Performance of indigenous beef cattle under two management systems at Pokuase, Ghana

R Y Baiden and L Duncan

Animal Research Institute, PO Box AH20, Achimota. Ghana
Byraa2001@yahoo.com

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the performance of a mixture of N’dama x West African Shorthorn (WASH) cattle (6 to 15 weeks old) raised under a traditional management system and an improved system (cut and carry plus supplementation with agro-industrial by-products) at the Pokuase Research Station of the Animal Research Institute, Ghana, from March 2006 to February 2007. The performance parameters studied were live weight change, feed intake and the economics of production.

Calves on the improved system outperformed (P = 0.001) those on the traditional system in terms of live weight gain.   Calves in both treatment groups performed at par in terms of live weight change till the first week in September after which those in the traditional system slowed down comparatively.  Those on the improved system exhibited a relatively steady gain in live weight.  Revenue measured in terms of the product of live weight gain and the prevailing market price per kilogram live weight was higher for the improved system resulting in an overall higher gross margin for the improved system. Nevertheless, considering the return on investment farmers may be tempted to continue using the traditional system.

N’dama x WASH calves could be raised indoors under improved nutrition and management practices to enhance live weight gain.  This work thus provides a window for landless livestock farmers in creating wealth; as animals could be raised in confinement with some return on investment.

Keywords: benefit cost ratio, live weight change

Introduction

The West African Shorthorn (WASH) and N’dama are among the traditional breeds of beef cattle raised in Ghana.  These two breeds are preferred because they are trypanotolerant, hardy and disease-resistant (Aboagye 2002).  Crossbreeding between the N’dama and the WASH is frequent and it is common to find mixtures of the two breeds in local herds.

Traditionally, cattle production in Ghana consists of an open grazing system where animals are herded daily to graze natural pasture from the early hours of the day and then returned to the kraal in the evening.  Medication is minimal.  A major problem with the system is that the quantity and quality of fodder available from the natural pasture shows seasonal fluctuation.  Notable with tropical pastures, during the dry season there is an acute shortage of feed supply and what is available is of very poor quality being low in protein and high in fiber (Evitayani Warly et al 2005; Grimaud et al 2006).  Productivity of cattle grazing such pasture is thus very low. The problem is further being worsened by population pressure and with the increasing human population; traditional grazing lands are gradually being taken over by crop farming, human settlements, infrastructural development and industrialization. Consequently, grazing lands are diminishing. Inadequate nutrition is thus a major constraint to sustainable cattle production.  There is therefore, the need to explore alternative management systems for the production of ruminant livestock.  Intensive livestock keeping based on a cut and carry system with supplementation from agro industrial by-products and crop residues could be the most possible alternative to sustain productivity. This could also help with the maximum utilization of land and also arrest land degradation.  Strategic use of the available feed resources (crop residues, agro-industrial by-products, grass and leguminous fodder) could also reduce feed cost and enhance farmer income.

This study therefore assessed the performance of two groups of N’dama x WASH calves; one group under the traditional management system and the other group on an improved system based on cut and carry with supplementation from agro industrial by products.

Materials and methods 

The study was carried out at the Animal Research Institute’s Pokuase Station in southern Ghana (latitude 5^o 41´ N, longitude 0^o 17´ W) which is located in a transition zone between forest and coastal savannah zones. Total rainfall for the study period was 857.0 mm with an average daily temperature of 29^oC (Figure 1). 

 Rainfall was bimodal with peaks in May and September 2006 and a considerable decline in August.  January and February 2007 were the driest months (Figure 2).

Experimental animals and design

Eight N’dama x WASH calves (four males and four females) aged between six to fifteen weeks old were selected from a group of thirty one calves at the Animal Research Institute’s Pokuase Station, Accra, Ghana.  The calves had an average weight of 38.1 ± 4.1 kg (Range 24 - 58.5kg).  They were treated against external and internal parasites and randomly divided on sex, age, and weight basis into two groups of four animals each.  The two groups of animals were randomly assigned to the two management treatments.

The experimental design was a completely randomized design with four replicates per treatment.

Treatments

The traditional management system (Group 1)

The animals in this group were held in a kraal with their dams and grazed together daily on natural pasture with the rest of the Institute’s herd from 08.30 hr to 15.30 hr GMT. The natural pasture consisted mostly of Panicum maximum and Sporobolus pyramidalis.  Animals were watered after grazing each day and then returned to the kraal. The calves were de-wormed at three months interval using Oxymizole Plus, Mobedco-Vet, Jordan, and sprayed regularly with Amitraz 20, Mobedco-Vet, Jordan, to control ecto-parasites.

Improved management system (Group 2)

The animals under this system were weaned and held indoors in individual pens at the Animal House at Pokuase Station throughout the study period; but were exercised in an open fenced area attached to the Animal House for about two hours daily.  They were fed a grass-legume basal diet supplemented with concentrate.  The chemical composition of the feedstuffs, ingredient composition and crude protein content of the concentrate are shown in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. 

The basal diet, a mixture of Panicum maximum and Stylosanthes guianensis (3:1 respectively) was offered in a separate trough twice daily (at 08.30hr and 14.00hr GMT ) at about 10 percent over the previous day’s intake to ensure ad libitum intake.  The concentrate was offered during the morning feeding at 2% of the metabolic body weight. Water and a vitamin mineral block were provided freely.  All animals in both treatment groups were de-wormed and sprayed before the commencement of the study and sick animals were treated as soon as they were detected.

Data collection

Data was collected for forty eight weeks after a two week adjustment period.  Live weight was measured weekly before morning feeding using a cattle weigher, Gascoigne, Gush and Dent, Precision Weigher, Reading, England.   Intake of concentrate and roughage were recorded daily.  Chemical composition of all feed ingredients was determined according to AOAC (1970) method.

Statistical analyses

Data on live weight change was subjected to analysis of variance using the GLM procedure of Minitab (2000) to determine the effect of management treatment on this parameter.   Significance between treatments means was determined by Tukey’s Studentized Range Test.     

The experiment was analyzed in two phases: the first twenty four weeks (pre-weaning phase for Group 1) and the last twenty four weeks (post-weaning phase for Group 1).

Economics of production was assessed using benefit cost analysis approach to determine return on investment on the improved system. Inputs used in the partial budget were cost of feed and drugs whiles output was live weight change in calves. Both inputs and product were costed at prevailing market prices of commodities. The benefit cost ratio was determined by dividing the total revenue (TR) by the total cost (TC).

Results 

Live weight change

Data on the performance of the calves during the first twenty four weeks, from the third week in March to the first week in September (Phase 1) is presented in Table 3. 

There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the live weight change of the calves under the two management systems during this phase.

Phase two represented the last 24 weeks of the data collection period ending February 2007.  Calves raised under the improved system grew about three times faster (P < 0.001) than those raised under the traditional system (Table 4).

The overall performance (Table 5) indicates that animals on the improved system performed better (P < 0.001) than those on the traditional system in terms of live weight change.    

Animals in the two treatment groups performed at par in terms of live weight change till the first week in September after which the rate of change decreased for those under the traditional system (Figure 3).  Those on the improved system exhibited a relatively steady gain in live weight.

Benefit cost ratio

Generally expenditure on the improved system was higher than the traditional system (Table 6). 

The cost of medication was however higher under the traditional system than the improved system.  Revenue measured in terms of the product of live weight gain and the prevailing market price per kilogram live weight was higher for the improved system resulting in an overall higher gross margin for the improved system. The return on investment was relatively higher for the traditional system.

Discussion 

Indigenous cattle under the traditional management system are naturally weaned between six to nine months of age (Rege et al 1994b; Okantah et al 2005).  The calves under the traditional management system were naturally weaned around September.  Their performance during Phase one is therefore regarded as pre-weaning performance.  The growth performance of an animal is influenced by its level of feeding (Aboud et al 1994) thus; it could be deduced that nutritional quality of the diet (dam’s milk plus grazing of forage from natural grassland) used under the traditional system might be comparable to that of the diet offered under the improved system hence the similarity in performance between the two groups.  The rainy season is a period when herbage quantity and quality of natural pasture is generally good (Leloup et al 1996).  The major rainy season fell within Phase one of the study period (Figure 1).  It could therefore be inferred that the calves under the   traditional system and their dams had enough quality fodder to feed on during the period.  This might have enabled the dams to also produce enough milk to feed the calves which enabled them to perform just like their counterparts on the improved system. The mean live weights of the calves at week twenty four (Table 3) under both management systems falls within the range of values for weaning weights reported by Ahunu et al (1994) and Ahunu et al (1997) for crosses between the two breeds (77.1±5.4 – 109.5 kg). Weaning weights ranging from 64.2 ± 2.7 to108.5 ± 6.2 for the WASH and 75.2 ± 2.3 to 109 for the N’dama have been reported in the literature (Osei and Effah-Baah 1989; Rege et al 1994a; Ahunu et al 1994; Ahunu et al 1997).  The relatively slow growth rate observed in Phase two for the calves under the traditional management system could result from a seasonal effect and may presumably be related to a decline in quality of forage consumed by the calves.  The minor rainy season (September to November) showed a sharp decline in the number of rainy days from September to November (Figure 2).  November and December each recorded just two rainy days. January and February were basically dry.  It has been demonstrated that the nutritive value of the natural pasture declines during the dry season (Evitayani Warly et al 2005; Grimaud et al 2006).

Considering the cost of feed and medication, the cost of production was higher for the improved system. However, because of the resultant higher meat yield (Table 6) revenue was higher. Nevertheless, considering the return on investment farmers may be tempted to continue using the traditional system.  

Conclusions 

• N’dama x WASH calves could be raised indoors under improved nutrition and management practices to enhance live weight gain.

  
  

• There are two options: the calves could be weaned early (at three months of age) and raised indoors till they attain the requisite slaughter weight or they could be allowed to graze together with their dams during the rainy season (where there is abundant pasture) until they are naturally weaned and then raised indoors under the improved system to slaughter weight. 

  
  

• This experiment also provides a window for landless livestock farmers, especially women in developing countries in creating wealth; as raising animals in confinement could be economically viable.

Acknowledgement 

The authors are grateful to the Director of Animal Research Institute for use of necessary facilities. The assistance of the Technical Staff and Stockmen at Pokuase Research Station is well appreciated.

References 

Aboagye G S 2002 Phenotypic and genetic parameters in cattle populations in Ghana. Department of Animal Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana http://agtr.ilri.cgiar.org/Casestudy/case-Aboagye-1/casestudy-Aboagye-1.htm

Aboud A A O, Owen E, Reed J D and Said A N 1994 Influence of amount of feed offered on growth, intake and selectivity: observations on sheep and goats. In: Small Ruminant Research and Development in Africa.  Proceedings of the 2^nd Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network, AICC, Arusha, Tanzania, 7-11 December 1992. Edited by S H B Lebbie, B Rey and E  K Irungu. Pp 157-162  http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/ILRI/x5472B/x5472b0v.htm#influence%20of%20amount%20of%20feed%20offered%20on%20growth,%20intake%20and%20selectivity:%20observati

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AOAC 1970 Association of Official Analytical Chemist. Official methods of analysis, 11^th edition. Washington D. C. USA

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Received 31 January 2008; Accepted 22 March 2008; Published 10 June 2008

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