Valuation of livestock population and national feed security to enhance livestock productivity in Ethiopia.

Background: Feed is a major input in the livestock industry and covers about 60%-70% of the total cost of producing meat, milk and eggs. Inadequate feed supply in terms of quality and quantity leads to lower production performance in livestock. However, the development of an appropriate livestock production strategy through efficient utilization of existing feed resources could raise the production and per capita consumption of livestock products.

Evaluation of trait preferences and effect of parity, season and lactation stage on production performance of indigenous dairy cow in kaffa zone, southwest Ethiopia.

The current research focused on the effects of parity, season, and lactation stage on the milk yield of indigenous dairy cows in selected districts of the Kaffa Zone of southern Ethiopia. The districts of Gesha and Chena were purposefully chosen. The study design for the 384 household surveys was a cross-sectional survey with a simple random sample approach as the sampling method.

Evaluation of breeding objectives, breeding practices and reproductive performance of indigenous dairy cows in selected districts of Kaffa Zone, South West Ethiopia.

Background: Breeding objectives are designed to achieve targeted dairy cow production goals, which can be affected by production type, farmer preferences, environmental factors and genetic factors individually or in combination. Breeding practices, such as both controlled and uncontrolled, and artificial insemination (AI) are the tools used to obtain the desired breeding objectives. The lower reproductive performance of indigenous dairy cows affects the total milk production and calf crops that are produced during their lifetime.

Morphometric traits and structural indices of indigenous cattle reared in Bench Sheko zone, southwestern Ethiopia.

This study was carried out with the aim of applying morphometric traits and structural indices in assessing the type and function of indigenous cattle in the Gidi-Bench (GB) and Debub-Bench (DB) districts of the Bench-Sheko zone. The study included two hundred forty (240) households (120 from each district). About 660 matured cattle (60 male and 600 female) were selected for morphometric measurement, from which 14 structural indices were computed.

Assessment of indigenous Shaka cattle structural indices reared in Shaka zone, south west Ethiopia.

The study encompassed quantitative traits of the Shaka cattle reared in Shaka zone, Anderacha and Masha weredas of south western, Ethiopia. The study covered quantitative parameters which were taken from 240 cows and 120 bulls from randomly slected120 households. The means for the quantitative traits were compared using Duncan's Multiple Range test, the values were considered significant at P < 0.