A survey on goat production in a semi-arid smallholder farming area situated in the north of Zimbabwe

An appraisal of goat production in a small-holder rural farming area of Zimbabwe.A survey was carried out to evaluate goat production in a crop-livestock farming area in the north of Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to determine goat production systems and productivity. Qualitative information was obtained using participatory rural appraisal techniques (PRA) while quantitative data was obtained through administration of a structured questionnaire to 317 households. The major finding of the survey indicated that the predominant goat breed found was the “small” indigenous Mashona goat. The goats were reared exclusively through extensive foraging during the dry season but were herded, tethered or a combination was used during the cropping season. Flock sizes were small, averaging 12 goats/household resulting in few goats available for sale or slaughter. All goat sales were informal. Ninety one percent of farmers indicated interest in cross breeding Mashona does with Boer bucks to improve the size of the Mashona

Incidence of bruising and dark firm dry beef in cattle carcasses in a commercial abattoir in Zimbabwe: an animal welfare concern

A reseach paper on the beef industry in Zimbabwe.The incidence of carcass bruising and occurrence of dark, firm, dry (DFD) beef in slaughter cattle were investigated from a survey of 9585 cattle delivered to a commercial abattoir. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the extent of occurrence of carcass bruising and DFD in slaughter cattle as these have a major impact on economic returns to the beef producer. In addition, these data can be used as indicators of either good or poor welfare of the animals prior to slaughter. In this study, the overall incidence of bruising was 29.6 percent while that of DFD was 27.4 percent. There were differences between the incidences of both bruising and DFD (p<0.001) in carcasses from bulls, steers and cows. Overall, bulls had the greatest carcass damage and steers the lowest. In addition, bruising increased (r = 0.97; p<0.05) and the incidence of DFD also increased (r = 0.94; p<0.05) with increasing transit distance. Linear regression analysis showed that a sixty kilometer increase in transit distance resulted in a seven percent increment in bruising (equation: y = 6.9 + 7.1 x; R2 = 0.96; p = 0.0047). However, there was no association between bruising and DFD. Among different carcass weights, there was considerable variation in frequency of occurrence of DFD (p<0.001), with the proportion of carcasses showing DFD decreasing as carcass weight increased. The results indicate substantial compromised animal welfare and major economic loss to the entire livestock industry. Further, the results suggest that transit distance appears to contribute substantially to causes of bruising and DFD in slaughter cattle in Zimbabwe

Mortality and Diseases of Goats in Wedza Communal Areas of Zimbabwe

A study was conducted to evaluate the extent and causes of mortality and diseases affecting goats in Wedza Communal Area. Mortality ranged from 16% in adult stock to 40% in pre-weaned kids. Kid mortality was higher during the rainy season than the dry season, but this pattern was not evident in adult animals. Mortality was from unknown causes (47.4%), infectious diseases (17.1%), predation (17.1 OlD), diarrhoea (5.2%), starvation (3.4%), and other causes (9.8%). Diseases identified included pneumonia, ort, pulpy kidney, heartwater and foot rot. Infection by helminths showed a distinct seasonal pattern. It was high during the rainy season and low during the dry season. The main ectoparasites found were Rhipicephalus evertsi, Amblyomma hebraeum, Demodex caprae, Sarcoptes scabiei and Ctenocephalides felis. It is inferred that poor health management of goats in Wedza Communal Area negatively affects productivity because of high kid mortality. It is concluded that pre-weaned kids need more veterinary attention during the rainy season than the dry season