Effect of season and farming system on the quantity and nutritional quality of scavengeable feed resources and performance of village poultry in central Tanzania

2 x 2 factorial study was conducted to assess the effect of season and farming system on the quantity and nutritional quality of scavengeable feed resources and the performance of village poultry in central Tanzania. A total of 648 scavenging chickens purchased from farmers were slaughtered and the crop contents were subjected to physical and chemical analysis. The mean fresh weights of the crop contents were higher (

Effect of environmental and genetic factors on the productivity crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Northeast Tanzania

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2002, Vol. 5(2) : 109-113Cow productivity rneasured as annual milk. was calculated as lactation milk yield calving interval x 365. The least squares mean for first lactation annual milk yield was 1803 25.81 and significant sources of variation were year of calving genotype, district and herd size. The mean annual milk yield for cows with repeated measurements was 1912 = 33. 61 and the signtficant sources of variation were genotype district and herd size. In the first lactation there waa a continuos drop in yield with years, a reflection of deterioration in management. The significant difference between years could as well mean that as more farmers join the system resources per animal in a given location decrease. The superior genotype was that of animals with 58B. taurus blood. Animals in the peri-urban district and those in herds of more than one milking animal out-yielded the other

Effect of environmental and genetic factors on the productivity crossbred dairy cattle in smallholder farms in Northeast Tanzania

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2002, Vol. 5(2) : 109-113Cow productivity rneasured as annual milk. was calculated as lactation milk yield calving interval x 365. The least squares mean for first lactation annual milk yield was 1803 25.81 and significant sources of variation were year of calving genotype, district and herd size. The mean annual milk yield for cows with repeated measurements was 1912 = 33. 61 and the signtficant sources of variation were genotype district and herd size. In the first lactation there waa a continuos drop in yield with years, a reflection of deterioration in management. The significant difference between years could as well mean that as more farmers join the system resources per animal in a given location decrease. The superior genotype was that of animals with 58B. taurus blood. Animals in the peri-urban district and those in herds of more than one milking animal out-yielded the other

Effects of storage time on the quality of local chicken meat

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2015, Vol. 13(1) : 48-54An experiment was carried out to investigate the proximate composition and effects of aging time on local chicken meat quality. For proximate analysis, 24 male and 24 female breast, thigh and drumstick samples from one half of the carcass were skinned, de-boned and frozen at -20oC. The samples were minced through a 5mm plate meat-grinding machine and vacuum packed prior to analyses. Proximate composition analysis of minced meat samples were performed on wet basis. The other half carcasses samples were chilled for 4, 6, 12 and 24 hours post mortem (PM) at 4oC. pH values were measured for each sample followed by storage at -20oC to arrest further changes in meat. Cooking loss and meat tenderness were determined for these samples. The proximate analysis showed that females had higher (P<0.05) overall dry matter and ether contents than males, while CP% and ash content were similar in the two sexes. Breast meat had higher (P<0.05) CP and ash content than meat cuts from the leg. Generally, breast meat had lower (P<0.05) pH (5.89) compared to meat from the thigh (6.14) and drumstick (6.15). pH of breast meat at 24 hours PM (5.82) was lower than that recorded at 4, 6 and 12 hours PM. Tenderness of meat as measured by shear force values significantly improved with storage time and decline in shear force values was more accentuated in the first six hours of aging. After this period, the values were less than 13.3N for drumstick and 18.9 N for both breast and thigh. The effect of storage time on cooking loss was more pronounced in leg meat than breast meat and cooking loss was much less when meat parts stored for 24 h. For production of acceptable tender meat from local chicken, the ideal cold storage time can be set at between 4 to 6 hours

Identification, characterisation and composition of scavengeable feed resources for rural poultry production in Central Tanzania

A participatory study was carried out in four villages of central Tanzania to appraise existing and potential scavengeable feed resources available for rural poultry. In addition, proximate analysis of selected scavengeable feed resources including chicken crop and gizzards contents was carried out to quantify their feeding value. Results indicate that the most important scavengeable feed resources in the dry season were cereal grains and their by-products, oil seeds and oil seed cakes and in the wet season were forage leaves, flowers, seeds, garden vegetables, insects and worms. Changes in seasonal conditions, farming activities, land size available for scavenging and the flock size had a major influence on the feed availability. The mean dry matter (DM) of the feed resources was 888 +/- 1.8 g per kg. Gross energy ranged from 17.1 to 29.3 MJ kgDM(-1) and crude protein (CP) from 64.5 to 418 g kgDM(-1). Crude fibre (CF) ranged from 33.3 to 230 g kgDM(-1) and ether extract (EE) ranged from 16.0 to 488 g kgDM(-1). The mineral composition ranged from 1.5 to 18.4 g kgDM(-1) for calcium (Ca); 3.6 to 17.3 g kgDM(-1) for phosphorus (P); 9.5 to 34.5 g kgDM(-1) for potassium (K) and 0.2 to 8.5 g kgDM(-1) for magnesium (Mg). Physical analysis of crop and gizzard contents indicated that the diets consumed by scavenging chickens consisted of cereals and cereal by-products (29.0%), vegetables and forage materials (1.8%), seeds and seed by-products (3.4%), insects and worms (0.2%), egg shells, feathers and bones (0.3%), unidentified feeds (41.5%), inert materials (0.8%) and sand/grit (23.0%). The diet consumed as determined from the crop/gizzard contents had DM of 479 +/- 9.6 g per kg and metabolizable energy (ME) of 10.1 +/- 0.5 MJ kgDM(-1). Nutrient composition in kgDM-1 of the crop and gizzard contents was: 80.4g CP; 70.7g EE; 45.7g CF; 234g Ash; 6.6g Ca; 6.5g P; 12.1g K and 2.6g Mg. The study showed that the nutrient concentrations of scavengeable feed resources consumed by rural poultry were below the recommended levels for optimum growth and egg production

Effects of storage time on the quality of local chicken meat

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2015, Vol. 13(1) : 48-54An experiment was carried out to investigate the proximate composition and effects of aging time on local chicken meat quality. For proximate analysis, 24 male and 24 female breast, thigh and drumstick samples from one half of the carcass were skinned, de-boned and frozen at -20oC. The samples were minced through a 5mm plate meat-grinding machine and vacuum packed prior to analyses. Proximate composition analysis of minced meat samples were performed on wet basis. The other half carcasses samples were chilled for 4, 6, 12 and 24 hours post mortem (PM) at 4oC. pH values were measured for each sample followed by storage at -20oC to arrest further changes in meat. Cooking loss and meat tenderness were determined for these samples. The proximate analysis showed that females had higher (P<0.05) overall dry matter and ether contents than males, while CP% and ash content were similar in the two sexes. Breast meat had higher (P<0.05) CP and ash content than meat cuts from the leg. Generally, breast meat had lower (P<0.05) pH (5.89) compared to meat from the thigh (6.14) and drumstick (6.15). pH of breast meat at 24 hours PM (5.82) was lower than that recorded at 4, 6 and 12 hours PM. Tenderness of meat as measured by shear force values significantly improved with storage time and decline in shear force values was more accentuated in the first six hours of aging. After this period, the values were less than 13.3N for drumstick and 18.9 N for both breast and thigh. The effect of storage time on cooking loss was more pronounced in leg meat than breast meat and cooking loss was much less when meat parts stored for 24 h. For production of acceptable tender meat from local chicken, the ideal cold storage time can be set at between 4 to 6 hours

Productivity and reproductive performance of the free range local domestic fowl ecotypes in Tanzania

A study was conducted to assess the productivity and reproductive performance of seven free-range local domestic fowl ecotypes in Tanzania named Ching'wekwe, Mbeya, Morogoro-medium, N'zenzegere, Pemba, Tanga and Unguja. Average weekly weight measurements and growth rates were evaluated for each ecotype and sex as was egg weight, fertility and hatchability. Significant differences existed between ecotypes in all the five parameters studied. Ching'wekwe showed consistently low mean weekly weights, daily growth rate and mean egg weight contrary to Morogoro-medium and Tanga ecotypes. Egg fertility was low with only N'zenzegere and Unguja ecotypes exceeding 75%. Hatchability was also low ranging from 55% (Ching'wekwe and Morogoro-medium) to 74% (Pemba). It was concluded that genetic and phenotypic diversity exists in the local domestic fowl ecotypes of Tanzania. The diversity constitutes a valuable resource for use in breeding programmes for improvement of the health and productivity of the local domestic fowls and in designing proper conservation strategies. Further studies are required to identify genetic markers associated with productivity and disease resistance within the local domestic fowl ecotypes. In depth studies on the performance of the Tanzanian medium ecotypes (Morogoro-medium and Tanga) is required to ascertain their suitability for promotion throughout the country