scholarly journals Influence of season on herd size and birth rate of small-holder goats in the Southern Guinea Savanna

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-187
Author(s):  
K.U. Anoh ◽  
I. Abdulahi ◽  
I.K. Al-Habib
Keyword(s):  
Birth Rate ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
West African ◽  
Conception Rate ◽  
Guinea Savanna ◽  
Lactating Goats ◽  
Hot Dry Season ◽  
Herd Structure ◽  
Small Holder

The study aimed to evaluate the influence of season on herd size and the birth rate of goats in Southern Guinea Savanna, Nigeria. The study was carried out in Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 54 households from 6 villages were used for the evaluation. Structured questionnaires on the socio-economic characteristics of the goat owners were administered. Data on the reproductive performance of goats were collected by visual appraisal. The data collected were on herd size, sex, number of pregnant goats, lactating goats and newly weaned kids. The result showed that more women (63.6%) were involved in goat rearing than males (36.4%), and about 91.6% of the respondents had a herd size of 1-20 goats, while only 8.4% had a herd size of 21-30. The goat herd distribution showed that the average herd size was 16.5goats, within the range of 7 to 30 goats. The herd structure was 391 females and 184 males. Three breeds of goats were identified, the West African Dwarf (WAD) goats being the dominant (397), followed by Maradi (Red Sokoto) breed (113), and the least was Pygmy breed (75). Season significantly influenced pregnancy and the number of lactating goats. There were more lactating goats during the cold-wet period and more pregnant goats during the hot-dry season. It was concluded that goat production is still at the peasant level, and goats were kept as a supplementary source of income. The conception rate was high during the cold-dry season, which was manifested in the hot-dry season. More awareness is still needed to increase the production of goats in the area. We recommend a reproduction program should be targeted during the cold-dry season where the conception rate is high.

scholarly journals Small holder herd structure of West African Dwarf goats in a derived savannah environment area of Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-253
Author(s):  
T. A. Adedeji ◽  
L. O. Ojedapo ◽  
O. O. Ojebiyi ◽  
T. B. Olayeni ◽  
A. O. Akinwumi
Keyword(s):  
Herd Size ◽  
West African ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Housing Type ◽  
West African Dwarf ◽  
West African Dwarf Goats ◽  
Herd Structure ◽  
Foundation Stock ◽  
Small Holder ◽  
Dwarf Goats

The herd structure of small holder farmers engaged in the keeping of West African dwarf goats in Surulere Local government area of Ogbomosho, a derived Savannah zone of Oyo State, Nigeria was surveyed. 30 flock owners having a total of 273 goats were randomly selected and studied using structured questionnaire, on farm visit and personal interviews. The parameters measured include age, sex and occupation of the farmers; Age, sex and number of animals kept, sources of foundation stock, housing type; major problems facing the farmers; time, mode, ease, peak and age of animal disposal. The result indicated that middle age men and married women were more into goat rearing. The herd size ranged from 6.67 – 12.33 goats per farmer with an overall average of 9.10. Goats kept were fairly young. In most cases, stock foundation were acquired through gift and purchase from neighbours. Semi-intensive system of management was mostly embraced because it is less risky, low labour and cost inputs were involved. The major limiting factor is the health problem.

On-farm performance of Bunaji (White Fulani) cattle 1. Herd structures and cattle disposal

1993 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. O. Rege ◽  
R. R. von Kaufmann ◽  
R. I. Mani
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Arable Farming ◽  
Herd Structure ◽  
Milk Market

AbstractA study urns conducted to examine herd structures and cattle disposal patterns of Bunaji herds kept under traditional management at four locations in the subhumid zone of Nigeria. Sale for meat was the single most important disposal reason, accounting for proportionately 0·55 of all disposals. Mean age of cattle sold for meat was 8 years but the age range was wide: animals as old as 17·4 years were involved in such sales. Male animals were sold at a younger age (6·2 years) than females (9·3 years). Sale of calves was an important exit avenue for rural herds with less access to milk market. Calves were sold at a mean age of 1·1 years and male calves accounted for a larger proportion (0·62) of such sales. Animal sales were highest in the early dry season and lowest in the early wet season. The predominantly arable farming location, Ganawuri, had the highest frequency of animal sales and lowest frequency of exits for ‘social functions’ (exchanges, transfers and gifts). Animal transfers, gifts and exchanges were important disposal routes in the traditionally pastoral communities, especially in locations with good grazing (e.g. Abet). Exits involving exchanges, transfers and gifts were more frequent during the dry season and least frequent in the wet season. An average herd had 77 head of cattle composed proportionately of 0·54 adult females (>3 years), 0·13 adult males (>3 years), 0·08 young bulls (1 to 3 years), 0·13 heifers (1 to 3 years) and 0·11 calves (0 to 1 year). There was a tendency toward smaller herds in later years (97 in 1980 to 51 in 1989) and a decrease in the ratio of adult females to males (from 6:1 in 1980 to 3:1 in 1989). Substantial between-location differences existed in herd size ami herd structure, ranging from the ‘beef orientation’ of the arable Ganawuri with a high proportion of immatures and calves, to the pastoral situation in Abet and Kurmin Biri with high proportion of adult animals. The proportions of adults were lowest in the early dry season, reflecting seasonal pattern in disposal and calving. The pattern in disposal reasons over time indicated a decrease in the proportion of animals exiting herds through exchanges, transfers and gifts and signified a possible shift from tradition, probably a response to population pressures and emergence of cash economies.

scholarly journals A reconstruction of the recent fire regimes of Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, using remote sensing

Fire Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem A. Nieman ◽  
Brian W. van Wilgen ◽  
Alison J. Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Local Evidence ◽  
Hot Dry Season ◽  
Wildlife Reserve

Abstract Background Fire is an important process that shapes the structure and functioning of African savanna ecosystems, and managers of savanna protected areas use fire to achieve ecosystem goals. Developing appropriate fire management policies should be based on an understanding of the determinants, features, and effects of prevailing fire regimes, but this information is rarely available. In this study, we report on the use of remote sensing to develop a spatially explicit dataset on past fire regimes in Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, between 2001 and 2019. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images were used to evaluate the recent fire regime for two distinct vegetation types in Majete Wildlife Reserve, namely savanna and miombo. Additionally, a comparison was made between MODIS and Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) images by separately evaluating selected aspects of the fire regime between 2012 and 2019. Results Mean fire return intervals were four and six years for miombo and savanna vegetation, respectively, but the distribution of fire return intervals was skewed, with a large proportion of the area burning annually or biennially, and a smaller proportion experiencing much longer fire return intervals. Variation in inter-annual rainfall also resulted in longer fire return intervals during cycles of below-average rainfall. Fires were concentrated in the hot-dry season despite a management intent to restrict burning to the cool-dry season. Mean fire intensities were generally low, but many individual fires had intensities of 14 to 18 times higher than the mean, especially in the hot-dry season. The VIIRS sensors detected many fires that were overlooked by the MODIS sensors, as images were collected at a finer scale. Conclusions Remote sensing has provided a useful basis for reconstructing the recent fire regime of Majete Wildlife Reserve, and has highlighted a current mismatch between intended fire management goals and actual trends. Managers should re-evaluate fire policies based on our findings, setting clearly defined targets for the different vegetation types and introducing flexibility to accommodate natural variation in rainfall cycles. Local evidence of the links between fires and ecological outcomes will require further research to improve fire planning.

Effects of melatonin on cloacal temperature and erythrocyte osmotic fragility in layer hens during the hot-dry season

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Olusegun Sinkalu ◽  
Joseph Olusegun Ayo ◽  
Ariyo Adelaja Abimbola ◽  
Josiah Egbamushe Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Osmotic Fragility ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility ◽  
Hot Dry Season ◽  
Layer Hens

scholarly journals Methane gas emissions from savanna fires: What analysis of local burning regimes in a working West African landscape tell us

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Laris ◽  
Moussa Koné ◽  
Fadiala Dembélé ◽  
Lilian Yang ◽  
Rebecca Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Air ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
West African ◽  
Biomass Composition ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Methane Cycle ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Savanna Fires ◽  
Fire Type

Abstract. Savanna fires contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. While it is recognized that these fires play an important role in the global methane cycle, there are too few accurate estimates of emissions from West Africa, the continent's most active fire region. Most estimates of methane emissions contain high levels of uncertainty because they are based on generalizations of diverse landscapes that are burned by complex fire regimes. To improve estimates we used an approach grounded in the burning practices of people who set fires to working landscapes. We conducted 97 experimental fires collecting data for savanna type, grass type, biomass composition and amount consumed, scorch height, speed of fire front, fire type and ambient air conditions for two sites in Mali. We collected smoke samples for 36 fires using a canister method. We report values for fire intensity, combustion completeness, patchiness, modified combustion efficiency (MCE) and emission factor (EF). Our study finds that methane EFs ranged from 3.71 g/kg in the early dry season (EDS) to 2.86 in the mid-dry season (MDS). We found head fires had nearly double the CH4 EF of backfires (4.89 g/kg to 2.92). Fires during the MDS have the lowest intensity values and the lowest methane emissions 0.981 g/m2 compared with 1.030 g/m2 for EDS and 1.102 g/m2 for the late dry season (LDS). We conclude that policies aimed at shifting the burning regime earlier to reduce methane emissions will not have the desired effects, especially if fire type is not considered. We recommend using the adjusted mean value of 0.862 g/m2—based on the carbon content for West African grasses—for calculating emissions for West African savannas.

scholarly journals Influence of sex, reproductive status and foetal number on erythrocyte osmotic fragility, haematological and physiologic parameters in goats during the hot-dry season

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 479-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Habibu ◽  
MU Kawu ◽  
HJ Makun ◽  
T. Aluwong ◽  
LS Yaqub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Rectal Temperature ◽  
Osmotic Fragility ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Corpuscular Haemoglobin ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility ◽  
Hot Dry Season ◽  
Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin ◽  
Twin Pregnancies

The current study was aimed at evaluating the effect of heat stress (during the hot-dry period) on some physiological variables, haematology and erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) in bucks, pregnant (single and twin) and lactating Red Sokoto (RS) goats. Forty apparently healthy adult goats were used for the study and were allotted to four groups [bucks (n = 10), pregnant (n = 10) dry (n = 10), and lactating (n = 10) does]. The pregnant goats were further re-grouped according to number of foetuses (single foetus, n = 5 and twins, n = 5). The temperature-humidity index and physiological variables measured were significantly higher in the afternoon compared to morning hours. Pregnant does had higher respiratory and pulse rates than the dry does, but no significant change (P > 0.05) in rectal temperature was observed between groups. On the basis of sex, bucks had lower (P < 0.05) mean corpuscular volume (MCV) than other groups, in addition to having higher (P < 0.01) mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and total leucocyte counts than dry does. Pregnant does exhibited significantly lower (P < 0.05) packed cell volume, but significantly higher (P < 0.05) MCH and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentrations (MCHC) than lactating does. Does with a single foetus had significantly lower (P < 0.05) MCV, but higher MCHC than does with twin pregnancies. Using EOF as a biomarker of oxidative stress, erythrocytes of bucks were significantly more resistant to hypotonic haemolysis than those of dry, pregnant and lactating does, with no significant difference in EOF between does of different groups. The erythrocytes of single and twin pregnancies showed similar haemolysis pattern. In conclusion, sex, lactation, and the number of foetuses carried by pregnant does significantly influences physiological and haematological variables in RS goats during the hot-dry season. Also, during heat stress, the changes in physiological variables seem to enhance favourable adaptation by preventing an increase in rectal temperature even in twin pregnancies.  

scholarly journals Fertility parameters in German dairy herds: Associations with milk yield and herd size

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 459-464
Author(s):  
Jörn Rethmeier ◽  
Michael Wenzlau ◽  
Martin Wagner ◽  
Steffi Wiedemann ◽  
Lisa Bachmann
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Rate ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Pregnancy Rates ◽  
Conception Rate ◽  
Service Rate ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Key Factor

Fertility in dairy cows has decreased over the last fifty years while milk production per cow has increased. Furthermore, dairy herds become larger resulting in fewer employees per cow, which might also influence reproductive performance. To elucidate the situation in Germany, selected parameters (conception rate, service rate, pregnancy rate, days to first insemination and days open) were studied using data on 148 herds. For statistical analysis the herds were categorized concerning milk yield: (1) < 30 kg, (2) 30‒35 kg, and (3) > 35 kg/cow/day as well as concerning herd size: (1) < 200, (2) 200‒400, (3) 400‒1000 and (4) > 1000 milking cows. There was no difference in conception rate among herds. That means on dairy farms of larger size or with high milk yield the chance of an inseminated cow to become pregnant is the same as in small herds or in herds with low milk yield. Small herds (< 200 cows) had lower pregnancy rates than larger herds (200–400 cows). The pregnancy rate in herds with different milk yield was not statistically different. Though there was a trend that dairy farms with higher milk yield (> 30 kg) had higher pregnancy rates. The statistical differences and trends of pregnancy rates are due to higher service rate in larger herds as well as in herds with high milk yield. Therefore, service rate is the key factor for high reproductive performance on dairy farms. Poor fertility is not associated with high milk yield on herd basis or large herd size but may represent inappropriate farm management.

Spacing behaviour and habitat use of axis deer (Axis axis) in lowland Nepal

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1735-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stein R. Moe ◽  
Per Wegge
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Axis Axis ◽  
Hot Dry Season ◽  
Sal Forest ◽  
Axis Deer

A total of 17 axis deer (Axis axis) (12 females, 5 males) were radio-instrumented in Bardia National Park in lowland Nepal, and 1921 locations of females and 605 locations of males were obtained during the 2-year study period. Both the annual home ranges (135 ± 33 and 204 ± 38 (SD) ha for females and males, respectively) and the seasonal home ranges were quite small compared with those reported in another study in Nepal. We present evidence that this difference is due to a more fine-grained habitat mosaic in Bardia. Males used larger areas than females in the monsoon and the hot part of the dry season. The deer were sedentary, with a mean seasonal home range overlap between 49 and 86%, and seasonal occupancy centres were all located less than 1300 m apart. Mean seasonal home range size (68 and 110 ha for females and males, respectively) was smallest in the cool part of the dry season. The rutting period did not seem to have any major effect on the ranging behaviour, as neither males nor females increased home range size from the pre-rut to the rutting period. The deer used riverine forest preferentially during the cool-dry and hot-dry seasons, whereas sal forest was the preferred habitat during the monsoon and the cool-dry season. Grasslands were preferentially utilized by females at night during the hot-dry season, presumably because of improved forage quality following cutting and burning. Males were more associated with riverine and sal forest than were females, while females used grassland areas more than males did.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document