Reproductive Performance and Wastage in Large Ruminant (Cattle) in Ethiopia-Review

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to review the reproductive performance and wastage in large ruminants (cow) in Ethiopia. Though the number of female cattle in Ethiopia is high (55.38% (32.0 million)), the production and reproductive performance (crucial factor) needs to be improved. For modern dairy industry, reproductive performance is the most important to determine the efficiency of dairy cattle. Even though, age at first service, age at first calving, day's open, calving interval and number of services per conception are the most factors; management and cowlevel factors also determine the reproductive performance of dairy cow. The indigenous cattle of age at first service, age at first calving and calving interval is 34.4±2.28 to 56.16±7.56 months, 33.9 to 57.69±1.11months and 13.59±0.26 to 26.04 months, respectively. There is wastage of reproductive due to environmental, genetic, disease and management factors. So, to improve the productivity and production of native breeds, detail understanding of current performance, identifying challenges and opportunities with the causal factors is very important.

Urban dairy production and waste management in Oromia special zone around Finfine, Ethiopia

“…The reported average numbers of services per conception (NSC) of the study area were slightly similar with those of Adebabay (2009) that the number of service preconception cross bred cow in bure town was 3.91. The present result is greater than those of Tadesse and Tegegne (2018) and the number of services per conception reported around Mekelle, Bako research center; the overall least squares means in the Maksegnit town and Fogera cows were 2.1±0.1, 1.34±0.11 2.0±0.65 and 1.42±0.05, respectively. According to Mukassa-Mugerwa (1989), cows with values of NSC greater than two, are regarded as poor, the average natural service conception has 1.18 whereas artificial insemination users has 1.5 up to 2.3.…”

An Appropriate Genetic Approach for Improving Reproductive Traits in Crossbred Thai–Holstein Cattle under Heat Stress Conditions

“…Interval Traits 3.1.1. Age at First Calving (AFC) AFC is the age at which heifers first calve and is also known as the start of the heifer's productive life [23,24]. AFC influences the lifetime production, reproduction of the female, milk production, and lifetime calf crop [25].…”

“…Indirectly, AFC affects the cost invested for rearing cattle. The recommended age for the first calving in local breeds is three years, with many experts recommending between 23 and 25 months, which is regarded as optimal for increasing the dairy company's profitability [24]. Previous studies on Thai-Holstein crossbred cattle reported an average AFC value of 32.39 ± 5.76 and 30.97 ± 6.65 months [26,27], higher than the recommended age.…”

“…The CI is divided into three periods: postpartum anestrus, service period, and gestation [24]. The ideal CI is 12 to 13 months, assuming an average gestation period of 280 days and 85 days for DO [23].…”

“…A previous study reported that natural service conception has lower values (1.18) than artificial insemination users (1.5 up to 2.3). This might indicate that many environmental factors affect the AI method, including the availability of feed, the insemination time, and estrus detection in cattle [24]. The average values of the NSCP of Thai-Holstein crossbred cattle were reported to be 2.29 ± 1.72 and 1.90 ± 1.37 [26,50].…”