CHARACTERIZATION OF PRODUCTION SYSTEM, PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE AND MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS OF BEGAIT CATTLE IN WESTERN ZONE OF TIGRAY REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the production system, productive and reproductive performance and morphological traits of Begait cattle in Western Zone of Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Purposive sampling of districts, Kebeles, investors and HuARC cows, and random sampling of smallholder farmers and sample animals were employed. A total of six Kebeles, 180 households (HHs) and 381 mature Begait cattle were involved for household (HH) survey and qualitative and quantitative data collection of animals, respectively. The data were analyzed using SPSS and SAS softwares. Furthermore, indexing was used to rank some qualitative data. The primary purpose of keeping Begait cattle of investors was for breeding and selling, and that of SHFs was for milk production. The HH survey signposted that age at first mating (AFM) of males and females, age at first calving (AFC), reproductive lifetime (RLT) of bull and cows and days open (DO) of Begait cattle were significantly different (P˂0.05) between investor and smallholder farmer (SHF) management systems (MSs). Begait cattle breeding males of investors were with AFM of 3.2±0.5 years and RLT of 5.3±1.2 years whereas breeding males in SHFs expressed AFM of 3.5±0.5 and RLT of 4.2±1.2 years, and breeding females in investors exhibited AFM of 2.9±0.7 years, AFC of 3.9±0.7 years, RLT of 9.1±0.9 years, and calves born per cow lifetime of 7±1 while breeding females in SHFs revealed AFM of 3.2±0.6, AFC of 4.2±0.6, RLT of 11.0±0.8 and calves born per cow lifetime of 7±1. Lactation length (LL) of old and random cows were 5.3±0.5 and 5.7±0.6 months under investor MS and 6.3±1.0 and 6.6±0.9 months under SHFs MS, respectively, was significantly different (P˂0.05). Average LL of HuARC cows was 7 months. Daily milk yield (DMY) per old cow of investors was 2.9±0.3 and of SHFs was 2.6±0.4 liters, was significantly different (P˂0.05). The average DMY per cow at HuARC was 6.68 liters. The minimum reported values of males and females AFM, AFC and DO, and the maximum values of RLT of cows, number of calves born in lifetime of cows, DMY and LL of cows of Begait cattle reproductive and dairy traits demonstrated the potentials of the breed for dairy production. Body length (BL), chest girth (CG), Height at withers (HW), pelvic width (PW), teat length and hock circumference (HC) of breeding females, and BL, CG, HW, preputial sheath and HC of breeding males were significantly different (P˂0.05) among MSs. Some of the biometric traits (LBMs) demonstrated that Begait cattle can be used as dairy animals. 65.1% of investor and 70.9% of SHF respondents revealed that Begait cattle population was at decreasing trend in the last five years due to different production challenges. Therefore, on farm in-situ conservation of the breed should largely be taken in to account. Overall results of LBMs, reproductive and dairy traits indicated that improvement works will be mandatory in the future years. Selection should be practiced in all of the four MSs particularly in Humera ranch, investor and SHF MSs. Furthermore, other husbandry practices of the four MSs should be improved.