Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T21:42:24.779Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An analysis of the Entebbe herd of Nganda cattle in Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1961

P. Mahadevan
Affiliation:
University College of East Africa, Kampala, Uganda
H. J. S. Marples
Affiliation:
Livestock Experiment Station, Entebbe, Uganda
Get access

Extract

In the herd of Nganda cattle at the Government Livestock Experiment Station, Entebbe, Uganda, it was found that of the known environmental factors affecting milk production, the more important ones were age (in lactations) and length of the calving interval preceding the second and third lactations. The correlations between performance in different lactations of the same animal were high for lactation milk yield (0·73) and average daily milk yield (0·62) and low for calving interval (0·21) and dry period (0·15). The repeatability of lactation length was intermediate (0·42). The heritability values were around 0·3 for the weight measurements, around 0·2 for yield characteristics and around 0·1 for length of lactation and age at first calving.

The sires used in the breeding programme at Entebbe made little impact on production performance in the herd. The estimated genetic improvement in milk yield through selection of dams of cows was also low. It is argued from comparison with results from other parts of the tropics that superior genotypes for milk production are difficult to come by among indigenous cattle in these areas and that we should therefore look for other opportunities and methods to move ahead faster in the future.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1961

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

REFERENCES

Dickerson, G. E., & Hazel, L. N., 1944. Effectiveness of selection on progeny performance as a supplement to earlier culling of livestock. J. agric. Res., 69: 459.Google Scholar
Gowen, J. W., 1920. Studies in milk secretion. V. On the variations and correlations of milk secretion with age. Genetics, 5: 111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gowen, J. W., 1924. Milk Secretion. Williams and Watkins, Baltimore.Google Scholar
Lecky, T. P., 1951. Genetic improvement in dairy cattle in the tropics. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Lush, J. L., 1940. Intra-sire correlations or regressions of offspring on dam as method of estimating heritability of characteristics. Proc. Amer. Soc. Anim. Prod., 33rd Ann. Meet.: 293.Google Scholar
Lush, J. L., 1958. Foreword to “Dairy cattle breeding in the tropics”. Tech. Commun. Bur. Anim. Breed. Genet. (Edinb.), No. 11.Google Scholar
Lush, J. L., & Shrode, R. R., 1950. Changes in milk production with age and milking frequency. J. Dairy Sci., 33: 338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahadevan, P., 1953. The general life and production statistics of the Sinhala cattle of Ceylon. Emp. J. exp. Agric, 21: 55.Google Scholar
Mahadevan, P., 1955. Population and production characteristics of Red Sindhi cattle in Ceylon. J. Dairy Sci., 38: 1231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McArthurA., T. G. A., T. G., 1954. The assessment of progeny tests of dairy bulls made under farm conditions. Proc. Brit. Soc. Anim. Prod., 1954: 75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rendel, J. M., & Robertson, A., 1950. Estimation of genetic gain in milk yield due to selection in a closed herd of dairy cattle. J. Genetics, 50: 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, A., 1950. A preliminary report on the herd of Fulani cattle at Shika, Nigeria. Conference on Improvement of Livestock under Tropical conditions. Edinburgh. (Mimeographed report.)Google Scholar
Robertson, A., & Rendel, J. M., 1950. The use of progeny testing with artificial insemination in dairy cattle. J. Genetics, 50: 21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, H. G., 1928. The variations in milk yields caused by season of the year, service, age, and dry period, and their elimination. Pt. III. Age. J. agric. Sci., 18: 46.Google Scholar
Sikka, L. C., 1933. Statistical studies of records of Indian dairy cattle. II. Reliability of different lactation yields as measures of a cow's milking capacity. Indian J. vet. Sci., 3: 240.Google Scholar
Stonaker, H. H., 1953. Estimates of genetic changes in an Indian herd of Red Sindhi dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci., 36: 688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar