Department of Animal Sciencehttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/1712024-03-29T14:44:23Z2024-03-29T14:44:23ZAlternative remedies used by resource-limited farmers in the treatment and manipulation of the reproductive system of non-descript goats in the Eastern Cape province, South AfricaRwodzi, Maxwellhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/9932018-02-15T10:51:37Z2014-01-01T00:00:00ZAlternative remedies used by resource-limited farmers in the treatment and manipulation of the reproductive system of non-descript goats in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
Rwodzi, Maxwell
This study was carried out to determine alternative approaches used by resource-limited farmers to enhance fertility and in the treatment of reproduction ailments of goats in Mount Frere area, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Furthermore, information on farmer perceptions pertaining to these practices was also gathered. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine materials used by resource-limited farmers to enhance fertility and treat reproductive ailments. The survey revealed 10 plant species that were commonly used for reproductive health in goats. Elephantorrhizza elephantina (37.1%) and Rhoicissus tomentosa (25.7%) were the most frequently cited plant species. Elephantorrhiza elephantina and R. tomentosa recorded the highest Fidelity Level (FL) values of 92.86% and 75% respectively, for their use in the treatment of reproductive ailments and these were the plants on which further studies were conducted. The study also revealed that farmers had different perceptions on the effectiveness of the traditional medicines. An in-vivo assessment was done to determine efficacy of E. elephantina and R.tomentosa using serum estradiol and progesterone profiles. The highest (P<0.05) serum estradiol and progesterone concentration was observed in animals administered with aqueous extracts of E. elephantina and R. tomentosa mixture while the least (P<0.05) concentrations were observed in the negative control group. Does administered with a mixture of aqueous E. elephantina and R. tomentosa extract had the highest (P<0.05) body weight (65 kg) as well as body condition scores, while the negative control which were administered with distilled water had the least body weights (54 kg) and body condition scores. Does that were administered with a mixture of E.elephantina and R. tomentosa were all pregnant with twins (100%), confirmed by a doppler ultrasound scan.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZSocio-economic contribution and health challenges of indigenous chickens in smallholder systemsZamxaka, Chuma Wandehttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/7962018-02-15T10:51:37Z2016-01-01T00:00:00ZSocio-economic contribution and health challenges of indigenous chickens in smallholder systems
Zamxaka, Chuma Wande
Indigenous chickens are kept for various socio-economic purposes by the majority of households in the developing countries. However, their contribution to the livelihoods of the households has been observed by a number of researchers to be bolow their potential. Therefore, main objective of this study was to determine the contribution of the indigenous chickens towards the livelihoods of the rural people and to establish the health challenges of these chickens. The study was conducted in two phases and in two villages, a coastal one (Gcina) and inland site (Ngcingcinikhwe). Phase one was through the use of a structured questionnaire, while phase two included the seasonal collection of specimens and lab analyses to determine disease and parasite prevalence patterns. The location and seasonal effects on disease and parasite prevalence were analyzed. In the first phase of the study, the socio-economic statuses of the two communities were measured by determination of household income levels, main source of income and food security status. The main source of income in 80 percent of households was government social welfare grants and the average food security scores, which are indicative of the application of food shortage coping strategies, were 22.8 and 27.3 in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, respectively. In addition, the contribution of indigenous chickens to the livelihoods of selected locations was measured by investigation of selling and consumption frequencies of indigenous chickens and their eggs. It was observed that in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, 55 percent and 48 percent of households sold chickens, respectively, while 11 percent and 15 percent of households sold eggs in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, respectively. Furthermore, 90 percent and 78.7 percent of households in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, respectively, consumed indigenous chicken meat once a month while 77.8 percent and 72.4 percent of households in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, respectively, consumed eggs once a month. In addition, average flock sizes observed in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe were 8.3 and 10.4 chickens, respectively, and chickens were allowed to scavenge for their feed with maize offered as the only supplement. An average of 11.6 and 11.7 eggs were set for hatching in Gcina and Ngcingcinikhwe, respectively, and the average hatching rate was 78.4 percent in Gcina while it was 71.8 percent in Ngcingcinikhwe. However, the average chick survival rate to growing phase was 55 percent in Gcina and 59.5 percent in Ngcingcinikhwe. This low chick survival rate was attributed to disease and parasite infestation. Furthermore, the respondents mentioned respiratory and nervous symptoms as the most commonly observed disease symptoms while worm infestation was least mentioned as a health challenge. Furthermore, the respondent alluded to the fact that symptoms of ill-health were mostly observed in summer and autumn. However, scientific determination of disease and parasite prevalence mostly contradicted the assertions of the respondents with regards to disease and parasite prevalence patterns as chickens had the lowest Newcastle disease (NCD) antibody levels in spring. Therefore, this was the season when they were most likely to exhibit NCD symptoms. Further observation was that the proximity to the coast did not have an effect on the level of NCD antibodies observed in chickens. Furthermore, de-wormed chickens had higher NCD antibody levels for a longer period compared to the those that were vaccinated only. It was, therefore, concluded that helminthes had a negative effect on the NCD antibody response to vaccination. To this end, an investigation of the prevalence of the helminthes revealed that there were three helminthes species (Railetina spp., Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum) were dominant during all seasons. However, the highest helminthes prevalence was observed in the inland location (Ngcingcinikhwe) in autumn. Futhermore, Salmonella positive feacal samples were reported in winter (20 percent) and summer (10 percent) in Gcina, whereas in Ngcingcinikhwe they were only reported in Spring (20 percent). In addition, the Salmonella serovars that were isolated from the positive samples were Salmonella entiritidis and Salmonella typhimurium. Based on this observation, it was concluded that there was a very low salmonella prevalence in the indigenous chickens of the two locations. In contrast, ecto-parasites were observed to be highly prevelant in both locations with season and proximity to the coast having effects on the species prevalence. Menopon gallinae exhibited the highest prevalence (90 percent) in the costal location in autumn whereas the fleas species (Echidnophaga gallenacea) was most prevalent in the inland area during spring. Furthermore, tick species (Amblyoma hebraeum) was most prevalent (70 percent) in the coastal area in spring and autumn, whereas another tick species (Argus spp) was most prevalent (40 percent) in the inland location in winter. In conclusion indigenous chickens had an insignificant contribution to the livelihoods of the people in the two study site due to health challenges that kept the flock sizes small and the production low. The health challenges were observed to differ by location and season. To this end, for an effective indigenous chicken health management strategy to be developed, the seasonal prevalence of diseases and parasites in a particular location needs to be established.
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZSheep flock structure, dynamics, management practices, and wool production under bush encroached and non-encroached areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South AfricaKom, Lubabalohttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/7952018-02-15T10:51:37Z2016-01-01T00:00:00ZSheep flock structure, dynamics, management practices, and wool production under bush encroached and non-encroached areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Kom, Lubabalo
The main objective of the study was to investigate sheep productivity under bush encroached and non-encroached areas. The study was conducted in two communal areas, namely Idutywa (Mbewuleni village), which represented an open grassland with no encroaching woody species, and Alice (Sheshegu village) which was a bush encroached site. The purposive sampling method was used to select farmers with wool producing sheep who participated in the study. Experiment one employed a structured questionnaire to collect data on sheep flock composition, dynamics and management practices. A total number of 147 respondents were interviewed (73 in Mbewuleni village and 74 in Sheshegu village). The surveys revealed that just above three quarters of the households were male headed with close to half of the respondents being pensioners. Extensive farming was the production system employed across the two villages with community grazing as their source of feed. The sheep were allowed to graze separately during the grazing period with no other livestock such as cattle. The farmers experienced feed shortage, especially in the winter months and they prioritized feeding their lambs and ewes during this period. Shearing was done once a year in September or October. In both villages there was no controlled breeding and the lambing occurred during the winter period. It was found that the non-encroached site (Idutywa) had a significantly (P<0.05) higher number of sheep with 14% of the households having numbers above 121 sheep, while in Sheshegu about 8% of household above 121sheep. The major causes of mortality across the villages were cold weather, drought, predation and diseases. The interviewed households across the two villages mentioned that they dipped their sheep monthly. In the second study, a sample of 110 non-descript sheep breeds were randomly selected from the two villages (10 of each sex and each age group (which is 2 teeth, 4 teeth and 6 teeth) from each village with the exception of the 4 teeth old ewes from Sheshegu). The fleece samples were obtained from the selected sheep in October. The quantity and quality were determine based on wool weight, fibre diameter, colour, staple length, and clean wool. The results of the data analysis showed that the site had a statistically significant (P<0.05) difference on wool quantity between Sheshegu and Mbewuleni villages (2.8164kg and 1.6940kg), whilst the difference based on sheep sex was not significant (P>0.05), respectively. The older sheep produced significantly (P<0.05) higher amounts of wool compared to the younger animals. Wool quality was shown to be affected by locality in all parameters except for comfort factor. The clean yield effects were observed to be particularly more significant (P<0.05) when it came to the clean yield with Sheshegu sheep producing greater clean yield than their Mbewuleni counterparts. There was a significant (P<0.05) differences in the interaction of village and sex for crimp length (males had higher values) whereas that of village and age did not affect (P>0.05) the yield and crimp length. It was concluded from this study that age, sex and weight are the factors that affected wool production (quantity and quality). However, differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05) for effects of sex on wool quantity. Wool quality on the other hand was shown to be dependent on locality across all parameters with the exception of the comfort factor. Clean yield was higher in encroached as compared to non-encroached site. The conclusions from the study were that locality affected sheep flock structure and dynamics, because the encroached site had fewer numbers of sheep compared to the non-encroached site. In addition, the quantity and quality of wool produced differed with site, encroached site values being significantly different (P<0.05) to that from the non-encroached site.
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZEffects of dietary supplementation on physico-chemical and consumer sensory characteristics of chevon from South African indigenous goat genotypesXazela, Nomasonto Marthahttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/7122018-02-15T10:51:37Z2010-01-01T00:00:00ZEffects of dietary supplementation on physico-chemical and consumer sensory characteristics of chevon from South African indigenous goat genotypes
Xazela, Nomasonto Martha
The study was conducted at the University of Fort Hare farm to assess the effect of dietary supplementation on physico-chemical and consumer sensory characteristics of chevon from South African indigenous goat genotypes. Forty-eight 6-month-old Xhosa lop-eared (XLE), Nguni (NGN), Xhosa-Boer cross (XBC) and Boer (BOR) castrated goats with a body weight range from 20 to 25 kg were used in this study. Half of the goats in each genotype were supplemented with 200g/head/day of sunflower cake. The other half of goats in each genotype was not supplemented. The goats were slaughtered at day 90 to determine slaughter weight (SLW), cold dress mass (CDM), meat colour, cooking loss, meat pH and Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force values. Furthermore, a consumer sensory evaluation of cooked or fried chevon from supplemented and non-supplemented goats was conducted with consumers of different ages, tribes and gender. The XLE and NGN goats had higher pH24 (P < 0.05) than BOR and XBC goats. Supplemented BOR goats had higher L* values than their non-supplemented counterparts (P < 0.05). The other meat quality attributes in XLE and NGN were comparable to those in meat from the Boer goat. Female respondents gave higher (P < 0.05) sensory scores than male respondents for both cooked and fried meat on aroma intensity. Shona consumers gave higher (P < 0.05) aroma intensity scores than the Xhosa and the Zulu consumers for both cooked and fried meat. In the non-supplemented goats, fried meat for all genotypes was superior (P < 0.05) to the cooked meat for initial impression of juiciness. Age and gender of respondents and thermal treatment influenced initial impression of juiciness scores (P < 0.05). The quality of chevon from XLE and NGN was comparable to that of the Boer goat, and dietary supplementation improved most meat quality attributes. Chevon from the supplemented goats had higher consumer sensory scores than chevon from the non-supplemented goats.
2010-01-01T00:00:00Z