Assessment of Cattle Management Practices and Evaluation of Nutritional Quality of Major Available Feed Resources in Adadle District of Shabele Zone, Somali Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess husbandry practices and production constraints of cattle breed in the Adadle district of Shabelle Zone, Somali Regional State. Two production systems, pastoral and agro-pastoral, were considered for the study. Three kebeles were randomly chosen from each production system based on their cattle-producing potential. About 150 cattle producer households were randomly selected from purposively selected rural kebeles to assess the production practices and their major constants in the district (2 production systems*3 RKs*25 households). This study also examined the chemical composition of five common natural pasture grasses—Chrysopogon plumulosus, Pennisetum thunbergii, Cynodon dactylon, Brachiaria cornata,
and Grass S.p.p. with a focus on their nutritional value during wet and dry seasons. Feed types were selected based on group discussions about their abundance and cattle consumption patterns. The study revealed that majority of the households in pastoral areas that were interviewed (84.0%) had male heads of household, while only (16.0%) had female heads. Cattle housing was open kraal fenced with the thorned plenty acacia trees and calves were housed separately from other cattle. The production of milk was the main objective of maintaining cattle in both places, followed by income generation. The average daily milk production of the local cows in pastoral production was (3.13±1.0) liters, which was lower than the average daily milk production from agro-pastoral production (3.16+1.03), respectively. Animals traveled long distances to watering points (>5 km) during dry season, while in wet season,
animals were watered in nearby water sources. In pastoral production, however, the lack of veterinary services (6.7%), feed shortages (60%), and water shortages (20%), as well as parasites and diseases (13.3%) and disease outbreaks (14.3%), were all regarded as significant productivity barriers for cattle. To this end, it is imperative to make a significant effort to solve the feed scarcity through efficient hay and crop residue conservation and usage. Thus, it is necessary to enhance feed resources and control animal diseases in order to improve management and production practices. Furthermore, results indicate that while DM content ranged from 89.21% to 90.98% during the wet season and 91.01% to 91.79% in the dry season, significant seasonal differences were observed for CP, ADL, ADF, and ash content in pastoral production (P < 0.05). The average CP levels were notably below the requirements for tropical animals, with the highest CP concentrations found in Brachiaria cornata (6.03%) and Cynodon dactylon (5.98%). In agro-pastoral production, DM, CP,
ash, ADL, ADF, & NDF did not show significant seasonal variation (P>0.05). Overall, grasses exhibited low nutritional content, with higher NDF levels potentially restricting feed intake and overall livestock performance. The findings underscore the need for improved forage management and supplementation strategies to enhance livestock nutrition in these production systems.