
Evaluation of Oestrus Synchronization Program on Dairy Cattle in South Ari District, South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia
No full textThis study was conducted in South Ari District, South Omo Zone, Ethiopia from 2017-2018 with the objectives of evaluating the performance of hormonal oestrus synchronization program and exploring beneficiaries’ perception. Data on 3881 synchronization records from the year 2011 to 2017 were used to evaluate its effectiveness trend. In addition, 2017 estrus synchronization record data of 408 cows and heifers were collected and used for analysis. Single dose prostaglandin(PGF2ɑ) was administrated to the animals and hormone response and conception and/pregnancy rate was measured. All synchronized cows/heifers showed estrus responses were inseminated on natural heat using frozen semen of Holstein Frisian and Jersey breed bulls. Pregnancy diagnosis was carried out at day 90 post AI by rectal palpation. Furthermore, 138 selected respondents from 4 beneficiary kebeles were interviewed on their perception hormonal oestrus synchronization .The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test. The results showed that 91.2% of cows and heifers were responding to the hormonal treatment. However; the overall pregnancy rate observed was only 11.02% and this is by far below the reported pregnancy rate at the national level (60%). About 73.9% of the respondents had a low perception concerning estrus synchronization practiced in the area. This was because of problems associated with lowawareness of farmers on heat detection, subjectivity on screening of animal for synchronization, distance of AI service centers, timing of insemination and poor feeding and management practice of animals. Since the South Ari district is one of the agro-pastoral areas in the region; continual supply of facilities, awareness on the estrus synchronization technology, improvement on cattle management practices and active involvement of stakeholders hormonal oestrus synchronization are necessary for the effectiveness of estrous synchronization program in the study area
Feed resources availability, feeding system and feed balance of sheep in Arba Minch Zuria District of Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia
No full textThis study was carried to characterize available feed resource, feeding system and feed balance of sheep in Arba Minch Zuria District of Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia. The district was selected based on its high potential for sheep production and urgent need of feed resource assessment for sheep production. Assuming there might be feed and feeding system variability across agro-ecologies (AEZ), the study district was stratified into three distinctive agro-ecologies, namely highland (HL), midland (ML) and lowland (LL). Following probability proportional to size sampling technique, a total of 138 households were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. In addition, a Focus Group Discussion with 12 households was conducted in each agro-ecology. The data obtained through these tools were analyzed using SPSS version 20. One-way variance analysis was used for the continuous data, whereas statistical variations in categorical data were tested using chi-square and t-test, with significantdifferences at P<0.05. The major reported available feed resources for sheep were pasture, crop residue and crop aftermath grazing in both wet and dry seasons. Feeding systems widely practiced in all AEZs were tethering, stall feeding and free grazing system in both dry and wet seasons. The dry matter (DM) production of feed from pasture, crop residues, crop aftermath, foliage of fodder trees and shrubs in the study area was 115,416.5 tons per year. The total feed DM requirement for 129,736.2 TLU was 295,928.27 tons per year. From the total tropical livestock units (TLU) of the district, sheep accounts about 2,925.5 TLU and requires 6673.1 tons of feed annually. The total DM produced per year in the district can only supply the animals for approximately 6 months; in the rest of the year, animals suffer from feed shortage. Therefore, introduction and use of best practices, conservation techniques and alternative feed production technologies are highly recommended
Quantifying phenotypic variability of indigenous chickens using morphometric traits by applying multivariate analysis: Input for sustainable rural chicken farming
No full textDespite environmentally influenced performance traits in farm animals, variations in morphometric characters reflect unswerving genetic effects. In this study, body weight and body dimension measurements of indigenous chickens reared in four rural communities were investigated using multivariate statistical procedures to elucidate the existence of phenotypic variability between chicken populations. The study districts were selected based on higher indigenous chicken population, geographic distance, and agro-ecological distinctiveness. Eleven morphometric traits were measured on 1060 adult chickens from the districts. The results revealed that there were significant (p < 0.0001) variations between populations across districts. Significantly (P < 0.0001) higher mean values for morphometric traits were obtained in chickens reared in the Hula (highland district) than in those of the three districts. Likewise, multivariate discriminant analysis showed that most of the variables had significant power to differentiate the chicken populations into separate groups. Accordingly, three discriminant functions were extracted, of which the first two explained 95.6 % of the total variances in the populations. Moreover, in cluster analysis, chickens were differentiated into two sub-groups: Hula as a separate population, and Shebedino, Aleta Chuko and Boricha populations clustered together. Furthermore, the discriminant analysis correctly assigned 56.7 %, 55.1 %, 51.5 %, and 53.3 % to their source populations of Hula, Aleta Chuko, Shebedino, Hula, and Boricha, respectively, showing high mixing and mobility of chickens across neighboring districts. Therefore, this study confirmed the existence of significant morphometric variability between the studied populations, which could be used as a valuable source of information for selective breeding and sustainable use of indigenous chickens, particularly for rural farmers who almost rely on phenotypic features to select breeding stocks. In addition, the higher morphometric measurements shown for Hula chickens should be confirmed by on-station evaluation, and further molecular tools should be applied to validate the genetic distinctiveness of the studied chicken populations
Current Prospects of Husbandry and Breeding Practices of Chicken Populations Rearing in Rural Communities: For Sustainable Improvement Interventions
No full textThis study aimed to investigate the present scenario of chicken husbandry and breeding practices in the rural districts of Sidama Region, southern Ethiopia. Four districts, namely Hula, Shebedino, Aleta Chuko, and Boricha were purposefully selected based on their chicken production potential and agroecological distinctiveness. The study data were collected from 161 chicken-keeping households through interviews, on-farm follow-ups, group discussions, and field observations. Descriptive statistics and indexed ranking procedures were applied to summarize the data using SAS software. The chicken farming system was predominantly free-scavenging, followed by slowly growing semi-intensive and few intensive farming systems. The majority of rural farmers were keeping chickens primarily to support family income and for home use. A decreasing flock size of indigenous chickens and an increasing trend of improved chicken distribution and rearing were observed. It has been noted that farmers have a good experience of selecting hatching eggs, breeding cocks, and hens. In highland districts, pure breeding is common, while in midland and lowland districts, crossbreeding is more common due to the high distribution of exotic breeds. In all study districts, chickens mainly rely on scavenging with minimal feed supplementation and sit on simple perches fixed in family houses and kitchens. More than 65% of farmers use various traditional medications that were known by farmers to cure sick chickens. Furthermore, the study identified seasonal feed shortages, disease outbreaks, unplanned breeding, limited management knowledge, predators, and drought as major bottlenecks to chicken production. Thus, these findings could raise guiding information to improve small-scale chicken husbandry and breeding practices, which help poor rural families, and the major bottlenecks to ensure sustainable poultry farming were identified. Moreover, the high mortality of chickens observed during peak dry and wet seasons in the Boricha and Hula districts, respectively, calls for further research on the adaptation potentials of chickens in their respective ecologies
