Milk Production Characteristics and Productivity of N'Dama Cattle Kept

Under Village Management In The Gambia

K. AGYEMANG1
Intemational Uvestock Centre for AfrIca
ethiopia
R. H. DWINGER, A. S. GRIEVE, and M. L. BAH
International Trypanotolerance centre
P.M.B. 14
BanjUl, The Gambia
ABSTRACT
Our objective was to quantify the milk
production of N'Dama cattle kept under
village conditions as part of an epidemio-
logical study designed to identify produc-
tion constraints and to develop strategies
to improve livestock productivity of
fanners with small holdings. Milk and
component yields were monitored
monthly by measurement of milk ex-
tracted for human use (milk offtake) plus
that consumed by the calf, estimated from
body weight changes. Least squares
analyses of 668 lactations recorded over 4
yr gave mean lactation length, 420 d;
milk offtake, 404.3 kg; fat, 5.1%; protein,
3.2%; calf weaning weight, 88.1 kg; and
calving interval, 641 d. A productivity
index incorporating milk offtake, calf
weaning weight, calving rate, and viabil-
ity gave a mean annual 140.6 kg of
weaner calf plus the weight equivalent of
milk offtake per 100 kg of cow metabolic
weight. The index was higher than that
recorded for larger Zebu (Bos indicus)
cattle managed under similar production
systems elsewhere in Africa. These
results show that the trypanotolerant
N'Dama cattle appear to be more produc-
tive than previously thought and should
therefore be considered when promoting
livestock development in Africa, espe-
cially in tsetse-infested areas where other
breeds cannot survive.
Received March 1, 1990.
Accepted July 25, 1990.
lIntemational Trypanotolcrance Centre, PMB 14 Ban-
jul, The Gambia. Author to whom reprint requests should
be addressed.
(Key words: N'Dama cattle, milk, yield)
Abbreviation key: Ix =once daily, 2x =twice
daily.
INTRODUCTION
Approximately 10 million km
2
of Africa's
humid and subhumid region is infested with
tsetse flies, and the trypanosomes they transmit
cause trypanosomiasis in humans and livestock.
These tsetse-infested areas, which also include
some of the best watered and fertile lands of
the region, are thus rendered largely unsuitable
for livestock farming. It has been argued that a
large part of these infested areas could be put to
immediate use for livestock or mixed agricul-
tural development if trypanosomiasis could be
controlled. Previous efforts to rid the areas of
trypanosomiasis have included tsetse control by
the use of insecticides, clearing of large areas
of tsetse habitat, and use of trypanocidal drugs
to treat infected livestock. These approaches are
becoming increasingly less attractive in many
situations because of high failure rates, high
cost, or concerns for environmental pollution or
degradation.
Another approach that has generated much
interest recently is the use of trypanotolerant
livestock in these tsetse-infested areas.
Trypanotolerant livestock are known to survive
and maintain reasonable production in spite of
the presence of tsetse and trypanosomes (10).
In order to gain a better understanding of the
factors that influence the trypanotolerant trait,
the International Trypanotolerance Centre was
set up in The Gambia. At the Centre, multidis-
ciplinary teams of scientists have been investi-
gating the productivity of trypanotolerant live-
stock, in particular, N'Dama cattle.
The N'Dama has been and currently is used
in several traditional production systems as a
multipurpose breed providing milk, meat, ma-
1991 I Dairy Sci 74:1599-1608 1599
1600
AGYEMANG ET AL.
nure, and traction. Much of the production data
on N'Dama has been collected at government
or university research stations at which almost
invariably only meat production characteristics
were studied. Therefore, information is not
available on milking characteristics and, hence,
productivity of the breed in tenns of meat and
milk under traditional management systems. As
part of a large-scale epidemiological study to
estimate the productivity of N'Dama cattle 00-
der different degrees of tsetse challenge, a milk
recording scheme was initiated in selected vil-
lages in The Gambia. The objective of this
paper is to report on milk production character-
istics and the contribution of milk extracted for
human consumption to the overall productivity
of the breed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The Study Area
The studies were carried out in four villages
in the Republic of The Gambia, latitude 1305'
to 135O'N and longitude 1347' to 165O'W.
The climate is Sudano-Guinean with mean an-
nual rainfall of 800 to 1000 nun, decreasing
from coastal to inland areas. Mean annual rain-
fall recorded for 1987 and 1988 in each of the
four villages were for Gunjur, Pirang, Keneba.
and Nioro Jattaba 1383, 1540, 1074, and 1509
mm, respectively. Tsetse challenge in these
areas varies. Gunjur and Nioro Jattaba are clas-
sified as low challenge areas and Keneba and
Pirang are low to seasonally medium. This
classification was based on tsetse fly catches
and trypanosome infection rates in flies (W. F.
Snow, personal communication) and cattle in
these villages.
Herd Management
N'Dama are descendants of taurine Hamitic
longhorns, which arrived in the Nile Delta from
the Near East some 7000 yr ago (6, 17). Under
the village management systems in The Gam-
bia, animals are tethered overnight on grounds
close to the homestead. Breeding is open with
one or more bulls running with the herd
throughout the year. Calvings occur throughout
the year, but more than 80% occur from July to
December with peak calving occurring in Au-
gust and September (11). Extraction of milk for
lomnal of Dairy Science Vol. 74, No.5, 1991
human use begins 1 to 2 wk after calving.
Milking is done once daily (Ix) in Nioro Jat-
taba and twice daily (2x) in Gunjur, Pirang, and
Keneba. Morning milking starts at approxi-
mately 0600 h and evening milking between
1800 and 2200 h, depending on the season of
the year. Cows are hand-milked with the calf at
foot. Milk ejection is initiated by pennitting the
dam to suckle the calf briefly. The cow is
partially milked with some residual milk left
for the calf.
FIeld RecordIng and Laboratory
Analytical Procedures
Approximate year of birth was assigned to
each animal at the time of initial identification
based on dentition and breeding history pro-
vided by herd owners and herds persons. The
assigned year of birth was incorporated into the
identification number. For breeding females,
the number of calves produced by the time of
initial registration was recorded. Animals sub-
sequently born or bought into the herds were
ear-tagged by veterinary or milk recording as-
sistants based in the villages. Quantities of milk
extracted for human use (milk offtake) over and
above that consumed by the calf was measured
in a calibrated cylinder for individual cows
during evening and the subsequent moming
milkings, once a month at an interval of 25 to
35 d. Milk recording started 1 to 2 wk after
calving. A 2Q-ml sample from the moming
milking was collected to determine fat percent-
age using the Gerber method and protein per-
centage using a formaldehyde titration method.
Milk fat and protein testing were started 8 and
12 mo after milk recording began. Therefore,
fewer records were available for statistical
analysis. The cow and suckling calf were
weighed at the time of milk measurement using
portable electronic scales (Barlo, Australia).
Animals were also bled every month, and the
blood was examined for trypanosomes using
the dar.k ground method (14). The extent of
parasitaemia was quantified by a scoring sys-
tem (16).
Data Preparation and
StatlsUcal Analyses
All measurements were stored on microcom-
puter files for each cow-calf pair for each
month. Evening and morning milk were added
MILK. PRODUCTION OF VILLAGE-RAISED N'DAMA CATILE
TABLE 1. Frequency distribution of milking termination codes for village N'Dama cattle berds.
Termination
Number of Percentage
Code Reason n::cords of total
1 Normal termination with weaned calf 657 73.2
2 Dead or lost calf 158 17.7
3 Protracted sickness of cow 10 1.1
4 Cow sold 29 3.2
5 Death of cow 43 4.8
Total 897 100.0
1601
to obtain a daily offtake value. These monthly
daily offtake values were summed to obtain the
cwnulative lactation offtake for each cow by
the use of the modified test interval method
(28). One liter of milk. was asswned to weigh I
kg. Fat and protein yields from the milk ex-
tracted were calculated as the product of the fat
or protein percentage and the milk offtake. A
total of 897 completed or terminated lactations
from cows were recorded from October 1985 to
September 1989. Distribution of the data set by
reason of termination of lactation is given in
Table 1. Of this total, 116 records were ex-
cluded from the data on the grounds of incom-
plete blood sampling information. The final
data set used for analyses was obtained from
records meeting one of the following condi-
tions: 1) a normally terminated lactation record,
2) abruptly terminated lactations that lasted for
180 d or more, and 3) abruptly terminated
lactations independent of duration if the dam
was found to have been infected with trypano-
somes any time during the lactation. This
resulted in 668 records for analyses of lactation
length and lactation milk. offtake, 531 for fat,
333 for protein, 668 for calf birth weight, 582
for calf weaning weight, 642 for average post-
partum weight of cow, 326 for calving interval,
and 348 for productivity indices. Milk offtake,
calf weaning weight, average postpartum cow
weight, calving interval, and indicators of calf
viability were combined to calculate three mea-
sures of productivity indices. These indices
were calculated as index 1 = kilograms
Iiveweight of weaner calf produced plus
liveweight equivalent of milk offtake for hu-
man use per cow maintained per year =
[(liveweight of calf at weaning + lactation milk
offtake/9) x 365]/subsequent calving interval.
The factor of 9 as a divisor of lactation milk
offtake is based on reports of Drewry et at. (5)
that showed an additional unit of calf gain for
every 9 units of additional milk. conswned.
Calculations based on data of Montsma (13)
indicate that for N'Dama cattle this value is
about 8. The divisor 9 was used to allow com-
parison with others (Wagenaar et aI. (27; in-
dex 2 =kilograms liveweight of weaner calf
produced plus liveweight equivalent of milk
offtake for human use per 100 kg of cow
maintained per year =(index l/average postpar-
tum weight of cow) x 100; and index 3 =
kilograms liveweight of weaner calf produced
plus liveweight equivalent of milk offtake for
human use per 100 kg of metabolic weight of
cow maintained per year =(index l/cow aver-
age postpartum weight .73) x 100. Because
subsequent calving interval is needed for cal-
culating productivity indices, only cows with
multiple parturitions were considered; and be-
cause most cows calve every other year (11),
for the present purpose, calvings initiated after
June 1987 were excluded from the analyses.
For cows calving prior to July 1987 (7.6%)
and still in the herds but with no subsequent
calving by the time of analysis in October
1989, an arbitrary calving interval of 1095 d (3
yr) was assigned based on the expectation that
they would have calved by June 1990. Exclu-
sion of such cows from the data would have
biased the mean interval downward In order to
calculate indices for each cow, the following
rules were adopted: indices were set to zero if
the cow died during or after lactation since
there was no opportunity to have a subsequent
interval; for cows with calves that died before
weaning, the liveweight of weaner calf was set
to zero, and milk offtake from such cows up to
the time of death of calf was the sole portion of
production considered The inclusion of records
of cows that died and zero weights for dead
calves accounted for cow and calf mortality in
Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 74, No. S, 1991
1602 AGYEMANG ET AL.
TABLE 2. Unadjusted means, standard deviations. 8Dd range for production parameters.
Parameters
Lactation length, d
Milk offtake, kg
Fat percentage, %
Protein percentage, %
Fat yield, kg
Protein yield, kg
Calf birth weight, kg
Calf weaning weight, kg
Avg. postpartum cow weight, kg
Calving intel'Val, d
Productivity index I, kg
Productivity index 2, kg
Productivity index 3, kg
Number of
records
668
668
531
333
531
333
668
582
642
326
348
348
348
Mean
420
404.3
5.1
3.2
18.8
11.6
17.5
88.1
225.7
641
73.5
32.6
140.6
SD
138.6
183.1
1.0
.3
10.5
5.9
2.7
27.3
28.2
200.8
33.7
14.4
62.2
Range
7G-I018


2.3-4.1
l.l-<iO.8
.5-33.3
8-24
26-203


G-153.0
G-64.2
G-269.7
the indices. All analyses were carried out by
using least squares procedures (8). The general
model assumed was
Y=XB+e
where Y is a vector of observations of the
dependent variables listed in Table 2, X is a
known fixed design matrix for the trait lDlder
consideration, B is an unknown vector of fixed
effects, and e is an lDlobservable vector of
random errors, identically and independently
distributed with mean zero and variance-covari-
ance matrix Ia;. The fixed effects included the
following factors: system of milking manage--
ment (lx, 2x milking), parity of cow (first, two
to four combined, and all parities greater than
four combined), trypanosome infection status in
cow during lactation (uninfected, infected), sex
of suckling calf (male, female), year-season of
calving [1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 in combina-
tion with wet season (July through October)
and dry season (November through June)], and
herd nested within system of milking (8 in Ix
and 16 in 2x milking systems). Herds within
the 2x milking system were situated in three
localities, two of them near the coast and the
third further inland A statistically significant
effect due to herds could reflect the differences
in annual amOlDlts of precipitation and hence
feed resources in these localities. Large differ-
ences among herds in a given locality could
indicate differences in herd management such
as choice of grazing sites, frequency of water-
Journal of Dairy Science VoL 74, No.5, 1991
ing animals, and changing of holding grounds
to avoid build up of intemal parasites. Similarly
for herds within the Ix system, all of which
were situated in one locality, a statistically
significant difference could be ascribed to herd
management.
Interaction effects were dropped from the
model as preliminary analyses indicated non-
significance (P > .60). The identities of service
sires were not known; therefore, sire effects
were not considered in the analyses.
Least squares means for each value of an
effect were obtained from solutions to the least
squares equations. These means are individu-
ally adjusted for other effects in the model;
hence, they may differ from the raw or unad-
justed means.
Repeatabilities were estimated from intra-
cow correlations using the mixed model
Y = XB + Zu = e,
where Y is a vector of observations for the
traits listed in Table 2 where adequate numbers
of cows with multiple measurements existed, X
is a known fixed design matrix, B is a known
design matrix representing herd, year-season,
and parity of cow, Z is a known design matrix,
u is an lDlobservable vector of random cow
effects nested within herds with mean zero and
variance-covariance matrix and e is an
unobservable random vector of errors with a
mean zero and variance-covariance matrix Ia;.
Variance components for cows and errors were
MILK. PRODUCTION OF VILLAGE-RAISED N'DAMA CATILE 1603
calculated, and repeatability was computed as
~ ~ ~ with estimates obtained from
mixed model options of Harvey's least squares
program (8).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Published work on long-term studies of
N'Dama production in traditional systems and
on milk offtake in particular in villages is
scarce. The few reports available on milk pro-
duction were carried out at research stations (9,
13) over short periods of lactation, and milk
composition was not included. Therefore, com-
parison of results with others under similar
management conditions is not possible. Where
applicable, results obtained on herds maintained
at research stations will be used to highlight the
differences between station and village produc-
tion systems, and to demonstrate the trade-offs
between milk and beef production. Similarly,
productivities of Zebu cattle will be discussed
to compare trypanotolerant N'Dama and
trypanosensitive cattle kept under similar man-
agement systems. Frequencies, means, standard
deviation, and ranges of the traits studied are in
Table 2. About 18% of all lactations were
terminated due to the death or disappearance of
suckling calves. The most common cause of
calf mortality was black leg (clostridial infec-
tions).
lactation Length and lactation
Milk O:ftake
Effect of milking management system was
significant for lactation length (P < .01) and
milk offtake (P < .001). Cows were milked on
average 51 d longer in the Ix than in 2x
milking system (Table 3). Despite the shorter
lactation length for 2x milking, 66% more milk
(158 kg/cow) was extracted than in the Ix
(Table 3), which was as expected (18).
Herd effect was significant (P < .001) for
milk offtake in 2x milking but not in Ix sys-
tem. Ranges in herd milk offtake in the 2x
system was wider (280 to 539 kg) than in Ix
(176 to 301 kg). Among herds in a given
locality there was a tendency for smaller herds
to extract more milk per cow per day of lacta-
tion. Year-season of calving effect was signifi-
cant (P < .001) for both Iactation length and
milk. offtake, mainly due to shorter lactation
length associated with lactations initiated in
1988. Cows with longer lactations were still in
milk and were not included in the analyses.
Within years, except for 1988, cows that calved
in the wet season tended to have a higher milk
offtake and longer lactation length than those
calving in the dry season. Milk offtake per day
of lactation showed little effect of wet and dry
season calvings. The better than expected per-
formance of cows calving in the dry season
could be explained by the increase (50 to 75%)
in daily milk production that occurred 3 to 5
mo after dry season calving due to the onset of
rains in July. For cows calving in the wet
season, daily milk offtake declined at a slower
rate, but in this case, the nutritional boost fol-
lowing the next rain did not occur until 9 to 12
mo postcalving (2). It appears that inadequate
nutrition in lactating females is a limiting factor
in milk yields under village management. The
positive effect of feed supplementation to lac-
tating cows on milk yield was demonstrated by
Riley el at (19).
Parity effect was significant (P < .01) on
milk offtake but not on lactation length; highest
milk offtake was from cows in second to fourth
lactations, followed in decreasing order by pri-
miparous cows and cows in lactation greater
than four. The pattern of peak milk production
occurring in midcareer cows has been found
both in Bos indicus and Bos taurus in tropical
environments (25, 29). Results of lactation milk.
offtake of the past were mostly based on field
observations or farmer interviews and gave un-
adjusted means of 60 to 100 kg for a lactation
length of 1 yr (10, 23).
The mean of 404 kg over a lactation length
of approximately 14 mo observed in the current
study was four to six times previous estimates.
The lactation length achieved may be related to
herd management and cultural practices geared
towards maximum milk extraction, but it also
shows that the short Iactation lengths usually
associated with tropical indigenous cattle
breeds may not be a production constraint for
the N'Dama. This observation, coupled with
annual milk offtake of 600 kg for individual
cows, gives an indication of the potential to
develop the N'Dama as a dual purpose breed.
Milk offtake from cows uninfected with
trypanosomes during the lactation period was
24 kg more than those infected at least once
during lactation (Table 3), although the differ-
Jomnal of Dairy Science Vol. 74, No.5, 1991
1604 AGYEMANG ET AL.
TABLE 3. Least squ.area means for milk: offtake and component traits.
Least squ.area means
Lactation Milk
lellg1h offtake Fat Fat Protein Protein
Factors (n) (d) (kg) (n) (%) (kg) (n) (%) (kg)
Overall mean 668 411 317.5 531 4.9 14.1 333 3.2 8.6
System of milkingl
70 3.2 6.2 Ix 138 437 238.6 127 4.7 9.5
2x 530 386 396.4 404 5.2 18.7 263 3.2 10,9
Average SE 16.6 19.3 .13 1.2 .OS .8
Parity of cow
9.0 1 204 428 314.7 164 5.0 14.0 110 3.3
2-4 352 414 344.6 277 4.9 15.3 166 3.2 9.2
>4 112 393 293.1 90 4.9 13.0 57 3.2 7.6
Average SE 16.5 19.1 .12 .12 .OS .9
Infection status
Infected 45 413 305.7 29 5.0 13.8 17 3.3 8.8
Unmfected 623 410 329.3 502 4.9 14.4 316 3.1 8.4
Average SE 17.1 13.2 .12 1.3 .05 .9
Sex of calf
Male 342 416 323.6 267 4.9 14.3 173 3.2 8.2
Female 326 4m 311.3 264 4.9 14.0 160 3.2 9.0
Average SE 15.2 17.7 .12 1.1 .OS .8
Year-season of calving
1985, Wet 13 473 332.6
1985, Dry 39 444 331.6
1986, Wet 168 454 393.0 110 5.2 19.2
1986, Dry 95 434 352.4 68 4.9 17.2
1987, Wet 176 449 353.1 176 4.8 15.9 176 3.2 10.9
1987, Dry 118 418 332.9 118 4.7 14.7 98 3.2 10.3
1988, Wet 18 266 170.0 18 5.2 6.4 18 3.2 4.7
1988. Dry 41 354 274.2 41 4.7 1l.2 41 3.2 8.4
Average SE 23.8 27.6 .16 1.5 .06 1.0
lMillcing occurred ooce (IX) or twice (2x) daily.
ence was not significant (P =.34). Agyemang
et al. (l) estimated a larger difference in milk
offtake between uninfected and infected
N'Dama cows during the first 6 mo after infec-
tion. The smaller difference in milk offtake
between infected and uninfected observed in
this study could be partly because over an
extended lactation period climatic conditions
that lead to increased feed availability tend to
reduce the negative impact of trypanosome in-
fections on productivity (1).
Milk Composition
System of milking management, year-season
of calving, and herd within 2x milking system
all had significant effects (P < .01) on fat
percentage, and the effects of parity and herd
were significant on protein percentage. Fat per-
centage recorded for cows milked 2x was .5
Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 74, No.5, 1991
unit (11%) higher than for Ix (Table 3). Cows
that initiated lactations during the wet season
produced about .3 unit (6%) higher percentage
of fat than those that initiated lactation in the
dry season (Table 3). This difference could be
explained by the fact that a greater proportion
of the milk: offtake from cows calving in the
dry season is extracted during the subsequent
wet season. when the lowest fat concentrations
are observed (2). The mean fat percentage of
5.1 was obtained from milk extracted in the
morning. The actual milk fat percentage based
on a composite of evening and morning milk
could be even higher as fat percentage from
evening milk is generally higher than that of
the morning milking (22). It is also thought that
the portion of the milk consumed by the calf
after milk offtake may be higher in fat percent-
age than the estimated value as milk stripping
MILK PRODUCTION OF vnLAGE-RAISED N'DAMA CATILE 1605
has been reported to be high in fat. Because the
milk consumed by the calf prior to handmilking
would be lower in fat percentage than that of
the residual, fat percentages based on the morn-
ing milk should be about average for the N'Da-
mao Nevertheless, the mean recorded was
higher than for crosses between Friesian and
Zebu cattle (12) and similar to that of an Fl
cross between N'Dama and Jersey cattle in a
tropical environment (20). The mean protein
percentage of 3.2 was similar to values reported
for other breeds of cattle. The high fat percent-
age of N'Dama cattle, kept under a manage-
ment system in which calf nutrition is likely to
be inadequate in the dry season, is desirable for
calf growth.
Milk Component YIelds
Factors that significantly influenced milk
offtake also affected fat and protein yields.
L1veweight Traits
System of milking, parity, year-season, sex
of calf, and herd within system of milking had
significant effects on calf birth weight. Birth
weight of calves born in 2x milking system
(17.3 kg) was 1.5 kg (10%) heavier than calves
in the Ix milking system. Mean calf birth
weight was lowest for primiparous cows.
Calves born during the wet season in a given
year were .3 to 1.0 kg heavier than those born
in the dry season. Males averaged 1.3 kg (8%)
heavier than females at birth. Birth weight was
1 to 2 kg heavier for herds at the coastal than
that found in the interior locations. The mean
birth weight of 17.5 kg in the village herds was
similar to that of N'Dama cattle in station-
managed herds (7, 26) and 17% heavier than
that reported by Carew et al. (4) for a station
herd in Sierra Leone.
Weaning weight was influenced by system
of milking and year-season of birth (P < .001),
sex of calf (P < .05), and herds. Weaning
weight was 22 kg (29%) heavier in the Ix than
in the 2x milking system. Year-season effects
were mainly due to lighter weaning weights
associated with shorter weaning period for
calvings initiated in 1988. Male calves were
weaned at a heavier weight than females (88.7
vs. 84.7 kg). Liveweight at 14 mo in this study
was only 75 to 85% of that achieved at 8 to 9
mo at research stations in Senegal (7) and in
The Gambia (15).
Effects of system of milking management,
parity, and herds on 2x milking were all signif-
icant (P < .01) for postpartum cow weight.
Cows averaged 9.6 kg heavier in 2x milking
herds. Primiparous cows were lightest, fol-
lowed in descending order by cows with two to
four parities and those of parities greater than
four. Cows tended to be heavier at the coastal
than inland localities. Weight of village cows
was 20% less than that of cows kept at research
stations in The Gambia (15) and in Senegal (7)
but 12% heavier than for cattle kept at a station
in Sierra Leone (4).
Calving Interval
The mean calving interval for 301 records
obtained from cows with last parturition occur-
ring before July 1987 was 604 160 d. The
inclusion of 25 cows with intervals projected to
1095 gave a longer mean of 641 200 d.
Although parity of previous calving was not
significant on calving interval, the mean inter-
val (630 d) for cows with parities greater than
four was 42 d shorter than for primiparous
cows.
Interval for cows in midcareer (parities 2 to
4) was intermediate between the primiparous
and older cows. This trend agrees with previous
reports (25). Effect of previous year-season of
calving was not significant (P > .05) on calving
interval. Calving interval for cows infected with
trypanosomes was 56 d longer than for unin-
fected cows. Interval for cows suckling male
calves was 27 d longer than for cows with
female calves. Herd effects on 2x milking were
important (P < .05). The mean calving interval
of 641 in this study was longer than values
recorded for N'Dama at research stations in
Sierra Leone (4, 24), Senegal (7), and Ghana
(26), but the interval was more similar to the
634 recorded at the Yundum station in The
Gambia (15). Calving rates ranging from 45 to
54% (i.e., intervals of 675 to 800 d) have been
reported for indigenous Zebu breeds under tra-
ditional management systems in Africa (27,
30). Thus, the long interval in this study may
not be a breed characteristic but is more likely
related .to long lactation periods as a positive
correlation (P < .01) of .69 was obtained be-
tween the two traits.
CorrelaUons
Lactation length was moderately correlated
(P < .01) with yield traits (.56 to .58), fat
Journal of DaiJy Science Vol. 74, No. S, 1991
1606 AGYEMANG BT AL.
TABLE 4. Least squares means for productivity indices
l
Factors No. Index 1 Index 3
------- (kg) -------
129.7
122.4
9.65
124.8
127.2
10.78
120.2
131.9
10.35
131.8
125.7
120.6
10.49
126.0
30.2
28.6
2.22
29.4
29.1
29.7
2.49
31.3
29.2
27.7
2.40
28.3
30.5
2.38
60.4
69.4
5.66
64.9
64.3
65.5
5.89
64.4
65.4
64.9
5.n
67.1
62.7
5.30
65
283
348
27
321
174
174
99
188
61
Overall mean
System ~
Ix
2x
Average SE
Parity of cow
1
2-4
>4
Average SE
Infection status
Infected
Uninfected
Average SE
Sex of calf
Male
Female
Average SE
Year-season of calving
1985, Wet 13 71.9 32.9 140.5
1985, Dry 38 57.8 25.2 109.1
1986, Wet 166 74.3 33.8 144.8
1986, Dry 95 67.4 30.0 129.2
1987, Dry 36 53.2 25.2 106.6
Average SE 7.04 2.97 12.89
lBased on a weaner calf (14 mo of age) and Iiveweigbt equivalent of milk offtake for human use.
2Milldng OCCUlTed once (IX) or twice (2x) daily.
percentage (.42), and protein percentage (.29).
Milk offtake was highly correlated with fat
yield (.94), protein yield (.97), and protein per-
centage (.21). These correlations are within the
range reported for other breeds.
Productivity Indices
Body weight of a weaned calf (approxi-
mately 14 mo) plus the liveweight equivalent of
milk offtake for human use (index 1) based on
348 parturitions was 73.5 33.7 kg. Means for
indices 2 and 3 were 32.6 14.4 kg and 140.6
62.2 kg (Table 2). The slightly more records
(348) used for productivity indices than for
calving interval (326) were due to the inclusion
in the former case of dead cows with no subse-
quent interval to account for cow mortality.
Least squares means are given in Table 4.
System of milking effects were not signifi-
cant for any index, although the means for
indices 1, 2, and 3 in the 2x milking system
were 9.0, 2.2, and 11.6 kg heavier than those in
the Ix system (Table 4). The combined effects
of 60% higher milk offtake in the 2x milking
system, coupled with a similar calf mortality
and calving intervals in both systems, resulted
in slightly higher indices, notwithstanding the
superior calf growth in the 1x milking system.
Parity of calving was not significant for any of
the three indices, although the trend was toward
reduced productivity for older cows.
The effect of year-season of calving was
important (P < .01), with highest indices being
achieved for parturitions occurring in the wet
season of 1986. Within a given year, indices for
cows calving in the wet season were about 20%
greater than for those calving in the dry season
(Table 4). Effects of sex of suckling calf and
trypanosome infection status on productivity
indices were not significant. Herd effects in 1x
milking system approached significance (P =
.08) but not in the 2x system. When the pro-
ductivity indices in this study were compared
Journal of Dairy Science VoL 74, No.5, 1991
MII...K PRODUcnON OF VILLAGE-RAISED N'DAMA CATILE
TABLE S. Comparison of productivity indices of N'Dama IIIId Zebu
1
eattIe of various production systems.
Cow productivity indices
1607
Cattle breed System Location Source Index 1 1ndelt 2 Index 3
N'Dama
Zebu
Vtllage Gambia Cum:ot stndy
Station Gambia (IS)
Station Sc:ocgal (7)
Station Sierra Leone (4)
Transbnman Mali (1.7)
Agropastoral Mali (30)
Settled Fulani,INigeria Cited in (1.7)
TraditioDal Bot.swaM Otcd in (1.7)
73.5
82.6
70.1
35.5
372
45.7
47.5
612
32.6 140.6
30.5 1382
29.1 127.0
19.7 80.0
17.3 73.7
2
18.9 83.1
2
17.7 802
2
18.8 89.8
2
1Figures for Zebu's adapted from Wagenaar et aI. (27).
2caIculated usinB figures for Index 1 IIIId adult cow weight.
with those achieved by the same breed kept at
research stations (Table 5) at which milk was
not extracted, the value achieved at the village
was superior on indices 2 and 3. Station
animals in most cases were and
received better health care.
Thus, the higher production in the village
system indicates that a substantial pan of the
production on station does not appear as har-
vested output. The milk produced by cows is
presumably not utilized fully by the suckling
calves. It would appear reasonable that at least
some of the "swplus" milk be extracted for
human use as long as the extraction does not
jeopardize the welfare of the calf. The similar
productivity achieved in Ix and 2x milking
systems (Table 4) supports this viewpoint.
A comparison of N'Dama and Zebu cattle
(Table 5) managed under similar conditions and
milked for human consumption shows that the
productivity of the N'Dama was superior to
that of Zebu in all situations.
Repeatablllties
Repeatability estimates based on 198 records
of 104 cows were .54 .01 for lactation milk
offtake and .15 .01 lactation length. These
values are within the ranges reported for other
cattle breeds (21, 29), some of which are
described as possessing better "dairy"
teristics than the N'Dama. The moderately high
repeatability estimate for milk offtake and the
high persistency of milk yield during the first 6
to 7 mo of lactation (3) suggest that it may be
possible to enhance the milking characteristics
of N'Dama cattle through genetic selection.
CONCLUSION
The results show that the N'Dama cattle,
hitherto ignored as a provider of animal protein
foe buman diets, presumably because of its
small size, appears to have, on a metabolic
weight basis, an overall performance superior
to the larger Zebu cattle. The better than ex-
pected performance of the N'Dama in villages
compared with performance of N'Dama kept at
research stations was due to milk offtake in
village herds. The major constraints to higher
productivity in the village systems appear to be
calf mortality and nutrition of dams. Although
the major cause of calf mortality in the current
study was infectious diseases, the interaction
between diseases and preweaning nutritional
status of the calf may be important and needs to
the studied.
Improvements in productivity through long-
term genetic selection appears viable, but more
information on heritabilities and genetic
lations among milk and other traits will be
needed in order to develop the most appropriate
selection policy. Milking aspects of N'Dama
are currently not a part of most research station
programs. Because fanners with small holdings
consider milk a priority output, it would appear
reasonable to incoJpOrate the study of this trait
among the objectives in research aimed at ex-
ploiting the productivity of the N'Dama breed.
ACKNOWlEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank the director of the
International Trypanotolerance Centre for sup-
port and facilities. The inputs of M. Alberro
and P. Jeannin during the early phase of the
Joarnal of Dairy Scicocc Vol. 74, No.5, 1991
1608
AGYEMANG ET AL.
project are kindly acknowledged. The useful
comments on the manuscript by R. E. McDow-
ell, North Carolina State University, L. D. Van
Vleck, University of Nebraska, and R. T. Wil-
son and D. A. Little, the International Live-
stock Centre for Africa are appreciated. The
senior author is currently employed by Interna-
tional Livestock Centre for Africa This study
was supported by funds from the European
Development Fund and executed jointly by
ILCA and the International Laboratory for Re-
search on Animal Diseases.
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