Production systems and breeding practices of Begaria cattle breed as input for a community-based breeding program.

This study aimed to describe the production systems and breeding practices of Begaria cattle breeds as a resource for community-based conservation and breeding program. A semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussions were employed to identify and describe the breeding practice of the farmer. Three kebeles: Almahal, Fanguso, and Mankush were considered for the study. The data were analyzed using R software. Cattle were kept for a variety of reasons, including milk, breeding, meat, cash, and saving. It was typical throughout the study area to see herd mixing and keeping together (4.7 ± 0.33 herds on average), herd movement during the dry season, and breeding bull sharing (1.9 ± 1.55 shared bulls). During the summer season, cattle rearing in the areas was hindered by feed and water shortages. The breed's major reproduction constraints were abortion (24 %), repeat breeding (19), and calf mortality (14). The primary reason for keeping Begaria cattle was for milk (29 %), cash (26), meat (22), and breeding (0.22). The average age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI) and milk yield per day of the breed were 41.5 ± 1.63, 16.0 ± 0.43 months, and 3.2 ± 0.12 L respectively. The average age of breeding bull selection was 3 ± 0.1 years, and it was based on several criteria, including their phenotype, growth, and white coat colour. Based on the current findings, it is recommended that a multi-trait selection program be designed with full stakeholder participation.

Farming practices and breeding objectives identification of farmer in north shoa and south wello zones of Amhara region.

The study aims at assessing the production systems and identifying the traits preferred by farmers in the study areas to establish community-based breeding and sustainable utilization programs. The study was conducted in the four purposively selected districts of North Shoa and South Wello zones of Amhara region (Merehabete, Wereillu, Moretena Jiru and Mojaena Wedera). A total of 120(30 farmers from each district) purposively selected farmers participated in their own flock ranking experiment. Furthermore, 216 (i.e., 54 farmers from each district) were interviewed about their goat production systems and trait preferences to be improved. The chi-square test was used to analyze qualitative data, and analysis of variance was used to analyze quantitative data generated by the survey. For the rank data, indexes were calculated using Microsoft Excel 2010. Income was the main objective of goat rearing in all the study areas. Doe has a larger proportion than other flock structures in all the study areas. Mostly, the age of castration was above one year in all the study areas. The breeding buck selection criteria were growth, shape, size, and color. Body size, litter size, and mothering ability were identified as important traits in all study areas. Early selling of fast-buck kids is practiced in all study areas for their immediate cash. This results in the use of poor-performing bucks for breeding and may result in negative selection. To address such issues, it is critical to create and implement a community-based breeding program that takes into account body size, litter size, mothering capacity, puberty age, and longevity.

Phenotypic characterization of Raya cattle in northern Ethiopia.

Thirteen qualitative and six morphometric variables on a total of 651 adult cattle (76 oxen and 575 cows) from four purposively selected districts were recorded to characterize the cattle populations in and around the breeding tract of Raya cattle. General linear model, frequency, and multivariate analysis procedures of Statistical Analysis Software (SAS 9.0) were used to analyze the data by splitting and merging the sexes. Higher measurement values for oxen were recorded over the cows. Location affects the studied traits significantly. The cattle population from Habru district was significantly differentiated from Raya cattle. Among the districts of Raya cattle, lowest values for most of the linear measurements were observed in Kobo district. Majority of the Raya cattle possess upright, lyre-shaped horn, small, and erected hump placed at the cervical thoracic position, large dewlap, naval flap, and perpetual sheath sizes and dominantly dark red body color with uniform body color pattern. Stepwise discriminant function analysis reveals horn length, ear length, and height at wither were the first three most important morphometric variables used in discriminating the cattle populations. Canonical discrimination analysis showed that the first canonical structure explains majority (94.13%) of the total variation with eigenvalue of 2.07 and canonical correlation of 82.14%. Discriminant function analysis showed the classification of an average 61% of the studied animals into their respective districts. Pairwise Mahalanobis distances between populations from different districts were found to be highly significant. Habru cattle population relates distantly from Raya cattle except its short distance with Kobo district. The shortest distance was observed between Raya cattle of Alamata and Raya Azebo districts. In conclusion, cattle from Alamata, Raya Azebo, and Kobo districts can be categorized as Raya cattle, while strong similarities between the first two districts in showing the real characteristics and morphology of Raya cattle were also revealed.