Dairy Cattle Feed Resources and Milk Handling Practices in Ada’a District, East Shoa Zone, Oromia Reginal State, Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2014-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study was conducted in Ada’a district of Oromia region to assess the existing dairy cattle feed resources, to evaluate the feed quality of selected dairy cattle feed resources, to assess milk handling practices in the study areas and suggest possible solution for existing problems. Data were collected from 60 dairy producers having different types of feeds and living in seven different villages using single-visit-multiple-subject formal survey. Brewery by product, cotton seed cake, linseed cake, noug cake, lin seed cake + noug seed cake, elephant grass, hay, tef straw, wheat straw, poultry litter, maize grain, wheat bran, wheat middling and concentrate were as feed resources. Open air for roughage feeds and well aerated storing for compound feeds was the most practiced methods of feed storing. For feed quality test, a total of 184 feed samples were collected from seven villages in fourteen types of feeds. These samples were analyzed for six feed quality parameters i.e. dry matter (%), ash (%), crude protein (%), NDF (%), ADF (%) and lignin (%). All the samples had the average DM contents (91.28 - 94.67), ash (1.42 -11.89), CP (3.3-41.28), NDF (13.76 -77.5), ADF (2.8 – 51.97) and lignin (1.35 – 11.61). Based on this result the moisture content of feeds was reduced by means of different reasons. Almost all of the respondents were having the awareness of cleaning milking equipments before milking. But During milking all respondents were done inappropriate activities like touching nose and scratching of different parts of the body. About 33.3% of respondents were use common towel to clean udder before and after milking. Giving training to dairy producers concerning with feed management and milk handling practices (before, during and after milking) including the storing containers.
Description
Keywords
da’a, dairy cattle, feed quality, feed resource