Browsing by Author "Reksen, O."
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Item Forage availability and its quality in the dry season on smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania(2008) Mtengeti, E. J.; Phiri, C. H.; Urio, N. A.; Mhando, D. G.; Mvena, Z.; Ryoba, R; Mdegela, R. H.; Singh, B. R.; Mo, M.; Wetlesen, A.; L⊘rken, T.; Reksen, O.The study was conducted on smallholder dairy farmers in Tanzania. A number of forage species and feed supplements were collected and analysed. Panicum maximum and P. purpureum constituted the bulky forage in about 20 and 11 households, respectively. The crude protein (CP) content of P. maximum and P. purpureum ranged from 6.5 to 8.5% and 7.8 to 10.2% while in vitro dry matter digestibility ranged from 44 to 50 and 48 to 51%, respectively. The mineral content of these two grasses were adequate for Ca but 95% of the forages were deficient in Cu and Zn and 84% in P. The CP content of multipurpose tree leaf was 3 4 times higher than that of grasses. In conclusion, the study revealed that dairy farmers depended solely on natural grasses and crop residues, which are low in CP, digestibility and mineral content.Item Seasonal changes in nutritional status and reproductive performance of Zebu cows kept under a traditional agro-pastoral system in Tanzania(Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006, 2006) Kanuya, N. L.; Matiko, M. K.; Nkya, R.; Bittegeko, S. B. P.; Mgasa, M. N.; Reksen, O.; Ropstad, E.The objectives of this study were to assess changes in nutritional status/body condition score, percentage pregnancy and calving rate in Zebu cows and to establish the relationship between body condition score loss and postpartum interval to resumption of ovarian activity. A total of 198 cows and postpubertal heifers of the Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu kept under a traditional management system were randomly selected from 200 smallholder herds. Factors investigated during bi-weekly visits include body condition score (BCS), heart-girth circumference, milk yield and reproductive status of the animals, pregnancy/nonpregnancy and cyclicity/non-cyclicity. Local weather conditions and dates of occurrence of other reproductive events such as calving were also recorded. Calvings occurred all year round but with a strong seasonal distribution characterized by annual peaks observed between April and July. The annual calving pattern was closely related to rainfall, with peak precipitation occurring a few months before peak calving. The overall percentage pregnancy varied from 30% to 50% throughout the N. L. Kanuya ( ) · M. K. Matiko · R. Nkya · S. B. P. Bittegeko · M. N. Mgasa Department of Veterinary Surgery and Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania e-mail: nkanuya@yahoo.com O. Reksen · E. Ropstad Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo, Norway year. Postpartum cows exhibited minimum mean BCS and heart-girth circumference 12–14 weeks after calving, and cows with BCS loss >1 point exhibited the longest time interval from calving to onset of ovarian activity.