General organisation
Nutrition and feeding
Milking regime
Calf management
Breeding
Disease control
General management
The Um Banein herd was established not only to utilize rainfed grazing and available byproducts (sorghum stover and cotton stubbles), as in village herds, but also to use irrigated forage crops and grasses together with locally available concentrate feeds, in order to allow the Kenana to exhibit fully its productive potential.
Cattle are yarded by night and milking cows are also usually yarded from 1200 to 1600 hours. Thatched shades provide shelter from sun and rain. Cattle are grouped according to age, and adult cows are divided into lactating, late pregnant and dry groups.
The cattle are grazed traditionally and controlled by herdsmen; forage sorghum and sorghum stover are usually cut, carried and fed in the yards.
The feeding policy was established in 1958. A general outline of forage availability during different seasons is shown in Table 1. Lactating cows were supplemented with sorghum grain in winter and in the dry summer. The irrigable area at the end of 1958 was some 200 feddans or 84 hectares (1 feddan = 0.4 ha).
Some changes to the general pattern outlined in Table 1 have taken place over the years either as a deliberate policy or due to circumstances prevailing at particular times. The main changes have been:
1958 - Sorghum grain fed from April to June and in November and December. Concentrates not fed during the rains.Irrigation pump installed and 32 ha under irrigation by the end of the year.
1959 - Oil-seed cake introduced as 25% of the concentrate mix, the remaining 75% being sorghum grain. Cows were fed 3.5 kg of concentrate per head per day during the first 60 days of lactation and then 2.0 kg per cow per day until drying off. In practice 0.93 kg of concentrate was fed per kg of milk produced (December figures: 6474 kg milk from 5997 kg concentrate).
1960 - Irrigable area increased to 120 ha.
1962 - Elaborate system of year round supply of fresh legumes, fresh non-legumes and dry fodder in operation, the feed being produced from 160 ha of irrigated and 140 ha of rainfed cropping. Proportions of feeds varied with time of year.
1964 - Small flock of 30 Merino sheep introduced.
1970 - Irrigation no longer possible in dry summer.
1975 - A new flock of 220 head of Watish (Sudan Desert) sheep introduced. Sorghum grain replaced by molasses and wheat bran in the concentrate mix.
1976 - Merino flock dispersed.
1977 - Watish flock now 400 head.
1978 - Majority of non-milking stock grazed regularly off-station for 4 to 5 months of the year. Watish flock now 475 head.
1980 - A series of poor rains and little natural grazing through until 1984.
Cows fed concentrates at rate of 1 kg per 2.4 kg milk. Watish flock now 650 head.
Severe culling carried out (and continued until 1982) to reduce overall stocking rate.
1982 - Molasses/urea feeding introduced during the dry summer.
1984 - Cows fed 1 kg of concentrate per head per day.
Low rainfall and lack of fuel for irrigation.
Table 1. General pattern of forage availability at Um Banein station.
|
Season |
Milking cows |
Other stock |
|
Winter |
Irrigated fodder |
Natural grazing |
|
Hot summer |
Sorghum stover, |
Sorghum stover, |
|
Wet summer |
Natural grazing |
Natural grazing |
Cows have always been milked twice a day at Um Banein, with the exception of June 1962, when milking three times a day was tried. From 1957 until 1961 partial suckling was carried out, with calves suckling all the milk from two quarters but the milk from all quarters being weighed on recording days.
Starting in 1961, half of the cows were milked in the absence of the calf, the other half using the calf only to stimulate milk let-down. By 1971, all cows were being milked in the absence of their calves. Eight cows were machine milked from 1981 to 1984.
Cows were normally dried-off at 305 days but from 1984 cows have been dried-off 60 days prior to the next calving.
Calves were originally allowed to suckle part of their dams' milk and given access to sorghum grain, but were not weaned until the lactation ended. From 1959 calves no longer received half the dam's milk but were still used to stimulate milk let-down. In 1961 most calves were weaned at 6 months old. From July 1962 calves were bucket fed. In 1963 a standard weaning age of 4 months was established and oil-seed cake was included in the concentrate. Starting in 1977 calves were individually penned until weaning, whereas previously they had been penned in groups. In 1983/84 some early weaning trials were carried out, calves being weaned at 2 instead of 4 months old.
A summary of the major practices in relation to calf management is given in Table 2.
In 1958 bulls ran with the appropriate herd groups, but from 1959 to 1980 cows seen on heat were taken to the bull for service. Consequent on trials to improve fertility in the herd, bulls have again been run with the cows since 1981.
Heifers were usually mated at first oestrus, as this was considered to occur when the animal was sufficiently well grown to breed; heifers therefore generally joined the breeding herd at about 2 years of age.
Breeding bulls were selected from the highest yielding dams in the herd until 1981, when five additional bulls were purchased from traditional herds.
All females were retained and selected according to their first lactation yield. Culling tended to be carried out on an ad hoc basis related to requests for animals until the end of 1984. At that time a system to increase selection pressure on milk production was introduced.
Pregnancy was checked by rectal palpation about 3 months after service and ovarian massage was given in cases of delayed oestrus after parturition.
Animals were vaccinated against the major infectious livestock diseases in Sudan, sprayed monthly against ectoparasites and drenched for internal parasites as required; few problems have been encountered with these diseases. The herd has been tested regularly for tuberculosis and trypanosomiasis, with no positive results. Cows were tested for brucellosis and reactors were culled. Mastitis has been a problem, although improved milking techniques and hygiene have reduced the incidence of this disease.
The station had 12 directors in the 28-year period 195784. Only three of these were at the station for longer than 2 years.
Table 2. Calf management practices at Um Banein.
|
Date |
Management practices |
|
|
January |
1958 |
Calves allowed half (milk from two quarters) of dam's output. Not weaned until cow dried-off |
|
September |
1958 |
Sorghum grain (1 kg/head per day) fed to calves. Earlier weaning (but at variable ages) practiced. Calves taken to dams to encourage let-down |
|
March |
1959 |
Calves bucket-fed with rubber teat |
|
July |
1961 |
Half of the number of calves weaned at 6 months. Milk provided at 4.5 kg/head per day |
|
July |
1962 |
Calves fed from bucket by rubber tube ('bizza') instead of by teat |
|
January |
1963 |
Weaning standardized at 4 months: milk provided at rate of 3.6, 2.7, 2.2 and 1.5 kg/day in months 1 to 4 respectively. Concentrate supplement included oil-seed cake |
|
1977 |
Calves penned individually in pre-weaning period |
|
|
1983 |
Experimental weaning of a number of calves at 2 months old. Experiment continued in 1984 |
|
