Feed utilisation, growth performance and carcass characteristics of Tanzania shorthorn zebu cattle fed rice straws under traditional finish feeding system

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dc.contributor.authorKilyenyi, Edson Henry
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-26T10:53:59Z
dc.date.available2024-08-26T10:53:59Z
dc.date.issued2024-05
dc.descriptionMaster of Science Degree in Tropical Animal Production
dc.description.abstractTanzania has 36.6 million cattle and is one of the countries with the largest cattle population in Africa. Of the 36.6 million cattle, 96% are indigenous cattle and the majority of them belong to the Tanzania Shorthorn Zebu (TSHZ) breed. The TSHZ are kept under low input systems and grazed extensively in the communal rangelands. The low input management practices result into poor performance that has led to red meat production-demand imbalance in the country. The mismatch between supply and demand of beef is aggravated by the fast human population and economic growth. Some local cattle producers engage in feedlot practices as a means to increase beef production and capture the existing red meat market and hence, increase income generation to support their livelihoods. Most feedlot practitioners feed natural grasses including Cenchrus ciliaris hay to cattle as the basal diet and energy-based concentrates as supplement. However, hay usage is limited by its unavailability and high price, which necessitates farmers to look for alternative least cost basal diets such as cereal crop residues. Rice straw is among the cereal crop residues which are abundantly available and cheap in agro-pastoral communities of Tanzania. Despite the abundant availability of rice straws, these straws have high proportion of indigestible carbohydrate which limits their utilisation as a basal diet for fattening cattle. Treatment with urea can improve the nutritional value of rice straws and, hence, high performance of the fattened cattle. Therefore, the current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of partial or complete substitution of C. ciliaris hay with urea treated or untreated rice straws on feed utilisation, growth performance, carcass and meat characteristics of TSHZ. The current study was conducted at Mtanana village in Kongwa district, located about 82 km from Dodoma capital city in central Tanzania. Fifty (50) bulls with initial mean (± SD) weight of 132.4 ± 26.7 kg and age of 2.5 - 3 years were used in the experiment. The bulls were kept under total confinement and assigned randomly to five dietary treatments with 10 animals per treatment. The dietary treatments were used as basal diets and included C. ciliaris hay only (CCH), untreated rice straws (URS), urea treated rice straws (TRS), combination of untreated rice straws and hay (URH) and combination of urea treated rice straws and hay (TRH). In addition to the basal diet, all animals were fed the same supplementary diet comprised of maize bran (53%), molasses (25%), sunflower seed cake (20%), mineral premix (1.5%) and table salt (0.5%). The feeding trial took 84 days and at the end of the experiment, the experimental animals were evaluated for feed intake, weight gain, daily weight gain, percentage profit return, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Throughout the experimental period, clean water was provided ad libitum to all experimental animals. The results indicate differences (p < 0.001) in basal diet intake whereby animals under TRS had the highest value (1.6 ± 0.02 kg DM/day) and those on CCH had the lowest (1.3 ± 0.2 kg DM/day). Similarly, metabolisable energy intake was highest for animals fed TRS (86.0 ± 0.7 MJ/day) and lowest for those on CCH (72.0 ± 0.7 MJ/day). The animals fed TRH had the highest weight gain (64.7 ± 4.4 kg) and average daily gain (770 ± 0.1 g/day) while those on URS had the lowest weight gain (50.3 ± 4.4 kg) and average daily gain (599 ± 0.1 g/day). Also, feed conversion ratio varied (p < 0.001) among treatments and was lowest for animals on TRH (8.9 ± 0.1) and highest for animals on URS (11.9 ± 0.1), indicating that animals on TRH were more effective in converting feed to live weight. Animals fed URH had the highest hot carcass weight and some linear carcass measurements such as chest depth and hind limb circumference. The final meat pH was slightly higher in all animals subjected to different dietary treatments and was above the recommended value of 5.8. This resulted into dark red meat, probably due to the stress experienced by the animals at slaughter. Meat fat content was lower in animals fed TRS (10.6%) than in animals fed TRH (13.9%) and URS (11.9%). The animals on TRS had the highest proportion of lean (72.3%) compared to the animals on other treatments. The animals on TRH showed the least cost (TZS 5,244/=) for gaining one kilogram of live weight. However, thehighest percentage profit return was observed in animals fed TRS (32.3%) while those fed CCH had the least (27.3%). Therefore, it is concluded that TRS is the best basal diet for fattening indigenous cattle because the animals fed this diet showed higher percentage profit margin, proportion of lean and lower fat and total lipid contents compared to those on other diets.
dc.description.sponsorshipMinistry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) through the Department of Livestock Production and Market Development and Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH)
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/6392
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSokoine University of Agriculture
dc.subjectCrop residues
dc.subjectCattle fattening
dc.subjectIndigenous cattle
dc.subjectFeed conversion ration
dc.subjectGrowth rate
dc.subjectGross Margin
dc.subjectTraditional feedlot system
dc.subjectLineal carcass measurements
dc.subjectHot carcass weight
dc.subjectMeat tenderness
dc.titleFeed utilisation, growth performance and carcass characteristics of Tanzania shorthorn zebu cattle fed rice straws under traditional finish feeding system
dc.typeThesis

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