S.H.B. Lebbie and A. T. ManziniAnimal Production and Health Department
University of Swaziland
P.O. Luyengo
Swaziland
Summary
Resume
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results and discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Results of a 24 mo study of traditional goat production in Swaziland are reported. Females greatly outnumbered males in the flocks. Females kidded first at 301 ± 55 d, kidding interval was 268 ± 100 d, litter size was 1.18 ± 0.29 and kids born per doe per year was 1.61. Birth weight was 1.9 ± 0.14 kg and growth to 3 mo averaged 68.2 g/d. Mortality was 30% over the study period and offtake was 17%: home consumption was the largest component of offtake and deaths were much higher in kids than in adults.
Les résultats d'un suivi de 2 ans sur des troupeaux caprins en milieu traditionnel sont reportés. Dans les troupeaux les femelles sont beaucoup plus nombreuses que les mâles. L'âge à la première mise bas est de 301 ± 55 j. l'intervalle de mise bas est de 268 ± 100 j. la taille de la portée de 1,18 ± 0,29 et le taux annuel de reproduction de 1,61 chevreaux/femelle/an. Le poids à la naissance est de 1,19 ± 0,14 kg, la vitesse de croissance moyenne jusqu'à 3 mois atteint 68,2 g/j. Sur la période d'étude le taux de mortalité avoisine 30 p.cent et le taux du prélèvement 17 p.cent. L'autoconsommation représente la majeure partie des prélèvements. La mortalité est plus élevée chez les chevreaux que chez les adultes.
Goats are second to cattle in numbers and popularity among Swaziland farmers who keep ruminant livestock. In 1986, 53% of the human population owned cattle and 32% owned goats (MAC, 1987), with goats accounting for 31% of the total ruminant population. About 99% of goats are indigenous types and 92% are found on Swazi Nation Land under traditional management. Their socio-economic importance has been described in other reports (Lebbie and Mastapha, 1985; Lebbie, 1986).
This paper presents the findings of a 24 mo investigation (July 1986-June 1988) of flocks of Swazi indigenous goats under traditional management. The production parameters presented provide the most comprehensive information on Swazi goats under traditional management yet published. The information is used to make suggestions for the improvement of goat production in the traditional sector.
The study was undertaken in Mhlabubovu, Mndutshane, Lebovu, Engwenyameni and Mdonjane areas in the middleveld around Luyengo Campus for Agriculture of the University of Swaziland Population density is 15-30 persons per km² . Annual rainfall is about 750-1000 mm, falling mainly from late September to March. Altitude varies from 500 m to 750 m. Average maximum temperatures are 24°C to 26°C and minimum temperatures are 12°C to 13°C. The natural vegetation is sweet and sour grassveld with scattered bushes and shrubs. The grassveld is unsuitable for year-round grazing. The main crop is maize, mostly in pure stands or mixed with pumpkins or beans. Citrus and pineapple pulp are a potential feed resource for ruminant livestock.
Following the withdrawal of most of the 51 flocks initially involved in the study only 8 flocks were followed for the whole 24 mot Parameters studied included numbers and flock structure, reproductive performance, growth performance, and offtake and mortality rates. At the start of the study, all animals were ear tagged, weighed and aged by dentition. Animals were subsequently weighed every 30 d. For age at first parturition and growth performance estimates, only animals of known birth date were used.
Animals were treated for ticks once a month and dewormed and treated against foot rot when necessary. All goats were kraaled at night and released for grazing at some time between 09:00 and 11:00 each day.
Flock composition and increase
Flock age and sex structure did not differ over the period of study. There were 70% females and 15% males over 1 yr at the start of the study, the corresponding percentages at the end being 69% and 16%. The approximate female: male ratio of 4.4:1.0 is regarded as favourable under the continuous and mixed flock grazing conditions of the Swazi farmer, as heat stress in summer and poor nutrition in late summer and winter may make it undesirable to expose bucks to a large number of females. With mixed flocks grazing on the ranges, male coverage of females from flocks without breeding males is usually adequate, due to the high male populations relative to breeding females in most of the flocks.
There was an increase of 88 goats over the 24 mot Births totalled 482 kids but these were offset by 252 deaths and 142 sales or other exit reasons.
Reproductive performance
Age at first kidding. Does first kidded at 301 ± 55 d in the range 262-340 d. This is younger than most other reports of ages at first kidding in African traditional systems. Early kidding in traditional systems is not unexpected but is considered undesirable by some authorities. Early kidding, however, reduces replacement costs, increases animal and economic turnover rates and may lead to more rapid genetic improvement (Wilson and Durkin, 1983).
Kidding interval. The kidding interval was 268 ± 100 d (n = 168) which is similar to many other data from African traditional systems (Haumesser, 1975; Wilson, 1976; Mack, 1983; Wilson et al, 1984). Intervals between first and second births (256 ± 96 d) were apparently shorter than those at higher parities (275 ± 91 d). Longer intervals in older does may have been due to lactation or pregnancy stress.
Litter size. Average litter size was 1.18 ± 0.29 kids which is about average for large African goats under traditional management (Wilson, 1976; Wilson et al, 1984; Wilson 1987; Wilson and Durkin, 1988). Litter sizes were smaller in primiparous (1.07 ± 0.42) than in multiparous (1.24 ± 0.32) does. Of the 408 kiddings recorded, 82% were single births, 17% were twin births and less than 1% were triplet births. No triplets were born of primaparous does. The frequency of multiple births was lower in primaparous than in multiparous does. Only 6.9% of 145 parturitions in the former class were multiple births: in the latter 23.6% of 263 parturitions were multiple births, of which 22.8% were twin and 0.8% triplet births.
Annual reproductive rate and kidding percentage. The number of kid born per female per year (calculated as litter size x 365/kidding interval) was 1.61 being lower in primiparous (1.53) than in multiparous (1.65) females. Kidding rate (kids born as a percentage of breeding females in the flock) was 86% in the first year and 118% in the second year.
Seasonality. Kids were born all the year round with a peak in the winter months of May to July. Most conceptions thus occurred in the rains and in the immediate post-rains periods. Births in the dry season could be disadvantageous due to poor quality and limited quantity of feed, especially as little supplementary feeding is practiced in the Swazi traditional system.
Weight and growth
Birth weight was estimated at 1.9 ± 0.14 kg (n 482) with male kids weighing more (2.0 ± 0.09 kg) than females (1.8 ± 0.10 kg). Kids born of primiparous does (1.8 ± 0.11 kg) weighed less than those born of subsequent kidders (2.0 ± 0.15 kg). Kids born as singles (2.1 ± 0.17 kg ) were heavier at birth than those born as twins (1.9 ± 0.20 kg) or triplets (1.8 ± 0.27 kg). Birth weights in this study are lower than the 2.1 kg of Sudanese goats (Wilson, 1976), the 2.5 kg for goats in the Ethiopian highlands (Mukasa-Mugerwa et al, 1986) and the 3.0 kg for goats in Zimbabwe (Khombe, 1985). The Zimbabwe results are from station management which may account for the relatively higher birth weights.
Growth was rapid to 12 mo but decreased steadily thereafter (Figure 1). Males grew faster than females and as they neared maturity the gap in growth rate between the sexes became wider. Average gain from birth to 3 mo was 68.2 g/d. This declined to 60.2 g/d, 50.0 g/d and 38.3 g/d to 6 mo, 12 mo and 24 mot In Sudan, average gain of goats under farm conditions was 87 g/d to 3 mo but declined to 67 g/day from birth to 6 mo (Wilson, 1976). In Ethiopia (Mukasa-Mugerwa et al, 1986), growth rate declined from 104 g/d to 3 mo to 87 g/d, 65 g/d and 44 g/d to 6 mo, 12 mo and 24 mot Growth rate and adult body size are influenced both by weight at birth and the environment. Swazi goats are quite small at birth and most of them are dropped in the winter when quality and quantity of the veld are very low. These factors explain the poor growth performance of the traditionally managed Swazi goat.
Mortality and offtake
Total outflow was about 47%, including 17% offtake and 30% mortality. This is a similar outflow to the 44% for goats in the Sudan in a 15 mo study (Wilson, 1976) but greater than the 31% reported for goats studied for 18 mo in Ethiopia under traditional management (Mukasa-Mugerwa et al, 1986).
Figure 1. Growth of indigenous goats under traditional management in Swaziland.
Slaughtering for home consumption, emergency and ceremonial reasons accounted for about 60% of total offtake and about 10% of animals observed in the study. Commercial offtake (cash sales) was about 33% of total offtake and 6% of all animals. Gifts contributed the least (7%) to total offtake. The relatively high commercial offtakes observed in this and other studies suggest that goats are an important source of income for peasant farmers. Over 70% of total offtake was slaughter and sale of males. Females were preferred as gifts. Males over 2 yr were more likely to be sold or offered as gifts than younger ones.
Total mortality over the 2 yr study period was 30% (252 of 819 goats). Deaths among kids to 6 mo accounted for just over 76% of total mortality and nearly 23% of the total goat population studied. Kids are the most fragile and perishable component of a goat flock and any attempt made to ensure their survival is bound to increase productivity and economic returns. Assuming the mortality rate of 30% is representative of all flocks in the country, a staggering 10 000 goats are lost each year, most of which will be kids under 12 mot Given a potential average value of E 80.00 (US $ 33)/adult goat, this amounts to an annual loss of E 80 000 (US $ 333 333). The most important diseases observed were associated with ticks, nasal discharges and pneumonia. The last was prevalent in the wet season when the damp conditions in the mostly open and unprotected kraals rendered the animals more susceptible to attacks. Deaths from unknown reasons were high at 16.3% of total mortality, most being reported in the winter months when kidding was most frequent. The emaciated and weak condition of most kids and older animals that died could be attributed to inadequate nutrition. Feral dogs were also a menace on the range and in kraals that were not well secured.
The results suggest a high productive capacity among these goats with good opportunities to exploit the potential to improve productivity.
High mortality among kids and slow growth among those that survive are the major constraints to production. Diseases, inadequate nutrition and poor management are the main underlying causes of the high mortality and low growth rates, especially among young animals. Traditional communal land tenure and the emphasis on large flocks as a status symbol will shortly render unattainable any suggestion for individual land ownership and destocking in order to develop the land and improve the feed base. Productivity could, however, be improved initially by promoting better health care and encouraging farmers to utilize feed resources such as crop residues, leaves, twigs and household wastes, in order to supplement young growing animals and breeding females at critical periods of the year. Flock owners within reach of agro-industrial by-products (citrus and pineapple pulp, sugar cane tops, brewers dried grains, brewing residues, and molasses) should be encouraged to use these, especially when they are supplied free.
Funding was provided by the International Development Research Centre and the Swaziland Government. The University of Swaziland encouraged this research. Our thanks to all the relatives, friends and goat keepers who contributed in one way or another to this study.
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