Management practices and work associated health problems of draught oxen in adea Liben district, east shewa zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted in AdeaLiben district from November 2007 to April 2008 to assess oxen ownership, management practices and work-associated health problems of draught oxen employing questionnaire survey and clinical examination. The survey indicated an average household oxen ownership of 2.68 oxen where as 10% of the farmers had below a pair. The average training age and service life of oxen were 3.10 and 12.31 years, respectively. Average duration and area of land ploughed per day by oxen pair was 7.3 hrs and 0.35 hectares, respectively with peak working period being 3.52 months. On average, a household possesses 2.8 hectares of land of which only 7% was used for pasture and crop production. Of the total households (n=250) interviewed, 32 (12.8%) responded that their oxen had one or more of work associated health problems. Of the total draught oxen (n=670) included in this study (Survey: n=590; clinical examination: n=80), 115 (17.16%) had work associated health problems with major problems observed in their order of importance being hump sore, injuries of the limbs (hoof and leg) and whip injuries. Work duration significantly (P<0.05) affected the occurrence of hump sore. In clinical examination (n=80), 15 (18%) oxen had work associated health problems the major problem being hump and hoof injuries. In conclusion, the study indicated that management problems are the major obstacles hampering optimum oxen use due to factors such as diseases, malnutrition, lack of awareness of farmers towards oxen handling and the use of traditional old harness design.

Key words: Draught oxen, work associated problems, Ethiopia.