Improving feeding management and work performance of mashona oxen through strategic supplementation with cobsheath-groundnut stover (original) (raw)
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Francis and Ndlovu 1995 Supplementary Feeding.pdf
and in mid-November (spring). Between September and November the oxen were randomly assigned to 3 feeding groups: no supplement (control), 400g/head per day of cobsheath-groundnut stover for 70 days and 800g/head per day of the same supplement for 35 days. Cobsheath-groundnut stover was fed in order to determine its potential as supplementary feed for draught oxen during the dry season. The liveweight (LW) lost by heavy tTxen during winter ploughing was lower (P < 0.001) than that of light oxen. During spring ploughing heavy oxen again lost less (P < 0"001) LW than light ones. In addition, non-supplemented oxen lost more LW than those supplemented. Therefore feeding strategies for Mashona draught oxen should aim at providing adequate nutrients to at least maintain LW during the dry season. Heavy oxen outperformed (P < 0.001) light ones during winter ploughing. Work output of supplemented oxen in spring was also significantly greater (P < 0.05) than that of non-supplemented ones. This result demonstrated the benefits of supplementary feed during the dry season. Concentrations of lactate and free fatty acids in plasma, heart rates and rectal temperatures increased (P < 0.05) markedly during work. The increases were higher (P < 0"05) for light oxen, particularly those not fed supplement.
Animal Science, 1997
The Oxylog, a portable breath-by-breath gas analyser, was used on seven animals to determine standing metabolic rate, energy cost of walking on soils of different consistencies and efficiency of work ploughing and carting. The average standing metabolic rate of animals was 5·63 (s.e. 0·12) W/kg M00·75. The consistency of the soil on which animals worked had a marked effect on their energy cost of walking which was 1·59 (s.e. 0·069) on unploughed soil, 2·15 (s.e. 0·084) on ploughed soil and 1·0 (s.e. 0·10) J/m per kg live weight on laterite tracks. The efficiency of ploughing sandy soils (i.e. ratio of work done to energy used for work) was 0·32 and was not significantly different from the efficiency of carting with different loads. The efficiency of doing work was not influenced by the type of work performed, the draught force exerted or the walking speed.
PERFORMANCE OF DRAUGHT CATTLE IN COMMUNAL FARMING AREAS IN ZIMBABWE AFTER DRY SEASON SUPPLEMENTATION
Sixty-four pairs of oxen owned by smallholders were randomly allocated to one of 3 supplementary treatments offered at one kg per head per day from July to October or to a control where no supplement was offered. The supplements were maize stover plus silverleaf hay (2:1 w/w), urea-treated maize stover (50 g urea/kg stover) and plain maize stover. Animals fed plain maize stover or no supplement lost weight (6 to 7% of initial weight), whilst those fed the other 2 supplements maintained their liveweights. Supplementation reduced time spent on feeding activities by 10 per cent. Animals fed on urea-treated maize stover or maize stover plus silverleaf hay ploughed at speeds that were 29% faster than oxen on the other treatments and covered 45% more area. Blood parameters indicated a general deficiency of nitrogen intake throughout the dry season. It was concluded that supplements of good quality have the potential to improve the working ability of communal area oxen.
Calorie (cal) The amount of heat required to increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree centigrade (from 14.5 to 15.5°C in physiological studies) when the specific heat of water is 4.184 J/g. Joule (J) Work done when a body is moved 1 m against an opposing force of 1 Newton. 1 calorie = 4.184 joules; 1 kJ = 1000 J; 1 MJ = 1 000 000 J. Kilogram-force 1 kgf = 10 Newtons. (kgf) Newton The SI unit of force that, acting on a mass of one kilogram, increases its velocity by one metre per second every second along the direction that it acts. Watt (W) 1 W = 1 joule per second. Animal Science, the journal of the British Society of Animal Science, is acknowledged as the original place of publication of the work reported in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. Plate 1. Measuring the standing metabolic rate (top picture) and the energy cost of walking (bottom picture) of an ox in Niger using an Oxylog. 1. Reconverted after transformation. Within columns means with different superscripts are significantly different, P<0.05.
HSOA Journal of Agronomy & Agricultural Science Research Article
HSOA Journal of Agronomy & Agricultural Science, 2021
A study was conducted to demonstrate and evaluate effects of enset corm (root) supplementation for oxen fed on locally available forage sources under farmer’s management at Kachabira and Lemu districts, southern Ethiopia. 3 kg concentrate mixtures were prepared from wheat bran (86.5%), noug cake (Gizotia abisynnica) 13% and salt (1%) were offered for all animals across farmers. Enset corm offered based on body weight, 1.5-2 kg (0.5-1%) DM basis was offered per head per day as supplements and farmers were considered as replicates. The results indicated that on average, the overall weight change is 81.1 kg per head over the fattening period, 90 days. Oxen supplemented with enset corm gained higher (p<0.05) weight at Kachabira compared to those at Lemu. In similar way, an ox fattened at Kachabira is signficaly higher final weight compared to Lemu. The overall mean weight (354 kg/head) and the overall gain (900 g/head/day), averaged by locations, indicated that fattening is promising for farmers who fatten animals using enset corm as supplements. On thirteen day, 45th, 60th, 75th and 90th days oxen at Kachabira was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to Lemu. There is an increasing trend in weight gain in both locations; the increaemnt rate was higher in Kachabira than Lemu district. It could be concluded that strategic supplementation and fattening of oxen with 500 gm enset corm DM /head/day could be profitable in enset dominant farming systems.
Effects of mineral supplementation on cattle performance when grazed mature wheat
Journal of Applied Animal Research, 2020
This research paper addresses the hypothesis that mineral supplementation (sodium chloride and magnesium oxide at 1:1 weight ratio) for dairy heifers grazing mature wheat in the spring-summer period will improve live weight gain compared with the non-supplemented group. In addition, the potential of mineral supplementation to reduce environmental pollution through diluting urinary nitrogen content was evaluated in this study. The grazing study was conducted at the Dookie Campus, The University of Melbourne, Australia between September and November 2017. The study comprised two temporal trial replications with two dietary treatments; graze wheat with (supplemented, SUP) or without mineral supplementation (control, CTR). The first and second trial replications used 22 and 24 heifers, respectively to conduct a 22-day and 21-day weight gain measurement. Heifers in the CTR group had 11% lower daily water intake than those in the SUP group. No differences were observed in heifers' weight gain and urinary nitrogen content and excretion. The study indicates that protein deficiency may override the mineral deficiency when heifer grazed mature wheat, and this may have led to no mineral supplementation effect on heifer performance. The level of protein in grazing wheat needs to be considered in feeding minerals to heifers.
Review on agriculture and rural development, 2022
to investigate the economic and nutritional effects of digestibility and haematological parameters of Red Sokoto bucks fed groundnut haulms with graded levels of brewers' grains. Bucks were blocked according to live weight into four treatment groups in a Randomised Block Designed (RBD) with four levels of concentrate at 0g, 150g, 200g and 250g which constituted the treatments designated T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Treatment one had zero supplementation and served as a control. The results revealed that feed intake of 498.8g, 558.1g, and 607.4g for treatments 2, 3, and 4, and live weight gain of 43.9g, 45.0g and 46.9g for treatments 2, 3 and 4, respectively, were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the supplemental group than those of controlled group. Based on the results of this study, concentrate supplement is necessary to improve the performance of goats during the dry season. Further, the findings showed that dried brewers' grain at those levels had not caused any haemolysis, or its effect might have been antogonised by cholesterol present in the animal, and had no detrimental effects to animals' health and well-being and therefore, could be used to supplement bucks feeding. Based on these findings, it is recommended that dried brewers' grain can be included in the diet of goats as a cheap protein supplement during the dry season to the level of about 150-200grams without any side effects.
Fattening trial of draught oxen was conducted at two rural villages (Robit Bata and SosetuYenesa) in Bahir Dar Zuria district to evaluate the contribution of mixture of noug seed cake and wheat bran supplementation compared to farmers feeding practice on body weight changes and economic return. Final body weight and average daily gain (ADG) from 1-45 days were significantly (p< 0.05) higher for the concentrate supplemented oxen. Though body weight gain, ADG from 1-15 days & 1-75 days were higher for the supplemented oxen, the differences were not statistically significant. Economic analysis showed significantly (p< 0.05) higher gross and net return from supplemented oxen than non-supplemented oxen. Therefore, in areas where industrial by-products (noug seed cake and wheat bran) could be purchased in relatively low price, fattening of draught oxen through concentrate supplementation could generate better income from increased body weight and improved body condition of the animals.