Milk Production, Reproduction and Calf Growth Performance Evaluation of Indigenous Afar Cattle Breed Maintained at Dubti Pastoral and Agro Pastoral Research Center: Preliminary Result

The study was conducted at Dubti Pastoral and Agro Pastoral Research Center to evaluate the productivity performance of indigenous Afar cattle breeds and suggest optimum management practices. The overall mean and (standard deviation) of birth weight, 3-month weight, 6-month weight, 9-month weight, 12-month weight, 18-month weight, and 24-month weight of Afar calves were 22.3 (1.6), 49.3 (3.5), 77.7 (10.4), 107.8 (3.4), 116.3 (6.7), 139.7 (8.1), and 165.5 (8.6) kg, respectively. The mean birth weight was 23.7 kg for males and 21.4 kg for females, and the average weaning weight at 3 months was 52.3 kg for males and 47.5 kg for females. Mean weaning weights at 6 months and 9 months were 77.2 kg and 110.8 kg for males; and 78.1 kg and 106.0 kg for females, respectively. The mean yearling weight (12-month weight) for males and females was 118.6 kg; and 115.0 kg, respectively. Furthermore, the 18-month and 24-month live body weight was 140.8 kg and 169.4 kg for males and 139.1 kg and 162.2 kg for females, respectively. The overall means ± SD for DMY, LMY, and LL were recorded to be 4.0±1.05 litter per cow per day, 917±207 litter per lactation, and 236.0±38.00 days, respectively. The overall average AFS, AFC, and CI of indigenous Afar cattle were 40.2±4.21 months, 50.4±7.4 months, and 15.6±2.7 months, respectively. The result indicated that promising growth, milk production, and reproductive performances of the Afar cattle breed in its local environment are favorably comparable in the literature to other indigenous cattle breeds evaluated in other parts of Ethiopia. However, due to limited number of parent stocks in the existing research farms, limited infrastructure, shortage of grazing pastureland at a research site, and unsuitable irrigation canal for the production of improved animal forage were major constraints during animal performance evaluation and less productivity of the animals were recorded in the study. Therefore, solving and improving the limited constraints mentioned above are paramount suggestions to evaluate the production, the productivity of the indigenous afar cattle breed can be completely improved and the research could be studied more comprehensively.