Hiernaux, P. H. Y.

Malami, B. S.

Steinbach, J.

Tukur, H. M.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Seasonal Faecal Production Potential of Livestock Grazing Heterogenous Natural Range and Cropfields of Semi‐Arid Nigeria B. S. Malami Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria P. H. Y. Hiernaux Paul Sabatier University, France H. M. Tukur Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria J. Steinbach Justus Liebig University, Germany Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-3/40 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]157　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsSeasonal faecal production potential of livestock grazing heterogenous natural range andcropfields of semi‐arid Nigeria1 B .S . Malami ,2 P .H .Y . H iernaux ,1 H .M . Tukur and 3 J . Steinbach1 Department o f A nimal Science ,Faculty o f A griculture ,Usmanu Dan f odiyo University ,Sokoto ,N igeria2 Centre d�Etudes Sp atiales de la Biosphère ,Paul Sabatier University ,Toulouse ,France ,3 Institute o f L ivestock Ecology ,Justus L iebig University ,Giessen ,Germany E‐mail : bmalami＠ yahoo .comKey words : grazing livestock ,faecal production ,semi‐aridIntroduction In semi‐arid Nigeria ,arable crop farming and livestock rearing are the main occupations of the people . The largeruminant livestock population in the area could therefore be exploited to encourage organic farming . This research wasconducted to investigate the faecal production of grazing livestock during different seasons .Materials and methods This experiment was conducted between July ２００２ and June ２００３ in Zamfara reserve ( ６°４５′‐７°１０′E and１２°００′‐１３°１０′N) ,north‐western Nigeria . Indigenous breeds of cattle ,sheep and goats were used for the study . They consistedof ３６ male animals i .e . １２ bulls ,１２ rams and １２ castrated bucks . The animals were grazed on the natural pasture in thereserve . After every five weeks ,beginning July ２００２ ,animals were fitted with harness and faecal bags . Faecal samples werecollected during five days ,af ter an adaptation period of one week ,which gave a total of ６００ collections per species . Each dayfaeces were collected at ０６ .００ ,１２ .００ and １８ .００ hours . Total daily collection per animal was bulked and weighed . Sub samples(１０％ ) were oven‐dried and weighed . Data were analysed with ANOVA and ,where there were significant differences betweentreatment means ,New Duncan Multiple Range Test method was used for comparison ( SAS １９８８) .Results and discussion The mean daily faecal production of cattle ,sheep and goats during the course of the experiment are shownin Figure １ . Faecal production was highest in March ( LDS ) and lowest in August ( LRS ) for both cattle and sheep . Goatsproduced their highest amount of dry faeces in May ( ERS ) and lowest in August ( LRS ) . The seasonality of minimun andmaximum production of fresh faeces were similar for all livestock types except for goats ,which showed maximum production inMarch ( late dry season ( LDS) . Both fresh and dry faeces production differed significantly ( p ＜ ０ .０５) between the periods .Thiscontrasted with the report of Powell and Williams (１９９３)‐more faecal output was recorded during the dry season in the presentstudy .Figure 1 Mean daily f aecal output ( dry weight) o f cattle ,sheepand goats through di f f erent seasons .Conclusion This study indicates that grazing livestock in the semi‐arid region produce more faeces in the dry season .ReferencesPowell ,J .M . and T .O . Williams ( １９９３ ) . Livestock nutrient cycling and sustainable agriculture in the West African Sahel .Gatekeeper Series No . SA ３７ ,International Institute f or Env ironment and Development ( I IED) ,London , １２pp .SAS (１９８８) . Statistical Analysis System ( SAS /STAT ) user摧s guide release ６ .０３ . ed . Statistical A nalysis Systems InstituteInc . ,Cary NC . ,pp ５４９‐６４０ .

Seasonal Faecal Production Potential of Livestock Grazing Heterogenous Natural Range and Cropfields of Semi‐Arid Nigeria

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3122&amp;context=igc

Seasonal Faecal Production Potential of Livestock Grazing Heterogenous Natural Range and Cropfields of Semi‐Arid Nigeria

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Kentucky