Pastoral indigenous breeding practices and their impact on cattle reproduction performance: the case of Kilosa and Gairo Districts

摘要

Breedingmethodsusedbypastoral(traditional)cattlekeepersinKilosaandGairodistrictswerestudiedtoestablishtheirinfluenceonreproductionperformance.One-to-oneinterviewsguidedbycodedandpretestedstructuredquestionnairewereconductedto220livestockhouseholdsin31villages.Checklistsandresearchers'diaryprovidedadditionalinformation.nbsp;Resultsrevealthatkeymethodsofbreedingrelyonanimalidentification,recordingandseparation(castration)ofanimals.Atbirth,cattlereceivecollectiveandindividualnamesbasedongenealogy.Therecordingofsuchinformationismental.Allfemalesareusedforbreedingsaveincasesofextremepoorhealth.Bullsarerecruitedintobreedingornon#8211;breedinggroupsonbasisofperformanceofancestorsandindividual#8217;soutlook.Themethodofrecruitmentinto#8220;breedinganimals#8221;facilitatescontinuoususeofanimalsofsamelineageforoveralongtime.InKilosadistrict,75.5%ofbullswerekeptandusedbysamehouseholdforover15yearswhileinGairodistrictbullswerekeptforover10years.Onlyasmallpercentofbullswasintroducedfromoutside.Thirtytwopercentofbullsunsuitableforbreedingwerecastratedandusedforactivitiesotherthanbreeding.Thelargeherds(n=300animals)keptbypastoralistsmadeitdifficulttorememberidentityofindividualanimals.Consequentlyrecruitmentintoabreedinggroupwasincorrectandleadtoinbreedingevidencedbygeneticdefects(i.e.40%calvesborninMikumiherdshadatresia-ani).nbsp;Itisconcludedthatpastoralistshavearichbodyofindigenousknowledgeonbreedingwhichmustbeamelioratedbeforeanyimprovementincattlebreedingisattempted.