Abstract:
This study was conducted to assess cattle breeding and husbandry practices of the
communities, to evaluate the efficiency of artificial insemination after estrus
synchronization of cattle, and to assess the perception of the communities about AI and
synchronization in Mirab and Misrak Badawacho districts, Hadiya zone. Data were
collected using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. A total of 90
respondents were randomly selected from the two districts (45 from each) and 6 kebeles (3
kebeles each and 15 households from each kebeles). A total of 90 cows (46 local and 44
crossbred) were injected with a single dose of prostaglandin to evaluate the effectiveness
based on estrus induction, conception rate, and the number of services per conception. The
dairy cows were selected by using random sampling methods. Descriptive statistics,
frequency distribution procedures, and chi-Square tests were used to interpret the data.
The survey results indicated that the average age at first service for female native and
crossbred cows were 41.9±5.3 and 30.9±3.1 months, average daily milk yield for local and
crossbreds were 1.7±0.5 and 6.31±1.2 liters, average lactation length for local and
crossbred were 8±1.0 and 9.71±1.0 months, average age at first calving for local and
crossbred were 50.85±3.95 and 39.35±8.1 months, average calving interval for local and
crossbred were 23.4±4.2 and 21.4±2.85 months, average days open for local and
crossbred were 208.2±36.2 and 148.4±36.8, respectively. Natural pasture and crop
residue were dominant feed sources for both agro-ecologies. In study areas’ respondents
prefer animal housing together with household members. The purpose of rearing cattle in
the study area is milk followed by the source of income, meat, traction, and manures. Most
of the respondents (85.6%) were used the pond as a source of water for their animals in
both districts. Natural mating was the common mating method of the study areas. The study
indicated that the respondents selected female animals based on their milk yield, followed by
breeding ability, growth rate, feeding behavior, good temperament, disease resistance, and
coat color. Major reproductive problems in dairy cows were failure to cycle (non-cycling
cows) and poor conception rate in the study areas. Overall estrus rate in this study was
100% and all were inseminated. After 60+
day’s of pregnancy diagnoses, 52 cows
conceived from 90 inseminated and the overall conception rate was 57.8%. Conception
rate has not shown a significant difference at P<0.05 between the district, age, and Body
Condition Score (BSC), but there was a significant difference between breed, parity, and
time of insemination. This low pregnancy rate is due to different factors related to
management, heat detection problem, semen quality, and artificial insemination time.
Appropriate animal selection for OSMI, AI technicians, and farmers’ awareness to detect
heat should be considered for effective synchronization and efficiency to AI.