How choosing animals for draught work

                                                                                               

Selection is defined as the procedure of choosing animals with the potential qualities to match the description of a good draught animal.

The choice of draught  animals depends mainly on the type of work to be performed, the local environment, the social-economic conditions    and the availability of animals.

Farmers generally prefer animals that  are affordable, well adapted and easily replaced. Smallholder farmers frequently benefit from working with animals that are also maintained for other purposes, such as the production of milk, meat, manure, offspring, and social-economic functions.

In Tanzania, the most widely used species of draught animals are the cattle. The reasons being  that the population of cattle ranks the highest while  at the same time providing for most if not   all the benefits stated above.

1)      Qualities to be sought

The qualities to be sought of a good draught animal consists of the following characteristics:

·         Breed-local or crossbreed

·         Preferably male castrate, or female if adequately fed.

·         Health-good health.

·         Age-neither too young nor too old.

·         Weight-neither too light nor too heavy.

·         Body conformation-well built with correct legs, neck, chest, shoulders, and back.

·         Temperament- even-tempered.

2)      Selection procedure for cattle

A herd of cattle may consist of calves, heifers, cows, bulls and oxen, only young cattle will be tested for selection. Males should not be selected together with females because they are not directly comparable. Bulls are not usually selected for draught work because they are unpredictable and aggressive.

Cows can be used for draught work but they  must be trained as heifers  and if they must work while pregnant or nursing a calf, they should be  given adequate supplementary feeds to maintain good body condition. It is recommended that male castrates should be chosen for training in draught work because of they have the strength of bulls but are docile.

Selection is therefore carried out in two stages:

·         Stage  1: elimination. Cattle that do not meet minimum requirements for draught work training are eliminated.

·         Stage 2: judging. The remaining cattle are judged in order to select those that are most suitable for draught work training.

1.       Elimination stage

Elimination is based on the following characteristics

a)      Breed

b)      Health

c)       Age

d)      Weight

e)      Confirmation

f)       Temperament

a)      Breed  characteristics

                                                        I.            Breed adaptation

Humped, zebu cattle( Bos indicus), non-humped cattle (Bos Taurus) and their crossbreeds can all be used successfully for a draught. In general, local, indigenous cattle breeds will be more suitable for work on smallholder farms than temperate breeds or their crosses.

Animals generally live in delicate  balance with many stress-causing agents in their environment, including heat, disease, and lack of good quality feed. The additional stress of work can seriously disturb this balance, unless the animals are very well adapted to that particular environment. Local cattle breeds are most likely to be well adapted to the prevailing climate, to the local disease challenge, to the quality  and the quantity of available feed and  to the traditional management systems. In most parts of Africa, and in particular Tanzania, the humped, zebu cattle are very well adapted, but  the larger, humpless  exotic cattle are less suited to village conditions.

                                                      II.            Size and breed

Under good conditions, larger animals can perform more work than smaller animals. Animals of temperate breeds, and their crosses, are often bigger than local breeds. With high levels of management, such large animals can make good work in favorable environments.

Most smallholder farmers would prefer animals with many different characteristics, including the ability to survive under simple management conditions. Large animals are more expensive and require more feed. They entail greater risk (for example death or incapacity of one work animal is more serious for a farmer who owns two large animals than four smaller ones).

Since draught animals often have multiple social and economic functions, a large number of smaller animals is useful for economic flexibility. To replace local small breed with the exotic large the breed should be done with caution because size is often closely related to the environment.

b)      Health characteristics

If working animals are to grow and work to their full potential they must be healthy. Select cattle with signs of good health.

Castration at a very young age will cause stunted growth. A certain amount a lively spirit in an animal is considered good, and very placid animals may end up being lazy and lethargic.