Animal Production

Assessment and Monitoring of Dairy Cattle Husba Ndry Practices, Handling, Processing, and Marketing of Milk and Milk Products in Dejen District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Assessment and Monitoring of Dairy Cattle Husba Ndry Practices, Handling, Processing, and Marketing of Milk and Milk Products in Dejen District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia Yekoye, Tarikua Dairy farming is a critical component of smallholder livelihoods in Ethiopia. To fully harness its potential, it is imperative to adopt improved management practices, enhance milk handling and processing methods, and develop efficient and accessible marketing systems. This study aimed to assess and monitor dairy cattle husbandry, milk handling, processing, and marketing practices in Dejen District, located in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. The study area was purposively selected due to its significant potential for milk production and utilization. A stratified sampling approach was employed, and a total of 186 dairy producers were randomly selected for the household survey. Additionally, 45 crossbred lactating cows—15 from each of the rural, peri-urban, and urban milk production systems—were purposively selected for a monitoring study conducted over eight months. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire and supplemented with key informant interviews. The findings revealed that both local and crossbred dairy cattle were kept in rural and peri-urban systems, whereas urban production systems exclusively maintained crossbred cows. The primary feed resources included natural pasture, crop residues, non-conventional feeds, commercial concentrates, and improved forages. Feeding practices varied, with 41.4% of farmers combining stall feeding and grazing, 38.2% using stall feeding alone, and 20.4% relying solely on grazing. Regarding breeding practices, only 1.1% of producers used artificial insemination (AI) exclusively, 27.4% depended on natural mating, and the majority (71.5%) used both AI and natural service. Water for livestock was obtained from various sources, including wells, tap/piped water, rivers or streams, and ponds. Milk yield data showed that local cows produced an average of 1.81 ± 0.24 liters/day in peri-urban areas and 1.32 ± 0.39 liters/day in rural areas. For crossbred cows, average daily milk yields from the survey were 10.16 ± 2.18 liters (urban), 8.32 ± 2.05 liters (periurban), and 6.93 ± 1.63 liters (rural), while the monitoring study recorded slightly higher values: 12.24 ± 4.21 liters (urban), 10.05 ± 3.21 liters (peri-urban), and 8.00 ± 2.60 liters (rural), respectively. All dairy producers practiced hand milking. In terms of milking containers, all urban and peri-urban producers used plastic containers. In rural areas, 84.2% used plastic containers, while 15.8% used traditional gourds. Similarly, plastic containers were predominantly used for milk storage across all systems: 100% in urban, 98.6% in peri-urban, and 77.2% in rural areas, where the remainder used clay pots. All respondents reported processing milk into various products. In urban and peri-urban settings, 87.5% and 64.2% of milk were processed for household consumption, respectively, while in rural areas, 50.5% was processed primarily to extend shelf life. Milk churning was done using clay pots by 81.3% of urban, 92.8% of peri-urban, and all (100%) rural producers. Boiled milk was the most commonly consumed form (75.3%), followed by a combination of boiled and raw xiv milk (8.6%), and raw milk alone (0.5%). The marketing of raw milk and butter was widespread. Local dairy cooperatives, such as Gion and Yetnora, produced a variety of dairy products including butter, skim milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and whey. Yetnora cooperative also produced mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Key challenges identified included low milk prices (index values: 0.35 urban, 0.27 periurban) and high feed costs (0.28 urban, 0.21 peri-urban). In rural areas, the primary constraints were limited market access (0.21) and disease prevalence (0.19). Despite these challenges, the study also highlighted several opportunities for dairy development. In urban and peri-urban systems, the main opportunities were the presence of dairy cooperatives and market access (index values: 0.49 and 0.42), favorable environmental conditions (0.28 and 0.40), and access to veterinary services (0.23 and 0.18). In rural areas, favorable environmental conditions (0.72), access to dairy cooperatives and markets (0.24), and veterinary services (0.04) were noted as key enablers. In conclusion, Dejen District possesses strong potential to serve as a milk and dairy product supply hub for markets such as Addis Ababa and Debre Markos. However, this potential remains underutilized due to suboptimal husbandry practices, inadequate milk handling and processing methods, and underdeveloped marketing systems—especially in rural areas. It is therefore recommended to promote improved dairy husbandry practices, enhance milk handling and processing, and strengthen linkages between rural producers and consumers or dairy cooperatives to improve market access and overall productivity.

Phenotypic and Genetic Parameters for Production Traits of Abergelle Goats in Community-Based Breeding Program Scale Up Villages in Case of Alquzu and Addis Mender

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Phenotypic and Genetic Parameters for Production Traits of Abergelle Goats in Community-Based Breeding Program Scale Up Villages in Case of Alquzu and Addis Mender Walle, Yeshiwas Abergelle goats are indigenous to northern Ethiopia, and dual purpose animal. Community-based breeding programs enhance its productivity and resilience, supporting farmers and sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and milk production traits of Abergelle goats in community-based breeding program (CBBP) scale up villages. The data used in this study include six years (2018 to 2023) data collected for Abergelle goats community based breeding program scaling up villages in Alquzu and Addis mender. Data have been collected on growth and milk production traits, from the established village of goat community based breeding program area. The traits studied, birth weight (BWT), weight at three months (TMWT), weight at six months (SMWT), weight at nine months (NMWT), weight at one year (YWT), average daily weight gain from birth to three months age (ADG1), average daily weight gain from three month age to six months age (ADG2), average daily weight gain from six months to nine months (ADG3), and from nine months to one year (ADG4), and for milk production traits average daily milk yield (ADMY), milk yield in 84 days (MY84days) along with different lactation length. Direct heritability for growth and milk traits was computed using wombat software. Multivariate mixed animal model was applied to estimate genetic parameters. Multivariate analysis was utilized to estimate correlations between traits. The overall least square mean of body weights ± standard errors (LSM±SE) for BWT, TMWT, SMWT, NMWT, and YWT were 2.25±0.04, 7.5±0.03, 8.8±0.040, 12.1±0.067, and 15.3±0.092 kg, respectively. The overall LSM±SE of ADG1, ADG2, ADG3, and ADG4 were 58.2±2.27, 37.8±2.04, 19.2±0.7, and 10.5±0.12g per day, respectively. The mean values for ADMY, LL, and MY 84 days were 302.6±6.68 g, 9.4±0.23 weeks and 28.003±47.45 kg, respectively. The direct heritability estimates for BWT, TMWT, SMWT, NMWT, and YWT were 0.34 ± 0.070, 0.45 ± 0.062, 0.40 ± 0.040, 0.42 ± 0.07and 0.41 ± 0.14 respectively. Direct heritability for growth traits moderate to high, selection can improve the growth traits. The phenotypic correlation between birth weight and the traits TMWT, SMWT, NMWT, and YWT was found to be low. However, there was a high genetic correlation between TMWT and the other traits—SMWT, NMWT, and YWT—with values ranging from 0.71 to 0.87. The correlations between TMWT-SMWT, SMWT-NMWT, and NMWT-YWT were high and positive, indicating a strong genetic association. The genetic correlation of birth weight was lower but higher correlations were found among the other growth traits (SMWT, NMWT, and YWT), indicating one of these traits increases; the others tend to increase as well. Therefore, birth weight as growth trait had no strong relation with later stages of growth traits in this study for Abergelle goat in scale up community based breeding programs. The direct heritability estimates for ADMY, LMY, and LL of Abergelle goats were 0.08±0.005, 0.16±0.034 and 0.04±0.034.The repeatability estimates for DMY, LMY and LL were 0.50, 0.22 and 0.06. Both, heritability and repeatability estimates for milk production traits indicate the presence of moderate variation within the studied goat population and thus selection could be used as the best tool of genetic improvement of Abergelle goat for milk production

Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Chicken and Their Husbandary Practices in West Gojjam, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Chicken and Their Husbandary Practices in West Gojjam, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Lakachew, Balemlay This study was conducted to characterize indigenous chicken ecotypes phenotypically and their husbandry practices in Sekela, Burie and Jabitehnan districts of, West Gojjam zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia. A total of 352 households were participated in the interviews, and for the phenotypic characterization 535 (417 female and 118 male from all districts) chickens were taken to describe qualitative and quantitative traits following standard chicken descriptors. Qualitative traits for phenotypic characterization and qualitative data of the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics of SPSS 27. Quantitative data for the phenotypic characterization were analyzed using SAS 9.4. Livestock production in general and chicken production in particular, is an integral part of the socioeconomic well-being of people living in low income countries such as Ethiopia. Normal feather morphology, normal feather distribution and absence of shank feather were the main characteristic of local chicken populations in the study areas. Red, greyish and reddish brown were the most frequently observed plumage colour types in almost all study areas, with the overall values of 38.3%, 29.1%, and 15.3%, respectively. The overall mean body weight for mature cocks and hen were 2.11kg and 1.46kg respectively. The average flock size of indigenous chickens were 7.32±2.57(chicks 4.07±2.99, pullets 1.92±1.50, cockerel 1.47±1.02, cock 1.35±0.56, hen 2.75±1.04). Purpose of rearing indigenous chickens were for Source of income (index=0.36), home consumption (Egg & Meat) (index=0.35), and cultural and religious ceremonies (index=0.29) The major constraints of poultry production perceived by the community in their order of importance in ranking index were disease (0.28), predation (0.27), feed shortage (0.26) and lack of veterinary service (0.22). Poultry breeding policy should be designed based on selection and trait preference of farmers.

Effect of Fertilizer Application and Varieties on Morphological Parameters, Dry matter Yield and Nutritional Quality of Selected Grass Species under Rain Fed Conditions in Bahir Dar Zuria District of Ethiopia

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Effect of Fertilizer Application and Varieties on Morphological Parameters, Dry matter Yield and Nutritional Quality of Selected Grass Species under Rain Fed Conditions in Bahir Dar Zuria District of Ethiopia Tadilo, Mekuanint The purpose of this experiment was to assess the morphological parameters, dry matter yield and nutritional content, of a few selected cultivars of Brachiaria, Desho, and Napier grasses grown for two years under various fertilizer treatments. The field experiment was carried out at Robit Bata Kebele in the Bahir Dar Zuria district of Amhara region, Ethiopia. In the trial, four fertilizer rates (0,100kgN, 300kg N and manure) and three grass varieties (Brachiaria decumbens ILRI-10871, Pennisetum glaucifolium Areka-DZF-590, and Cenchrus purpureus ILRI-16791) were used. Each 9-m2 plot in the treatments was arranged in a 3x4x2 factorial configuration arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Hand labor was used for agronomic tasks like weeding, fertilizer application, and hoeing. Morphological data were collected from 10 randomly selected plants grown in the middle rows of each plot. The harvested forage samples were weighted, dried, and then grounded for chemical composition analyses using Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy. All recorded dataset were managed using Microsoft excel 2010 and subjected to a general linear model procedure of SAS (9.0) and Pearson correlation analysis, at significance level of alpha <0.05. The findings demonstrated that the morphological characteristics, dry matter yield, and nutritional values were strongly impacted by the interaction of fertilizer application, year, and grass varieties. Cenchrus purpureus ILRI-16791 produced the tallest plant (175.0 and 187.0cm), and the highest dry matter yield (12.5 and 21.88 t/ha) when measured at manure fertilizer in the first and second year production, respectively. The lowest CP % was found in desho (6.21 t/ha) and B. decumbens (9.23 t/ha) cultivated without fertilizer in the first and second years, respectively, while the maximum CP % was found in Cenchrus purpureus ILRI-16791 (13.72 and 14.09%) at manure fertilizer. Cenchrus purpureus ILRI-16791 (34.09%) and Pennisetum glaucifolium Areka-DZF-590 (35.68%) at manure fertilizer had the lowest ADL %, whereas B. decumbens (47.93 and 46.92%) had the greatest ADF % without fertilizer in the first and second years, respectively. The highest ME was found in Cenchrus purpureus ILRI-16791 (11.77 MJ/kg at 300 kg N and 12.84 MJ/kg with manure), whereas the highest IVOMD was found in Napier (60.36 and 68.09%) with manure fertilizer in the first and second years, respectively. Moreover, the highest net benefit was obtained from Napier grass at manure fertilizer (39337.5 and 73358.76 birr) and the lowest net benefit was recorded from B.decumbens at without fertilizer (21318.7 birr) and 100kg/ha N fertilizer (32241.51birr) in the first and second years, respectively. In conclusion, in the research areas and other agro-ecologies where there is similar agro-ecology, the Napier grass-16791 with manure fertilizer would have a more advantageous production performance to meet forage quantity, economic feasibility and nutritional value demands.