Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T03:51:34.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recent advances in research on draught ruminants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

R. A. Pearson ,
E. Zerbini  and
P. R. Lawrence
R. A. Pearson
Affiliation:
Centrefor Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Easter Bush, Roślin, Midlothian EH25 9RG
E. Zerbini
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute — Asia Region, do ICRISAT, Pantancheru 502 324 Andra Pradesh, India
P. R. Lawrence
Affiliation:
Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics, University ofHohenheim, D-70593, Stuttgart, Germany
Get access

Abstract

A feeding system, draught cows, disease/work interactions and animal power introduction in a farming system, four areas of recent research on draught ruminants which are important to future development of animal power, are reviewed. A new feeding system for draught animals is described which enables food requirements and the effects of work on live weight and milk production to be calculated.

Recent data on the energy cost of walking are appraised. Research on working cows, mainly in Ethiopia, has shown that undernutrition has a greater effect on milk yield than work, which has a transient effect. The length of the post-partum anoestrous period increases with decrease in body condition. Body-weight loss increases with increasing work load. It is suggested that dairy cows delay conception by 1 day for every day of work done. Work has little effect on food intake or digestive parameters. Although it is associated with an overall increase in food intake of cows, even of un-supplemented forage diets, the increase is not sufficient to meet all the extra energy needs for work. Food intake of both working and non-working cows increases during lactation.

Disease limits the working capacity of draught animals and work can exacerbate disease. These effects were investigated using Trypanosoma evansi in Indonesia and T. congolense in The Gambia. In both studies, infected animals were able to do much less work than non-infected ones and the severity of the effect depended greatly on the strain of trypanosome used. In general, increasing the plane of nutrition did not ameliorate the effects of the disease, nor in the Gambian study did it prevent loss of appetite in infected animals.

The technical and agronomic innovations necessary for the introduction of animal power into an inland valley region of central Nigeria are described and some of the sociological implications discussed.

Keywords

draught animalsmilk productionnutritiontrypanosomiasiswork
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 68 , Issue 1 , February 1999 , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1999

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

Abate, E. 1994. Effect of work and energy supplementation on the oestrous cycle length and ovarian activity in crossbred cows used for draught. M.Sc. thesis, Alemaya University of Agriculture, PO Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.Google Scholar
Agricultural and Food Research Council. 1993. Energy and protein requirements of ruminants. An advisory manual prepared by the AFRC Technical Committee on Responses to Nutrients. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.Google Scholar
Agyemang, K., Dwinger, R. H., Touray, B. N., Jeannin, P., Forana, D. and Grieve, A. S. 1990. Effects of nutrition on degree of anaemia and liveweight changes in N’Dama cattle infected with trypanosomes. Livestock Production Science 26: 39–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alford, R. J. 1994. Working and feeding strategies of N’Dama oxen in a Gambian village. M.Sc. thesis, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Anderson, N. V., Youanes, Y. D., Vestweber, J. G., King, C. A., Klemm, R. D. and Kennerdy, G. A. 1991. The effects of stressful exercise on leucocytes in cattle with experimental pneumonic pasteurellosis. American Journal of Veterinary Research 15: 189–204.Google Scholar
Authié, E., Muteti, D. K. and Williams, D. J. L. 1993. Antibody responses to invariant antigens of Trypanosoma congolense in cattle of differing susceptibility to trypanosomiasis. Parasite Immunology 15: 101–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bennison, J. J., Clemence, R. G., Archibald, R. F., Hendy, C. R. C. and Dempfle, L. 1998. The effects of work and two planes of nutrition on trypanotolerant draught cattle infected with Trypanosoma congolense . Animal Science 66: 595–605.Google Scholar
Booth, M. E. 1998. Factors influencing the energy requirements of native ponies living outdoors in the United Kingdom. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, University of Edinburgh. Google Scholar
Bourn, D. and Scott, M. 1978. The successful use of work oxen in agricultural developement of tsetse infested land in Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production 10: 191–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine. 1976. Handbook on animal diseases in the tropics. British Veterinary Association, London.Google Scholar
Clemence, R. G. 1997. Relationships between disease, work and nutrition in draught cattle and buffalo. Ph.D. thesis, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh. Google Scholar
Dargie, J. D., Murray, P. K., Murray, M., Grimshaw, W. T. R. and Mclntyre, W. I. M. 1979. Bovine trypanosomiasis: the red cell kinetics of N’Dama and zebu cattle infected with Trypanosoma congolense. Parasitology 78: 271–286.Google Scholar
Dieleman, E. F. 1986. Trypanosomiasis in Indonesia. The Veterinary Quarterly 8: 250–256.Google Scholar
Di Marco, O. N. and Aello, M. S. 1998. Energy cost of cattle walking on the level and on a gradient. Journal of Range Management 51: 9–13.Google Scholar
Dijkman, J. T. and Lawrence, P. R. 1997a. The energy expenditure of cattle and buffaloes walking and working in different soil conditions. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 128: 96–103.Google Scholar
Dijkman, J. T. and Lawrence, P. R. 1997b. The introduction of animal traction into inland valley regions. 3. Different cultivation techniques for maize. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 129: 77–82.Google Scholar
Directorat Jenderal Peternakan. 1984. Sistim pembangunan peternakan khususnya kesehatan ternak di pedesaan. Directorat Jenderal Peternakan, Jakarta, Indonesia.Google Scholar
Doeve, W. C. A. 1917. Hededeelingen betreffende surra. Veeartsenjkundeige bcaden V. Nederland-Indie 29: 4–5.Google Scholar
Fall, A., Pearson, R. A., Lawrence, P. R. and Fernández-Rivera, S. 1997. Feeding and working strategies for oxen used for draft purposes in semi-arid West Africa. International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization. 1972. Manual on the employment of draught animals in agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Gaines, J. 1989. The relationship between nutrition and fertility in dairy herds. Veterinary Medicine 84: 997–1002.Google Scholar
Gemeda, T., Zerbini, E., Wold, A. G. and Demissie, D. 1995. Effect of draught work on performance and metabolism of crossbred cows. 1. Effect of work and diet on body-weight change, body condition, lactation and productivity. Animal Science 60: 361–367.Google Scholar
Goe, M. R. and McDowell, R. E. 1980. Animal traction, guidelines for utilisation. Cornell International Agriculture mimeograph. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, D. and Dalgliesh, R. J. 1985. A multidisciplinary approach to health and disease in draught ruminants. In Draught animal power for production (ed. Copland, J. W.), ACIAR proceedings series no. 10, pp. 134–139. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.Google Scholar
International Laboratory for Research into Animal Diseases. 1993. Estimating the costs of animal trypanosomiasis in Africa. ILRAD reports, April 1993. International Laboratory for Research into Animal Diseases, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Kenyon, S., Fauzi, S., Burton, R. and Darsana, R. 1989. Health in draught animals: an example from West Java, Indonesia. In Draught animals in rural development (ed. D. Hoffmann, Nari, J. and Petheram, R. J.), ACIAR proceedings series no. 27, pp. 212–215. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.Google Scholar
Khibe, T. and Bartholomew, P. W. 1993. Recherches aux possibilités de conditionnement des boeufs de labour à base de paille de brousse enrichie àl’urée et évaluation de son impact sur leur capacité de travail. In Research for development of animal traction in West Africa (ed. Lawrence, P. R., Lawrence, J. Dijkman, J. T. and Starkey, P. H.), proceedings of the fourth workshop of the West Africa Animal Traction Network, Kano, Nigeria, 9-13 July 1990, pp. 175–179. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Kibet, P. K. F. and Hansen, R. M. 1985. The effect of walking while grazing on rumen digestion. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal 51: 30–35.Google Scholar
Korver, S., Arendonk, J. A. M. van and Koops, W. J. 1985. A function for live-weight change between two calvings in dairy cattle. Animal Production 40: 233–241.Google Scholar
Kraneveld, F. C. and en Djaenoedin, R. 1948. Proeven over de gevoeligheid voor surra van door behandeling met Naganol en Arsocoll van deze ziekte genezen paarden. Nederland-Indie Bulletin Diergeneeskd 55: 165–174.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. 1985. A review of the nutrient requirements of draught oxen. In Draught animal power for production (ed. Copland, J. W.), ACIAR proceedings series no. 10, pp. 59–63. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. and Becker, K. 1994. The effects of draught power on feed utilisation and reproduction in cattle and buffaloes. In Sustainable small-scale ruminant production in semi-arid and sub-humid areas (ed. Becker, K. Lawrence, P. R. and Ørskov, R.), proceedings of an international workshop, September 1994, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany, pp. 101–121.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. and Dijkman, J. T. 1997. The introduction of animal traction into inland valley regions. 2. Dry season cultivation and the use of herbicides in rice. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 129: 71–75.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. and Dijkman, J. T. 1998. The measurement of oxygen consumption and ventilation volume of draught animals using a modified Oxylog. Thermochimica Acta 310: 107–117.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R., Dijkman, J. T. and Jansen, H. G. P. 1997. The introduction of animal traction into inland valley regions. 1. Manual labour and animal traction in the cultivation of rice and maize: a comparison. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 129: 65–70.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. and Pearson, R. A. 1998. Feeding standards for cattle used for work. Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R., Pearson, R. A. and Dijkman, J. T. 1991. Techniques for measuring whole body energy expenditure of working animals: a critical review. In Isotopes and related techniques in animal production and health. Proceedings of an international symposium on nuclear and related techniques in animal production and health by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 15-19 April 1991, Vienna, pp. 211–223. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P. R. and Stibbards, R. J. 1990. The energy costs of walking, carrying and pulling loads on flat surfaces by Brahman cattle and swamp buffalo. Animal Production 50: 29–39.Google Scholar
Little, D. A., Dwinger, R. H., Clifford, D. J., Grieve, A. S., Kora, S. and Bojang, M. 1990. Effect of nutritional level and body condition on susceptibility of N’Dama cattle to Trypanosoma congolense infection in The Gambia. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 49: 209A.Google Scholar
Löhr, K. F., Pohlpark, S., Srikitjkarn, L., Thaboran, P., Betterman, G. and Staak, C. 1985. Trypanosoma evansi infection in buffaloes in North-East Thailand. I. Field investigations. Tropical Animal Health and Production 17: 121–125.Google Scholar
Lun, Z.-R., Fang, Y., Wang, C-J. and Brun, R. 1993. Trypanosomiasis of domestic animals in China. Parasitology Today 9: 41–45.Google Scholar
Matthewman, R. W. 1987. The role and potential of draught cows in tropical farming systems. A review. Tropical Animal Health and Production 19: 215–222.Google Scholar
Matthewman, R. W., Merritt, J. B., Oldham, J. D. and Horgan, G. W. 1993. Effect of exercise on milk yield, milk composition and blood metabolite concentrations in Hereford × Friesian cattle. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science 6: 607–617.Google Scholar
Murray, M. 1988. Trypanotolerance, its criteria and genetic and envorinmental influences. In Livestock production in tsetse affected areas of Africa. Proceedings of the African Trypanotolerant Livestock Network, 23-27 November 1987, Nairobi, Kenya, pp. 133–151. ILCA/ILRAD, Nairobi.Google Scholar
Murray, M., Murray, P. K., Wallace, M. Morrison, W. I. and Mclntyre, W. I. M. 1977. Trypanosomiasis in N’Dama and zebu cattle. I. An experimental investigation of susceptibility to Trypanosoma brucei, T. congolense and mixed infections. Fifteenth meeting of the International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control, The Gambia. OAU/STRC publication no. 110, pp. 470–481.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. and Ryle, M. 1990. Energy nutrition in ruminants. Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, Barking, UK.Google Scholar
Paling, R. W., Moloo, S. K., Scott, J. R., Gettinby, G., McOdimba, F. A. and Murray, M. 1991. Susceptibility of N’Dama and Born cattle to sequential challenges with tsetse-transmitted clones of Trypanosoma congolense. Parasite Immunology 13: 427–445.Google Scholar
Partoutomo, S., Ronohardjo, P., Wilson, A. J. and Stevenson, P. 1985. Review of diseases in Indonesia affecting draught animal power in domestic animals. In Draught animal power for production (ed. Copland, J.W.), ACIAR proceedings series no. 10, pp. 140–146. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.Google Scholar
Payne, R. C. 1989. Studies on the epidemiology of Trypanosoma evansi in the Republic of Indonesia. M.Phil. thesis, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Payne, R. C., Djauhari, D., Partoutomo, S., Jones, T. W., and Pearson, R. A. 1991a. Trypanosoma evansi infection in worked and unworked buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Indonesia. Veterinary Parasitology 40: 197–206.Google Scholar
Payne, R. C., Sukanto, I. P., Djauhari, D., Partoutomo, S., Wilson, A. J., Jones, T. W., Boid, R. and Luckins, A. G. 1991b. Trypanosoma evansi infection in cattle, buffaloes and horses in Indonesia. Veterinary Parasitology 38: 109–119.Google Scholar
Pearson, R. A. 1989. Reduced work output of well-fed buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) pulling carts on the Terai in East Nepal. Tropical Animal Health and Production 21: 273–276.Google Scholar
Pearson, R. A. 1990. A note on live weight and intake and digestibility of food by draught cattle after supplementation of rice strawT with the fodder tree Ficus auriculata. Animal Production 51: 635–638.Google Scholar
Pearson, R. A. and Dijkman, J. T. 1994. Nutritional implications of work in draught ruminants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 54: 169–179.Google Scholar
Pearson, R. A., Dijkman, J. T., Krecek, R. C. and Wright, P. 1998. Effect of density and weight on the energy cost of carrying loads by donkeys and ponies. Tropical Animal Health and Production 30: 67–78.Google Scholar
Pearson, R. A. and Lawrence, P. R. 1992. Intake, digestion, gastro-intestinal transit time and nitrogen balance in working oxen: studies in Costa Rica and Nepal. Animal Production 55: 361–370.Google Scholar
Pieterson, R. and Teleni, E. 1991. The effect of work on nitrogen economy of the female swamp buffaloes. ACIAR draught animal bulletin, no 1, pp. 30–31. James Cook University of North Queensland.Google Scholar
Ravindran, S., Massaquoi, R. C. and Wiles, S. 1993. Research for the control of draught animal diseases in West Africa: needs, experiences and methods. In Research for development of animal traction in West Africa (ed. Lawrence, P. R. Lawrence, K. Dijkman, J. T. and Starkey, P. H.), proceedings of the fourth workshop of the West Africa Animal Traction Network, Kano, Nigeria, 9-13 July 1990, pp. 13–18. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
Rometsch, M. 1995. Energieumsatz und herzfrequenz von Zugochsen. Ph.D. thesis, University of Hohenheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Rukmana, M. P. 1979. Microhaematocrit method as a new technology in diagonosing Surra and its relevance to livestock socio-economics. Ph.D. thesis, University of Padjadaran, Bandung, Indonesia.Google Scholar
Samui, K. L. and Hugh-Jones, M. E. 1990. The financial and production aspects of bovine dermatophilosis in Zambia. Veterinary Research Communications 14: 357–365.Google Scholar
Shapiro, B., Zerbini, E. and Gemeda, T. 1994. The returns to investment in dual use of crossbred cows for milk production and draught work in the Ethiopian highlands. First workshop of the Animal Traction Network for Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 27-28 January, 1994. Google Scholar
Shillo, K. K. 1992. Effects of dietary energy on control of luteinizing hormone secretion in cattle and sheep. Journal of Animal Science 70: 1271–1282.Google Scholar
Starkey, P. H. 1982. N’Dama cattle as draught animals in Sierra Leone. World Animal Review 42: 19–26.Google Scholar
Sumberg, J. E. 1992. Livestock development policy in The Gambia: a reassessment. Tropical Animal Health and Production 24: 193–203.Google Scholar
Sumberg, J. E. and Gilbert, E. 1992. Agricultural mechanisation in The Gambia: drought, donkeys and minimum tillage. African Livestock Research 1: 1–10.Google Scholar
Teleni, E., Boniface, A. N., Sutherland, S. and Entwistle, K. W. 1989. The effect of depletion of body reserve nutrients on reproduction in Bos indicus cattle. Draught animal power project bulletin no. 8, pp. 1–10. James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.Google Scholar
Wells, E. A. 1982. Trypanosomiasis in the absence of tsetse. In Perspectives in trypanosomiasis research (ed. Baker, J. R.). Research Studies Press, Chichester, UK.Google Scholar
Wells, E. A. 1986. Health of working animals. In An introduction to working animals (ed. Falvey, J. L.), pp. 50–60. MPW Australia, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Wright, I. A., Rhind, S. M. and Whyte, T. K. 1992. A note on the effects of pattern of food intake and body condition on the duration of the post-parrum anoestrous period and LH profiles in beef cows. Animal Production 54: 143–146.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Gemeda, T., Franceschini, R., Sherington, J. and Wold, A. G. 1993a. Reproductive performance of Fa crossbred dairy cows used for draught: effect of work and diet supplementation. Animal Production 57: 361–368.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Gemeda, T., O’Neill, D. H., Howell, P. J. and Schroter, R. C. 1992. Relationships between cardio-respiratory parameters and draught work output in Fj crossbred dairy cows under field conditions. Animal Production 55: 1–10.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Gemeda, T., Tegegne, A., Wold, A. G. and Franceschini, R. 1993b. Effects of work and diet on progesterone secretion, short luteal phases and ovulations without estrus in postpartum Fı crossbred dairy cows. Theriogenology 43: 471–484.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Gemeda, T., Wold, A. G. and Demissie, D. 1995. Effect of draught work on performance and metabolism of crossbred cows. 2. Effect of work on roughage intake, digestion, digesta kinetics and plasma metabolites. Animal Science 60: 369–378.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Wold, A. G. and Demissie, D. 1996. Effect of draught force and diet on dry-matter intake, milk production and live-weight change in non-pregnant and pregnant cows. Animal Science 62: 225–231.Google Scholar
Zerbini, E., Wold, A. G. and Shapiro, B. I. 1998. Development of cow traction technologies and implications for adoption in the eastern African highlands. In Meeting the challenges of animal traction. Proceedings of an ATNESA workshop, 4-8 December 1995, Karen, Ngong Hills, Kenya In press.Google Scholar