Performance of cattle reared on rangelands supplemented with farm-formulated diets during the dry season in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Feed quality in rangelands reaches an all-time low during the dry season thus affecting animal performance. The use of farm-formulated supplements is an alternative which can be adopted to minimise the effects of nutritional stress. However, the effects of supplementing nursing cows, twice a week with farm-formulated diets; on cow maintenance, calf weaning weight and conception rate is little known. Thirty indigenous Mashona cows were allocated to five treatments of a commercial supplement known as beef survival meal, urea-treated maize stover, Leucaena leucocephala meal, mixed forage meal and without supplements. The study was repeated with a new set of nursing cows each year for 3 years. Nutrient composition of treatment diets varied with Leucaena leucocephala having more crude protein than the other diets. Forage-supplemented groups had higher (P < 0.05) rate of weight increase and weaning weights with Leucaena leucocephala and beef survival meal having better results among the groups. Nursing cows that were in protein-supplemented groups had significantly higher (P < 0.05) conception rate than the group of nursing cows, which were not offered the protein supplements. We concluded that, with farm-formulated supplements given twice per week, nursing cows can maintain better body condition, wean heavier calves and successful conceive every year thus improving animal productivity.