A survey of the reproductive status of cattle in Nharira-Lancashire smallholder dairy scheme, Zimbabwe

摘要

A12-monthstudyonthereproductivestatusofdairycowswasconductedintwoadjacentareasofNharira(communal)andLancashire(small-scalecommercial)inZimbabweduring1999.On-farmfarmerparticipatoryandmonitoringstudieswereusedtocollectdata.Palpationoftheovarythroughtherectumwasconductedtodetermineovariancyclicalactivityand/orpregnancy.Ovariancyclicalactivitywasrelatedtotheprevailingseasonwiththehighestnumberofpregnantanimals(57.1%inthecommunaland73.1%inthesmall-scalecommercialarea)recordedinthedryseason.Thehighestnumberofanoestrusanimals(56%forboththecommunalandsmall-scaleareas)wasrecordedinthemonthofJanuary.AnimalsattainedpeakbodyweightandbodyconditionaroundMayandthelowestbodyweightandbodyconditionwasrecordedaroundDecember.Theresultsindicatethatreducedovarianactivitywasobservedduringperiodsoflowbodyweightandbodycondition.ItisconcludedthattheovariancyclicalactivityofcattleinthesmallholderdairysectorinZimbabweisnotsatisfactoryparticularlyduringthedryseasonandearlywetseason.Farmersneedtofindwaystomaintainthebodyweightandreproductiveperformanceoftheiranimalstoensureviabilityinthesmallholderdairysector.