Seasonal changes in nutritional status and reproductive performance of Zebu cows kept under a traditional agro-pastoral system in Tanzania
| dc.contributor.author | Kanuya, N. L. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Matiko, M. K. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nkya, R. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Bittegeko, S. B. P. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mgasa, M. N. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Reksen, O. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ropstad, E. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-09-13T09:07:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-09-13T09:07:03Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006 | |
| dc.description | Trop Anim Health Prod (2006) 38:511–519 DOI 10.1007/s11250-006-4419-z | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | 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. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/1785 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006 | en_US |
| dc.subject | Agro-pastoral system | en_US |
| dc.subject | Body condition score | en_US |
| dc.subject | Reproductive performance | en_US |
| dc.subject | Zebu cows | en_US |
| dc.title | Seasonal changes in nutritional status and reproductive performance of Zebu cows kept under a traditional agro-pastoral system in Tanzania | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |
| dc.url | link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11250-006-4419-z.pdf | en_US |