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Effects of night enclosure and extensive walking on the productivity of zebu cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. J. Nicholson
M. J. Nicholson
Affiliation:
International Livestock Centre for Africa, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Summary

The effects of night enclosure and walking 3000 km on growing and breeding cattle were examined over an 8-month period. Walking consisted of an 8 h walk of 40 km every 3rd day and experimental cattle were enclosed each night for 11 h. In addition, all cattle were allowed water once every 3 days. In cattle which both walked and were enclosed, a reduction of nearly 40% in grazing time was recorded. This was associated with a depression of dry-matter intake of only 12%, suggesting an intensification of eating in response to a restriction of grazing time. The overall effects of walking and enclosing on productivity, as determined by adult weight loss, calf and weaner growth, calving percentage and birth weight, were negligible and masked by the greater effects of poor nutrition during the dry season which affected all the animals. It is concluded that the additional energetic requirements for walking are small and this is attributed to adaptation, fitness and a possible depression of metabolic rate. These factors may explain why the observed costs of walking were lower than those reported in the literature.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 109 , Issue 3 , December 1987 , pp. 445 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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