Search

Rearing heifers for dairy cow replacement is a challenge in smallholder dairy farms in the tropics due to feed shortage. The objective of this study was to evaluate Brachiaria hybrid cultivar Mulato II as a forage resource for improving growth performance of dairy heifers under cut-and-carry feeding system in Rwanda. Sixteen crossbred (Ankole × Jersey) heifers (mean weight 203 ± 35 kg) were randomly allocated to two dietary treatments viz: Mulato II with 2 kg/day of commercial concentrates (MCC) and Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) with the same supplement (NCC), for a period of 12 weeks. Mineral lick and water were provided ad libitum. Daily feed intake and fortnightly live weight were measured. Average daily gains and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. Results showed that absolute daily dry matter intake (g DMI/day) and relative intake (g/kg of metabolic body weight--BW(0.75)) were higher in heifers fed on MCC than in heifers fed on NCC (P0.001). FCR was lower (P0.001) in MCC than NCC diets. Final body weight (FBW) and body weight gain (BWG) did not differ between the two groups of heifers (P0.05). Average daily weight gain (ADWG) also not differed significantly (P0.05). Based on numerical body weight changes and nutritive values, Mulato II showed potential to be integrated into local cut-and-carry feeding systems for better heifer rearing to facilitate dairy cow replacement.

Smallholder dairy farmers in Rwanda use diversity of resources to cope with endemic feed shortages. However, there is inadequate real farm data to support farmer decisions on choices of options. The main objective of this study was to evaluate nutritional quality of feed types that farmers use in different agro-ecological zones of Rwanda. Samples of feed types were collected from 90 randomly selected households in the low- and mid-high-altitude zones of Rwanda and analysed for proximate composition, contents of metabolisable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFd). Rumen fermentation characteristics and efficiency of energy utilisation were examined by determining partitioning factor (PF). Results showed that only five out of 24 feed types were common in both districts. Chemical composition, OMD, ME, NDFd and PF of these feed types differed significantly (P