Characteristics of the cattle fattening system and body conformation of beef cattle in Bahir Dar Special Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in the urban and peri-urban areas of Bahir Dar special zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, with the objectives of characterizing the cattle fattening system and conformation traits of fattening cattle in the area. Data on the fattening systems were collected from 112 cattle fatteners (72 from peri-urban and 40 fatteners from urban areas) who have experience with cattle fattening using a semi-structured questionnaire. The beef cattle conformational traits measurement was carried out on fattening cattle on a total of 60 animals (30 from peri-urban farms and 30 from urban farms) in selected farms under the fattener’s management condition. Twelve farms were used for the body conformation measurement of the animals using ICAR guidelines. The survey data was analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics and index ranking. Conformational trait data were analyzed using the General Linear Model Procedure of SAS 9.1. The overall mean family size, age of household heads, and landholding per household were 8.43, 42.31 years, and 0.77 hectares, respectively. Most of the respondents in the periurban hold cattle for draft power (index = 0.40). The respondents prefer intact and matured bulls in the urban (100%) and peri-urban (93%) areas. The respondents, on average, fatten three times a year (47.3%) with a mean number of 8.08 fattening cattle. The main feed sources in the peri-urban and urban areas were crop residue (index = 0.26) and agro-industrial by-products (index = 0.63), respectively. Most of the cattle fatteners select their fattening cattle based on body conformation (index 0.29) and condition (index 0.21). The mean initial and final body weight of fattening cattle were 348.75kg and 425.33 kg, respectively. In general, the cattle fattening practice needs to be supported by the extension system so as to efficiently use the resources.