Responses of Tswana goats to various lengths of water deprivation

The aim of this trial was to determine the water intake of Tswana goats and investigate the effects of short term water deprivation in summer or winter (6000 ml water offered either once every 72 h, 48 h, 24 h or ad libitum) on feed intake, dry matter digestibility, growth rate and health. Goats were fed a diet comprising 60% Cenchrus ciliaris hay and 40% Medicago sativa hay. Feed intake per kg metabolic weight was inversely related to water intake. Body weight gains decreased with longer watering intervals, rectal temperatures were unaffected but respiratory rate, packed cell volume, pulse rate, haemoglogin level and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration was highest with the 72 h watering interval. Feed intake and daily weight gains were higher in winter than summer, but animals drank more water in summer than in winter, and showed more signs of dehydration in summer. Dry matter digestibilities (%) were 66.8, 66.7, 64.2 and 65.2 for water intake intervals of ad lib, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h respectively; digestibilities of organic matter, crude protein and crude fibre followed the same trend. Urine output, faecal output per kg metabolic weight and faecal moisture content decreased with increased length of water deprivation. It was concluded that Tswana goats are well adapted to semi-arid zones and can be watered once in 72 h without severe dehydration. (South African Journal of Animal Science: 2000, 30(1): 87-91

Milk production of Tswana goats fed diets containing different levels of energy

The aim of this experiment was to characterize the milk yield of the Tswana goat of Botswana. Twenty-one Tswana goat does were allocated to one of three diets formulated to provide energy for maintenance and a milk yield of either 1.5 kg/d, 1.0 kg/d or 0.5 kg/d. Intake, milk yield and kid growth rate was monitored for 14 weeks. Dry matter intakes of up to 5% of body weight were recorded. Energy intake and milk yield differed between treatments (p < 0.01). Daily ME intake for the low, medium and high-energy diets was 1.01, 1.42 and 1.64 MJ ME/kg metabolic weight; the corresponding milk yields were 0.47, 0.53 and 0.72 kg/day. Kid birth weight ranged from 2.6 to 2.9 kg, and daily gains over the 14-week period were 95, 116 and 128 g/day for the low, medium and high energy diets respectively. Milk output accounted for 62% of the variation in kid growth rate. It was concluded that Tswana goats have the potential to respond to increasing levels of energy intake by increasing milk yield to relatively high levels. (South African Journal of Animal Science: 2000, 30(1): 77-81

Indigenous Browses as Feed Resource for Grazing Herbivores in Botswana

Animal production in Botswana suffers from inadequate feed quantities and qualities, due mainly to semi-arid low rainfall which can barely support arable farming in most years. This problem is compounded by the competition between the livestock and human feed industries for the little available pulses and cereals. Consequently, tree fodders are available forage resources which grazing herbivores can utilize without competition from monogastric animals and man. Tree fodders can be utilized as supplements to low quality grasses and straws. Most tree leaves and twigs contain tannins, an antinutritional factor for which proper precautions need to be taken in selecting the species of trees and their level of feeding to grazing animals. (Af. J. of Science and Technology: 2002 3(2): 14-19

Reproductive performance of White Fulani cows

Analyses reproductive parameters of White Fulani cows under semi-intensive management in Zaria, Nigeria. Data on age at first service, age at first calving, calving intervals and birth weight included

Performance of Tswana Sheep under Semi-Intensive Management in Gaborone, Botswana

The study was conducted at Botswana College of Agriculture, Notwane-farm, Sebele, Gaborone for 150 days from June to October 2006. A flock of 60 Tswana sheep were used consisting of 30 males and 30 females. Fifteen of the males were castrates, 7 weaners and 8 lambs while the female group consisted of 15 ewes, 7 weaners and 8 lambs. Animals were weighed on monthly basis for five consecutive months, using Avery Walk-in Scale. The flock grazed daily for 8 h on a fenced natural pasture and were housed at night in kraals with corrugated roofing. Water was provided ad-libitum in kraals and feed supplements such as sorghum bran and salt lick were also provided. Lambs had access to lamb-finisher. The data collected were analyzed using the box-plot, between males and females. Linear multiple regression was used to analyze data within each age-group while Duncan’s multiple range test was used to separate the means. The means of male and females were different at p< 0.05. In month 1, means body weights (kg) were 32.4±17.5 and 27.2±14.0 for males and females, respectively. Final body weight (kg) after 150 days were 36.5±13.7 and 27.8±8.10 for males and females, respectively. Generally, all sheep age-groups showed a significant increase in growth although July which is the second month of the study drastic decline in growth rate was observed which is one of the coldest winter month in Botswana. It can be concluded from the study that growth rates of different age-groups of Tswana sheep under semi-intensive management are different and also there is interaction between time and gender and time and type/age-group. The time of the year is amajor factor that influenced the growth rate of range grazed Tswana sheep

Influence of feed type on egg production of Tswana laying Chicken

The experiment was done at estate management unit in Sebele, Gaborne. Ten 23 weeks old laying Tswana chickens were bought from a local farmer and divided into two groups of five each, using complete randomised design. Group one was fed on layer mash and the other group was fed on composite local feed which was a mixture of sorghum, maize and sunflower traditionally used as a supplementary feed under free range system in Botswana. All layers were dewormed using piperazine and treated with oxytetrazine to present disease. 250g of feed and 200ml of water were provided ad-libitum. The layers were individually caged to monitor daily feed and water intake. Collection and weighing of eggs were done every day for 90 days. Tswana layers fed on layers mash produced on average five eggs per week while those on composite local feed produced one egg per week that is 400% more production on layers compared to local supplementary feed

Reproductive performance of Tswana ewes and Boer does in south-eastern Botswana

The reproductive performance over a five-year period (198993) of Tswana ewes and Boer does kept under semi-intensive management at Estate Management Unit farm of the College at Sebele-Gaborone, Botswana, was analysed. A total of 70 lambings and 152 kiddings involving 202 lambs and 288 kids were subjected to statistical analysis. The parameters studied were age at first parturition (AFP), parturition intervals (PI), annual parturition rate (APR), birth weight (BOO) and correlation between dam weight (DW) and young birth weight. The results showed that for Tswana ewes, AFP, PI, APR and BW were 18.00±1.39 months, 365±28.50 days, 1.00 and 3.30±0.89 kg, respectively, while for Boer goats they were 18.00±0.69 months, 350±2.4 days, 1.00 and 3.23±0.76 kg, respectively. Tswana ewes are seasonal breeders, they lamb in late spring and early summer (October-December). Male to female sex ratio was 49.0% for the 202 lambs and 52.78% for the 288 kids recorded. The rate of single and twin lambings were 80.59% and 19.41%, respectively, while the rate of single, twin, triplet and quadruplet kiddings were 28.29%, 53.28%, 16.45% and 1.32%, respectively. Mortality and stillbirths were 3.43% and 0.5%, respectively, for sheep while mortality, stillbirths and abortions for goats were 10.42%, 2.78% and 0.66%, respectively. The analyses show that Tswana ewes and Boer does are early maturing breeders. There was a poor correlation (r2 = 0.02 for sheep r2 = 0.04 for goats) between the dam's body weight and the young's birth weight

Body weight, body condition score and heart girth in indigenous Tswana goats during the dry and wet seasons in southeast Botswana

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a simple and easy technique, which allows subjective assessment of an animal’s body composition to help in adopting appropriate management strategy. Information on BCS is not available for indigenous Tswana goats. The aims of this study were to establish the relationships among body weight, body condition score and heart girth in indigenous Tswana goats raised under extensive and semi-intensive management during the dry and wet seasons in southeast Botswana. A total of 100 indigenous Tswana goats, owned by farmers and managed extensively, in wet and dry seasons, were used in Experiment 1; while 50 mature indigenous Tswana goats from the Botswana College of Agriculture were used in Experiment 2 in the dry season only under semi-intensive management. In both experiments, data were collected fortnightly on body weight, body condition score and heart girth for 12-20 weeks. Season significantly affected BCS, with lower scores (2.17±0.10 to 2.65±0.10) in the dry season than in the wet season (3.17±0.10 to 3.79±0.11), but has no effect on body weight or heart girth. Management did not significantly affect body condition score. There was no apparent relationship between body weight and condition score. Body weight was closely correlated with heart girth under extensive management in the wet season but not in the dry season. It is concluded that BCS is a more useful indicator of seasonal nutritional effects in goats than body weight or heart girth