INFLUENCE
OF REPRODUCTIVE AND UDDER HEALTH MANAGEMENT ON PERFORMANCE OF DAIRY COWS IN
URBAN & PERI-URBAN KAMPALA AND GULU, UGANDA
Background
•Dairy cattle farming activity is engaged
in by livestock keepers around many urban centers; Kampala city and Gulu
municipality being some of them.
•Dairy farming systems around urban
areas are zero or open grazing on
smallholder basis; dairy market and easy access to inputs are major attractions
to this engagement.
• Good cow reproduction and udder health
are factors for productivity towards
economic gains from farming are and are
hallmarks of good dairy management
•Study
reports indicate that poor management practices (Musisa et al. 1999) poor cow reproduction (Nakiganda
, 2006) and mastitis (Kivaria
et al. 2004, Byarugaba et al. 2008, Almaw et
al. 2009) prevalent among urban and peri-urban dairy farms were responsible for
low milk production.
•To
understand the causes of poor dairy cow performance in urban and peri-urban
herds , husbandry practices among dairy farming systems and the associated risk
factors, require to be established.
General
research objective:
To establish prevalence rates of
reproductive disorders, udder ill health and calf mortalities affecting dairy
cow performance and provide models for cost effective mitigation measures for
dairy farming in the urban & peri-urban livelihoods of Kampala and Gulu in
Uganda.
Specific
objectives:
1.To establish prevalence rates of
reproductive disorders, udder ill-health, neonatal calf mortality.
2.To understand/determine the factors and
practices associated with the prevalent rates of (a) reproductive disorders,
(b) udder ill-health and (c) neonatal calf mortality among various dairy
production systems
3.To provide model estimates for prevalent poor
herd performance and its future
improvement.
Study design
•Cross-sectional
study: -
data collected by a structured
questionnaire.
Physical
examination to assess cow reproductive
and quarter- health status , Californian Mastitis Test (CMT) and /or Delaval somatic cell counter protocols.
•Longitudinal
studies: -
Resumption of post-partum ovarian activity
Data
collected on cows (parities 1-6) on select farms in the Kampala urban/ peri-urban
area, visited at 10-12 day intervals for a period of 5-6months
Findings
Resumption
of pp
ovarian activity in urban and peri-urban dairy cows
•81.4% of cows resume ovarian
activity by
60 pp in Kla.
•Cow husbandry
e.g. poor feeding & reproductive ill-health associated with malpractices e.g. mgt of
RAB affect continuity of activity in
70.8% majority.
•29.2% of cows continue cycles normally.
Subclinical
mastitis.
Prevalence is high &
affects quality of milk in majority of
dairy farms. BMSCC on farms is >2x EU standard
•Milk quality on 23.5% of farms is quite good (SCC level <400,000
cells comparable to EU standards).
•Bacterial resistance to penicillin in
clinical mastitis is an emerging
problem; due probably to misuse of antibiotics.
Findings
Resumption
of pp
ovarian activity in urban and peri-urban dairy cows
•81.4% of cows resume ovarian
activity by
60 pp in Kla.
•Cow husbandry
e.g. poor feeding & reproductive ill-health associated with malpractices e.g. mgt of
RAB affect continuity of activity in
70.8% majority.
•29.2% of cows continue cycles normally.
Subclinical
mastitis.
Prevalence is high &
affects quality of milk in majority of
dairy farms. BMSCC on farms is >2x EU standard
•Milk quality on 23.5% of farms is quite good (SCC level <400,000
cells comparable to EU standards).
•Bacterial resistance to penicillin in
clinical mastitis is an emerging
problem; due probably to misuse of antibiotics.
Policy
Recommendations
1.A format to support post-strife rural
–urban immigrants engaging in urban and peri-urban dairy farming for their
socio-economic well-being. E.g
Accessing critical services as
“public good.” Dairy production would contribute to farmers incomes and ensure
food security in this livelihood.
2.Develop differential
price rewards for quality milk production to
encourage farmers attend to
hygienic milk production and control of antibiotic residues in milk –
good for both dairy cows and human welfare.
3.Establish a Dairy cow welfare policy to ensure cow reproductive and udder health as well as
housing to facilitate the cows’ production potential.
Progress
Paper
I: Husbandry factors influencing the
resumption of ovarian activity in dairy cows under open and zero-grazing
farming system in urban and peri-urban Kampala. (under final review for submission)
Paper
II: Effects of husbandry practices/farming
systems on reproductive performance of dairy cows in peri-urban
farms in Gulu and
Kampala (In Preparation)
Paper
III: Factors affecting milk production,
quality and yield of dairy cows in peri-urban farms in Gulu
& Kampala, Uganda (In
Preparation)
Paper
IV: Model estimates for abortion, calving
& neonatal calf mortality rates affecting cow reproductive performance in
urban and peri-urban
dairy farming systems of Gulu and Kampala (Not yet started)
