Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T20:53:38.738Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Adjustment of birth weight for weighing age and relationship of standardized birth weight with early mortality in N'Dama calves under traditional husbandry systems in The Gambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

K. Agyemang
K. Agyemang
Affiliation:
International Livestock Centre for Africa, PMB 2248, Kaduna, Nigeria International Trypanotolerance Centre, PMB 14, Banjul, The Gambia
Get access

Abstract

Birth-weight data recorded between 1986 and 1991 on 3453 N'Dama calves from the village production systems of The Gambia were analysed to identify major factors influencing this trait and to quantify the relationship between birth weight and early calf mortality. Birth weights were measured over a range of time, from a few hours to 14 days after birth. Least-squares analysis of the fixed effects of site, year and season of birth, parity of dam, sex, age in days at which birth weight was recorded and random effects of herd and cow nested within site showed that all these factors significantly influenced this trait.

A subset of these data (no. = 2452) was used to derive adjustment factors which were applied to the larger data set to standardize birth weights to a common age measurement. Results from these adjustments showed that birth weights recorded between the 7th and 14th day after birth should be decreased by proportionately 0·12 to 0·14 to be comparable with those measured on day of birth.

Maximum likelihood analyis of cumulative calf mortality to 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of age using age-standardized data (no. = 3156), which excluded deaths of traumatic origin, showed that mortality was highly influenced by birth weight. Calves were grouped into three classes, namely below-average, average and above-average of sitemates' values. Mortality rates among the three groups during the first 30 days of life were 3·6, 0·9 and 0·3%. The corresponding values at day 120 were 13·8, 6·3 and 5·0%. The average age at death during the first 120 days in the three groups were 51, 58 and 73 days. Mortality rates among calves born in the wet season were higher than those born in the dry season (e.g. 9·9 v. 5·9% for mortality to day 120).

Examination of data on calving distribution and milk production patterns of the dams of the calves used in this study as well as the causes of deaths among the calves indicated that although dam effect was an important determinant of calf survival other factors such as the vigour of the calf at birth, weather conditions and disease environment at the tethering and grazing areas were important as well.

Keywords

birthweightcalvesGambiamortalityN'Dama
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , December 1992 , pp. 301 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agyemang, K. 1983. Multiple trait sire evaluation on parts of lactation milk yield of Holstein cows using best linear unbiased prediction procedures. Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.Google Scholar
Agyemang, K., Dwinger, R. H., Grieve, A. S. and Bah, M. L. 1991. Milk production characteristics and productivity of N'Dama cattle kept under village management in The Gambia. Journal of Dairy Science 74: 1599–1608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agyemang, K., Jeannin, P., Grieve, A. S. and Dwinger, R. H. 1988. Milk extraction for human consumption from N'Dama cattle under village management conditions in The Gambia. In Livestock production in tsetse affected areas of Africa. Proceedings of International Livestock Centre for Africa/International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, 1987, pp. 231–245.Google Scholar
Alexander, G. and Peterson, J. E. 1961. Neonatal mortality in lambs: intensive observations during lambing in a flock of maiden Merino ewes. Australian Veterinary Journal, 10, pp. 371–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonsma, J. C. and Skinner, J. D. 1961. Factors influencing birth date, birthweight and preweaning growth rate of Afrikaner, Bonsmara and Hereford cattle in the subtropics. Proceedings of the South Africa Society of Animal Production, pp. 161–163.Google Scholar
Brumby, P. J. and Trail, J. C. M. 1986. Animal breeding and productivity studies in Africa. ILCA Bulletin 23: 23–27.Google Scholar
Dennis, S. M. 1971. Perinatal lamb mortality. Cornell Veterinarian 62: 253–263.Google Scholar
Dunsmore, J. R., Blair Rains, A., Lowe, G. D. N., Moffat, D. J., Anderson, I. P. and Williams, J. B. 1976. The agricultural development of The Gambia: an agricultural, environmental and socio-economic analysis. Land resource study 22, Ministry of Overseas Development, Great Britain, pp. 224–235.Google Scholar
Dwinger, R. H., Agyemang, K., Kaufmann, J. and Grieve, A. S. 1992. Effects of trypanosome infections and helminth infestations in health and production parameters of village cattle in The Gambia. Veterinary Parasitology In press.Google Scholar
El-Barbary, A. S. A., Ahmed, I. A. and Ibrahim, M. A. R. 1987. Mortality rate in Friesian calves. Proceedings of the first conference of agricultural development research. Vol. 1. Animal production, Cairo, Egypt, pp. 216–214.Google Scholar
Findlay, C. F. 1973. Serum immune globulin levels in lambs under a week old. Veterinary Record 92: 530–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holness, J. A. Y. 1982. Genetic, environmental parameters and predicted sire values for Jamaica Red Poll beef cattle. M.S. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.Google Scholar
Mwandotto, B. A. J., Carles, A. B. and Cartwright, T. C. 1988. Weaning and 18-month weights of Boran, East African Shorthorn Zebu and Sahiwal breeds or crosses in Kenya. Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad 65: 257–264.Google Scholar
Njie, A. and Agyemang, K. 1991. Performance of a station-managed N'Dama herd in The Gambia. Tropical Animal Health and Production 23: 45–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sadek, R. R., Nigm, A. A. and Barghout, A. A. 1989. Mortality in new-born calves in relation to thermal reactions. In Ruminant production in the dry subtropics: constraints and potentials (ed. Galal, E. S. E., Aboul-Elfa, M. B. and Shafie, M. M.), proceedings of the international symposium on the constraints and possibilities of ruminant production in the dry tropics, Cairo, Egypt, 1988, pp. 78–81. Netherlands Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Pudoc, Wageningen.Google Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1987. SAS/STAT guide for personal SAS computers, 6th ed. Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Varma, A. K., Sastry, N. S. R. and Kar, D. 1988. Mortality trends in female Murrah buffalo calves. Indian Journal of Animal Production and Management 4: (1), 18–21.Google Scholar
Zrelli, M. and Ben-Younes, A. 1989. Inquiry on calf mortality in herds in Tunisia; factors during perinatal and postnatal periods. Maghreb-Veterinaire 4: (16), 14–16.Google Scholar