Nutritional Quality, Animal Preferences and Seasonal Availability of Feed Resources and Livestock- Feed Balance in Small and Fragmented Landholdings of Wolayta Zone, Southern Ethiopia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Berhan Tamir | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tibebu Kochare | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-08-09T07:40:34Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-08T11:32:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-08-09T07:40:34Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-08T11:32:58Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-08 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/18754 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Differential palatability | en_US |
| dc.subject | feed preference | en_US |
| dc.subject | feed quality | en_US |
| dc.title | Nutritional Quality, Animal Preferences and Seasonal Availability of Feed Resources and Livestock- Feed Balance in Small and Fragmented Landholdings of Wolayta Zone, Southern Ethiopia | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Livestock production in the Wolayta zone is at risk due to recurrent drought, population growth and very small and fragmented average landholdings. This study was aimed at assessing livestock feeds in terms of quality and quantity, analyze the balance between feed demand and supply, assess palatability, seasonal availability and animal preference of feeds in small and fragmented landholdings of three different agro-ecologies (Dega, Woina-dega and Kolla) of Wolayta zone, southern Ethiopia for one year from November 2016 to October, 2017. Data were collected through discussions with groups and key informants, observations, formal surveys, laboratory analysis and other secondary sources and analyzed using R software. Results showed that, the average household size in the zone is 6.8 and households own very small average land of 0.98 ± 0.081 ha. A total of 145 palatable plant species were identified in the study area, from which, 48 (33.1%) were trees, 27 (18.6%) were shrubs and the remaining 70 (48.3%) were herbs. Of the 145 recorded species, 82 (56.6%) were highly palatable, 25 (17.2%) were mostly palatable, 24 (16.6%) were less palatable, and 14 (9.6) were rarely palatable. Goats preferred most of the forage species (139 species, 95.8%), followed by cattle (121 species, 83.4%), sheep (106 species, 73.1%) and donkeys (67 species, 46.2%). Goats preferred herbs (66 species, 47.5%), trees (46 species, 33.1%) and shrubs (27 species, 19.4%). Cattle preferred herbs (67 species, 54.0%), trees (34 species, 28.1%) and shrubs (20 species, 16.5%). Sheep preferred herbs (64 species, 60.4 %), trees (24 species, 22.6 %) and shrubs (18 species, 17.0 %). Most of the animals preferred the leaf part of plants (78 species, 53.8 %), shoots/whole parts (53 species, 36.5 %), fruits and/or flowers (53 species, 36.5 %), twigs (41 species, 28.3 %) and roots (6 species, 4.1 %). The highest numbers of palatable plant species were recorded in March (133 species, 91.7%), in which short rainy season started in the study area. The evergreen perennial species like Vernonia amygdalina, Dovyilas abssynica, Ehertia cymosa, Vangueria apiculata and Persea americana were found throughout the growing season. Generally, January and February were the two months where feed is rarely available and animals were forced to eat xii poor quality and less palatable species. Livestock holding in TLU and total DM production from all feed resources were not significantly different across all agro-ecologies (P > 0.05). However; land which was the most important production factor in the study site was significantly different (P < 0.05) across all the three agro-ecologies. The largest proportion of feed (517.35 ton of DM/year, 58.9%) came from crop production followed by natural pasture (356.62 ton of DM/year, 40.6%) for the sampled households. The remaining small amount of feed was obtained from trees and shrubs (3.36 ton of DM/year, 0.5%) as farmers lop the leaves and branches of various trees and shrubs and feed them to their animals during the dry season. The chemical compositions of sampled trees and shrub species showed that the DM content of P. thonningii, M.esculenta, G. occidentalis, P. americana, T.indica, R. vulgaris were 96.35, 95.63, 95.71, 96.07, 97.00 and 96.74% respectively. The CP content of the trees and shrubs considered varied from 20.15 (M.esculenta) to 10.03 (P. americana). The concentration of calcium in P.americana (3.82) was higher compared to M.esculenta (3.31) and it was very small in P.thonningii (2.08). The NDF content of T.indica (67.83) was the highest compared to others, but M.esculenta contained the highest ADF (37.4) and ADL (14.5). Total amount of feed obtained from all sources was 877.33 ton/year in DM and the total livestock population of the sampled households was 602.24 TLU. The total feed required for this amount of TLU in terms of DM was therefore, 1373.1 ton/year (with negative balance of 495.77 ton DM). Thus, the total feed available addressed only 63.9% of the annual DM requirement which was able to support existing stocks for only 7.7 months. The feed gap was significantly higher (P<0.05) at Woina-dega, followed by Dega. This shortage of feed in the study area has resulted in increased mortality, reduced milk yield, increased abortion, weight loss and weakness of any livestock species as reported by the respondents. The respondents used different mechanisms to cope with shortage of feed and reduce its impact on their animals. Some households used mixed cropping of many crops within very small plot of land, while others used improved forage production, trees and shrubs, feed and food crop production, feed conservation in addition to buying feeds. Hence, feed shortage was a big problem in terms of quality (the use of concentrate supplement was not commonly practiced). The quantity (which showed negative balance) in the study site also needs due attention from all responsible bodies. Key words: Differential palatability; feed preference; feed quality; livestock feed-balance; seasonal feed availability; Wolayta. | en_US |