Compensatory growth in mashona steers of two ages grazing natural pasture in zimbabwe

Author(s):  
B. Manyuchi ◽  
T. Smith

Cattle not fed a supplement on dry season grazing lose weight. The magnitude of this loss and the extent of recovery during the subsequent wet season were measured in Mashona steers.Mashona steers aged 8 and 20 months at the outset (groups A and B respectively) were used. Within each group (n = 50) steers were fed cottonseed meal (CSM, 250g per 100kg live-weight) or not fed CSM during the dry season.

1988 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wadsworth

An experiment was carried out over successive years (1982 and 1983) to measure the extent to which live-weight advantage as a result of feeding in the dry season was maintained during the subsequent wet season at pasture. Two ages of Brahman steer (weaners and yearlings) were kept on three dry season treatments (molasses, sugar cane or grazing only) from January to May and then turned out to pasture as a single group until November. Although the molasses and sugar cane treatments produced significantly higher live-weight gains during the dry season the resultant weight advantage at turn-out was largely reduced during the wet season due to compensatory growth exhibited by previously restricted animals. Yearlings were less able to compensate than weaners.


1986 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Coppock ◽  
D. M. Swift ◽  
J. E. Ellis ◽  
K. Galvin

SummaryEnergy budgets and estimates of forage intake requirements were developed for adult camels, cattle, sheep, and goats managed by nomads in the arid Turkana District of north-western Kenya. The estimates were developed by combining our field data on livestock activity patterns, diet quality, weight changes and milk yields with literature based estimates of the associated costs and efficiencies. On an annual basis, the average animal walked 17 km/day and had a total metabolizable energy (ME) allocation of 47% for basal metabolism, 16% for travel, 14% for other activities, and 23% for production. Season and species influenced patterns of energy demand and allocation. Average daily ME requirements ranged from 8·7 MJ (sheep) to 76·7 MJ (camels). ME demand for all species peaked during wet (April-May) or early-to mid-dry periods (June-October), and decreased considerably in the late-dry season (November-March). In the wet season the average sheep or goat allocated 45% of its ME budget to production of milk and gain, followed by cattle (36%) and camels (25%). All species were more similar in ME allocation for production during the late-dry season (7–13%; all to lactation), yet patterns of weight loss during this time indicated that camels experienced the lowest degree of negative energy balance. On an annual basis, camel budgets were the most deviant, as they allocated relatively more ME to activity and relatively less to basal metabolism or weight gain. Estimates of forage dry-matter intakes (per unit live weight per day) ranged from 3·8% (cattle, camels) to 4·6% (sheep, goats) throughout the year, and intakes declined for most species by an average of 50% from the wet to late-dry intervals. This approach has revealed ecological differences among livestock species that help explain the utility of multi-species holdings in this system.


1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
RGA Stephenson ◽  
DA Pritchard ◽  
PM Pepper ◽  
PT Connelly

The effect of three different pasture management strategies on liveweight gain and wool growth rate of young(weaner) sheep was examined immediately after weaning on Mitchell grass-Flinders grass pastures during the dry season of north-west Queensland. The pasture management strategies were designed to mimic various industry situations, while the performance of four different progeny groups was compared and used to provide an overall assessment of pasture quality. Pasture treatments (experiment 1) consisted of three paddocks, a harvested (c. 8% of pasture harvested and baled) and spelled, a spelled, and a continuously grazed paddock. Spelled paddocks were not grazed during and after the wet season for a period of six months while the continuously grazed paddock was continuously stocked before the experiment. Experiment 2 consisted of spelled and continuously grazed paddocks. Pastures were evaluated by measuring the changes in composition and quality (experiment 1) and the responses in liveweight gain (experiments 1 and 2) and wool growth of the weaners (experiment 1). Marked improvements (c. 100%) in weaner growth rates occurred in the spelled paddocks. Greasy wool production by three groups of ewes in experiment I was about 14% greater in the harvested paddock than in the others. At the start of the trial there were no significant differences in dry matter yield but a significant difference in botanical composition occurred between paddocks. The changes in dry matter that occurred between the beginning and end of grazing were not significantly different between paddocks. Before gazing, forbs made up approximately 16%, 4% and 1% of pastures in harvested, spelled and continuously grazed paddocks respectively. The change in the percentage forbs that occurred between the beginning and end of the grazing period was significantly greater in the harvested paddock than in the other paddocks indicating preferential selection and intake by sheep. The differences in weaner live weight and wool growth between paddocks suggest that paddock management can improve weaner productivity. The study also indicates that paddock management could be successfully used to increase the percentage of forbs and quality of the pasture during the dry season. The superior wool growth of two progeny groups also suggests that improved productivity of breeding flocks in the tropics is possible if superior sheep can be identified. The results highlight the importance of preferential management of pasture for weaners so that productivity advantages can be exploited.


Author(s):  
T. Smith ◽  
S. Sibanda ◽  
C.R. de Souza ◽  
C. Chakanyuka ◽  
R.M. Chihora

A feeding trial with young cattle, supported by measurements of digestibility and intake in lambs, was carried out to compare dried poultry manure (DPM) with cottonseed meal (CSM) or a urea maize mix (UM) as supplements to unimproved dry season grazing.Eighty Mashona steers, aged 9 months, initial live-weight 157 kg, were divided into eight groups, one of which was used as an initial slaughter group. The remainder were grazed by day and penned overnight (119 days). Whilst in the pens they received either no supplement (C) or DPM; CSM; UM; DPM + CSM; CSM + CSM; UM + CSM. The single supplements contained 150g crude protein and the double supplements 250 g crude protein per day. All animals were offered a mineral supplement and water was available during the day. At the end of the dry season half of the animals from each group were slaughtered and half retained to measure compensatory growth.Twelve lambs housed in crates each received one of the treatments (C, DPM, CSM, UM) with veld hay ad libitum (CP 2.5%) to measure digestibility and intake.


1976 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Playne ◽  
P. M. Kennedy

SummaryTotal VFA concentrations, individual VFA proportions and ammonia concentrations in the rumen of cattle grazing tropical pastures for 7 months during the dry season were compared with concentrations of these metabolites in cattle grazing in the wet season and in cattle given two pasture hays in pens.Neither total VFA nor ammonia concentrations were altered by periods of new pasture growth within the dry season although responses in live weight occurred. Further evidence that concentrations of total VFA were insensitive to differences in feed quality was shown in the pen experiment.VFA concentrations were 53% higher in the rainy season than in the dry season and ammonia concentrations doubled from 62 mg/1 in the dry to 128 mg/1 in the wet season. Ruminal ammonia was related to ingested bolus N concentration (r= 0·58,P< 0.001) during the dry season.Individual VFA proportions did not vary greatly. The highest acetic (79·1%) and lowest butyric acid (5.10%) proportions occurred in the same sample. Iso-valeric and valeric acid proportions were related positively to ruminal ammonia (P< 0·001).In grazing cattle, concentrations of VFA and ammonia in their rumen taken at hourly intervals between 07.00 and 18.00 h did not vary greatly with time. Samples taken before 10.00 h had higher VFA and ammonia levels.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
B. O. Nweze ◽  
M. O. Otuma

Herd simulation model was adopted to assess the productivity of Muturu cattle under sedentary pastoral system within southeast, Nigeria. The model involved biomass and other productivity investigations of the Muturu herds on field-gazed and stall-fed management within the wet and dry season period. Biological entities of Muturu herds from 500 Muturu cattle holders (MCH) and Non-Pastoral holders (NPH) surveyed from year 2010 to 2019 were studied. The sedentary production system was simulated and statistically analyzed. The results showed 70 percent MCH and 30 percent NPH, with60 percent of the Muturu stock sourced through donation/leasing arrangement by the NPH, while only 5 percent of the stock for the study was through purchase arrangement by the MCH. Sedentary pastoral system in southeast Nigeria operates at a very low commercial level. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in some of the biological entities such as live weight at 12 and 24 months, which were better in the wet season than in the dry season. The stall-fed management was relatively better than the field grazed management. Simulated values were higher than the actual values in some of the biological entities but fit in with field grazed and stall-fed management. The efficiency of Livestock/forage production under the sedentary system was very low with 13.02, 15.32 and 17.35 percent respectively for field-grazed, stall-fed management and simulation model. The herd biomass and productivity values of Muturu herd under the sedentary pastoral system in the Southeast region were very low with 25.00 and 33.33 percent for field grazed and stall-fed management respectively.     Un modèle de simulation de troupeau a été adopté pour évaluer la productivité des bovins Muturu sous système pastoral sédentaire dans le sud-est du Nigeria. Le modèle impliquait des études sur la biomasse et d'autres études de productivité des troupeaux de Muturu sur la gestion surveillée sur le terrain et nourrie en stabulation pendant la période de saison humide et sèche. Les entités biologiques des troupeaux Muturu de 500 éleveurs Muturu (le 'MCH') et non pastoraux (le 'NPH') enquêtés de 2010 à 2019 ont été étudiées. Le système de production sédentaire a été simulé et analysé statistiquement. Les résultats ont montré 70 pour cent de 'MCH' et 30 pour cent de 'NPH', avec 60 pour cent du stock de Muturu provenant d'un accord de don / location par le 'NPH', tandis que seulement 5 pour cent du stock de l'étude provenait d'un accord d'achat par le 'MCH'. Le système pastoral sédentaire du sud-est du Nigéria fonctionne à un niveau commercial très bas. Il y avait des differences significatives (P <0.05) dans certaines des entités biologiques telles que le poids vif à 12 et 24 mois, qui étaient meilleures pendant la saison des pluies que pendant la saison sèche. La gestion des étables était relativement meilleure que la gestion des pâturages sur le terrain. Les valeurs simulées étaient plus élevées que les valeurs réelles dans certaines des entités biologiques, mais cadraient avec la gestion des pâturages sur le terrain et des stalles. L'efficacité de la production de bétail / fourrage dans le système sédentaire était très faible avec 13.02, 15.32 et 17.35 pour cent respectivement pour le modèle de gestion et de simulation sur pâturage au champ, en stabulation. Les valeurs de la biomasse et de la productivité du troupeau deMuturu sous le système pastoral sédentaire dans la région du Sud-Est étaient très faibles avec 25.00 et 33.33pour centrespectivement pour la gestion des pâturages au champ et des stalles.


1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Goodchild

ABSTRACTAn abrupt fall in live weight of grazing cattle occurs at the beginning of the growing season in the seasonally dry tropics. In an experiment with grazing crossbred bulls in central Tanzania designed to monitor changes in gut fill, 16 were slaughtered in the dry season and 14 in the early wet season. Bulls were measured and weighed before, and weighed after, a 20-h fast and then slaughtered. Gut fill was measured and empty body weight (EBW) calculated.During fasting, the ratio gut fill/EBW fell from 0·291 to 0·217 in the dry season and from 0·207 to 0·119 in the wet season. Heart girth/EBW1/3 was 0·2577 and 0·2567 m/kg1/3 in the dry and wet seasons respectively.It was concluded that live weight before or after fasting is seriously affected by season and can give biased predictions of EBW change. On the other hand, heart girth is little affected by season and can be used to monitor relative increases or decreases of EBW within animals.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
MA Baset ◽  
KS Huque ◽  
NR Sarker ◽  
MM Hossain ◽  
MN Islam

Ten cows, each of native (local cow) and crossbred (local × crossbred) origins differing in lactation yield were used in 2×2×2×2 factorial experiment using RBD to evaluate existing milk urea nitrogen (MUN) of cows considering regions and seasons. The live weight and BCS of cows under good feed base management condition was higher than of the poor feed base management condition. Feed intake of cows under good and feed base management condition was significantly (P<0.01) higher than of the intake of cows under poor feed base condition. Daily dry matter intake (DMI) of cows under good and poor feed base condition was 8.53 and 5.40 kg, respectively. Daily ME intake of cows under good and poor feed base management condition were 70.23 and 40.20 MJ, respectively. The requirements of ME (ARC, 1994) were 83.3 and 51.7 MJ, respectively. The intake of CP, RDP and UDP were 839.0, 488.5 and 350.9 g/d, respectively in good feed base and 386.0, 166.0 and 220.0 g/d, respectively in poor feed base region. The daily protein intake as live weight and milk production in good and poor feed base management condition were significantly (P<0.01) lower (-270.0 and -164.5 g, respectively) than the requirement (ARC, 1994). The daily RDP intake were significantly (P<0.01) lower than the requirement (ARC, 1994). Daily milk yield and 4% FCM of cows under good feed base condition were 6.76 and 6.49 kg, respectively and under poor feed base condition were 3.67 and 3.31 kg, respectively, which differed significantly (P<0.01). The milk protein, lactose, SNF, minerals and total solids under good feed base condition were 3.79, 5.49, 10.09, 0.63 and 14.06%, respectively and under poor feed base condition were 3.63, 5.29, 9.80, 0.61 and 13.52, respectively, which were significantly (P<0.01) influenced by feed base. MUN and BUN under good feed base condition were found 38.86 and 40.98 mg/dl, respectively and under poor feed base condition 28.55 and 33.13 mg/dl, respectively, and this difference between the two areas were statistically significant (P<0.01). The live weight of cow was 284.0 kg in the dry season and in the winter season 282.3 kg which did not differ significantly (P>0.05). Intake of CP and RDP in dry season was found 664 and 358.5 g/d, respectively and in the wet season it was 561 and 296 g/d, respectively, which differed significantly (P<0.01). BUN and MUN in dry season were 37.35 and 36.79 mg/dl, respectively and in wet season 36.75 and 36.87 mg/dl, respectively. The live weight and BCS of crossbred cows was higher than that of the local cows. The live weight and BCS of crossbred cow were 318.8 kg & 2.85, respectively and of local cow were 247.5 kg & 2.34, respectively, which was significantly (P<0.01) higher than local cow. The daily DMI of local cow was 5.75 kg and crossbred cow was 8.17 kg, which differed significantly (P<0.01). Daily ME intake of crossbred cow (64.82 MJ) was significantly (P<0.01) higher than local cow (45.60 MJ), which were lowered compared to the requirement as per ARC (1994). Daily CP, RDP and UDP intake of crossbred cow were 708, 378 and 330 g, respectively and of local cow were 517, 276 and 240 g, respectively; which differed significantly (P<0.01). Daily milk yield and 4%FCM of local cows were 3.26 and 3.28 kg, respectively and of crossbred cows were 7.18 and 6.52 kg, respectively, which differed significantly (P<0.01). The milk protein of local cow was 3.73 % and of crossbred was 3.70 %, which differed significantly (P<0.01). The MUN and BUN of the local cow were 31.97 and 34.94 mg/dl, respectively and of crossbred cows were 35.44 and 39.17 mg/dl, respectively, which were statistically significant (P<0.01). It may be concluded that the MUN depends on plane of nutrition of cows, seasons and their genotypes but stages of lactation may not be affect its level in milk. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v8i1-2.14632 J. Sci. Foundation, 8(1&2): 97-110, June-December 2010


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aman Gudeto ◽  
Sandip Banerjee ◽  
Tadele Mirkena ◽  
Tesfaye Alemu Tucho

The study was conducted in Adami Tulu Jidokombolcha (ATJK), Bora, Dodola, Shala and Negele-Arsi districts with objective to assess main cattle feed resources, water sources and housing systems. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to conduct survey.  About 240 respondents were identified using random sampling techniques. Collected data was analyzed by SPSS statistical software (Ver. 24). Study result indicates that household in average had three hectares of land and allocated about two hectares of land for crop cultivation. Most respondents reported that cattle herding is not common during dry season while it is common during wet season.  Survey result indicate that natural pasture, weed and maize tiller and stored crop residues are main feed resources in wet  season while crop after math, crop residue and fodder trees are main resources during dry season. Brackish, local mineral and common salt are mineral sources for cattle in study areas. Lake, river and boreholes are important water sources in dry season where as ponds and rivers are main water sources during wet season for their cattle. The observed cattle watering frequency is mainly once a day. Housing system practiced in the study areas is mainly Kraal. The information generated from this study on land size per household, cattle herding system, feed resources, mineral sources, water sources, water utilization and housing type can be used as a baseline for any livestock development programs in those and similar areas. 


1984 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. O. Iremiren

SummaryMulching polybag oil-palm seedlings with bunch refuse, shredded polythene, sawdust, grass, wood shavings and kernel shells ‘all-year’ or throughout the nursery period (May–May), in the ‘wet-season only’ (May-November), and in the ‘dry-season only’ (November–May) resulted in soil temperature differences which did not exceed 1 °C at 5 cm polybag depth. This was attributed to the high rainfall which reduced considerably the soil temperature differences between mulched and unmulched soil in the wet season and to the enhanced leaf canopy in ‘all-year’ and ‘wet season only’ mulchings which shaded soil in polybags in the dry season.The mulch materials and times of their application significantly influenced growth variables like number of leaves, plant height and stem girth, and number of blast-affected seedlings at 6 months after sowing (wet season). By 12 months after sowing, all growth characters measured were similar in the various treatments, indicating compensatory growth at the latter half of the growing period (dry season).N, P, K, Mg and Ca contents of seedlings were not significantly affected by either mulch materials or times of their application. The results emphasize that mulching for at least 6 months during the early or late nursery period and the use of various mulches may be beneficial to oil-palm seedling growth.


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