5.

Introduction to Animal Production

5.1. History and domestication of animals

Domestication is the process of hereditary re-organization of wild animals and plants into domestic and cultivated
forms according to the interests of people. In its strictest sense, it refers to the initial stage of human mastery of
wild animals and plants. The fundamental distinction of domesticated animals and plants from their wild
ancestors is that they are created by human labour to meet specific requirements and are adapted to the
conditions of continuous care and solicitude people maintain for them. The most numerous large mammals, apart
from humans are cows, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and dogs.

The earliest known evidence of a domesticated dog is a jawbone found in a cave in Iraq and dated to about
12,000 years ago. Selective breeding affects a species quite rapidly. The first animals known to have been
domesticated as a source of food are sheep in the Middle East. The proof is the high proportion of bones of one-
year-old sheep discarded in a settlement at Shanidar, in what is now northern Iraq. Goats follow soon after, and
these two become the standard animals of the nomadic pastoralists - tribes which move all year long with their
flocks, guided by the availability of fresh grass and water. Humans in western Asia may first have bred the ox.
From about 4000 BC oxen are harnessed and put to work. India and Southeast Asia use another version of the
domesticated ox, well adapted to hot wet conditions - the water buffalo. The pig is probably first domesticated in
China.

A natural habitat of the wild horse is the steppes of central Asia. Some 5000 years ago, human’s first capture,
tame and breed the horse. The original purpose, as with cattle, is to acquire a reliable source of meat and
subsequently milk. The first domesticated horses are of a size, which we would describe as ponies. Horses of this
kind were still living in the wild in Mongolia until quite recent times. As beasts of burden and transport, camels
occupy an important place alongside horses and donkeys. In the very hot regions of north Africa and Asia two
different species of camel become the most important beasts of burden - the single-humped Arabian camel (in
north Africa, the Middle East, India) and the double-humped Bactrian camel (central Asia, Mongolia). Both are
well adapted to desert conditions. They can derive water, when none is available elsewhere, from the fat stored in
their humps. It is probable that they are first domesticated in Arabia some time after 1500 BC. Jungle fowl of this
kind are captured and kept for their eggs and their flesh by about 2000 BC in Asia.

The first reason for herding sheep and goats, or keeping cattle and pigs in the village, is to secure a regular
supply of fresh meat. The herdsman, by contrast, has a living larder always to hand and a supply of dairy
products as well. These animals also provide for almost every other need of Neolithic man. While they are alive,
they produce dung to manure the crops. When they are dead leather and wool for garments; horn and bone for
sharp points of needles or arrows; fat for tallow candles; hooves for glue.

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Summary on domestication of farm animals

No. Name of the Year of domestication Place of Domestication Purpose

animal
1 Dog 12000 years ago Southwest Asia-Iraq and hunting, shepherding, herding,
Iran companionship, meat
2 Sheep and Goat 10000 years ago Southwest Asia-Iran wool, meat*, milk*, leather,
vellum
3 Cattle (cow) 10000 years ago Western Asia meat, milk, leather, muscle, soil
fertilization
4 Ox 10000 years ago Western Asia meat, leather, soil fertilization,
draught power
5 Pig 9000 BC Central China meat, leather, companionship
6 Buffalo 5000 Years ago India Drought power, meat, milk
7 Horses 5000 years ago/3000BC Central Asia-Ukraine Transportation, meat & milk
8 Honey bee 4000 years ago Egypt honey, wax, pollination
9 Asses/Donkey 3000 BC Egypt transportation, muscle, meat
10 Chicken 2000 BC Central Asia meat, eggs and feathers
11 Camel 1500 BC Arabia meat, milk, transportation,
leather

5.2. Role of livestock production

The livestock species play very important economic, social and cultural roles or functions for rural households
once they contribute to improve income and wellbeing of the farm family. Livestock helps on:
 Food supply,
 Family nutrition (animal protein),
 Family income or cash income
 Asset savings or savings accumulation
 Soil productivity (fertilizer)
 Animal draught power,
 transport,
 agricultural traction,
 agricultural diversification and sustainable
agricultural production,
 family and community employment,
 ritual purposes and social status etc.

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As household income increases, the consumption of protein increases, principally from animal origin,
allowing the substitution of vegetal by animal protein. Besides milk, eggs and meat used as a source of
food, other livestock products are used for domestic consumption and local sale such as skins, hides and
horns.
 Generally, livestock have the following purpose including milk, meat, fiber, transportation,
leather, soil fertilization, draught purpose, companionship, wool, vellum, fur etc.

This livestock asset could be seen as "bank account" and it is an important source of family saving that can
be used in years of low crop production, reducing income insecurity and household vulnerability, being an
important source of risk reduction and security increase. Livestock gives social status to its owners once it
is considered a common mean of demonstrating wealth and provides economic status as it facilitates the
access to informal credits and loans to the households. Livestock is also used in traditional rituals,
ceremonies, festivities and is given as a gift in worships (e.g. installation of ancestral spirits, ritual
slaughter, and bride wealth). Then livestock contribute to the sustainable livelihoods and security of more
than 800 million poor smallholders as-

Natural Capital (meat, milk, wool, hide, rangeland, and pasture)

Financial Capital (cash, saving, credit, insurance, gifts, remittance); and

Social Capital (traditions, wealth, prestige, identity, respect, friendship, marriage dowry, festivity, human
capital).

5.3. General role of livestock in Ethiopian Agriculture

In Ethiopia, agriculture is the main economic exchange to the country economy activity and more than 85% of
Ethiopian population is dependent on agriculture of which livestock plays a very important role. It is an integral part
of agriculture that contribution of live animals and their products to the agricultural economy accounts for 50%,
including the values of draught power, manure and transport of people and products. Ethiopia is a home to Africa
largest livestock population. The recent livestock population of Ethiopia estimates that the country has about 57
million heads of cattle, 29.2 million sheep, 29.6 million goats and 56.5 million poultry.

- It is the source of many social and economic values such as food (meat, milk, eggs, honey, cheese,
butter etc.), draught power (for cultivation, threshing, transportation etc.), fuel, cash income, security,
investment in both the highlands and lowlands/pastoral farming systems and social prestige.

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 - On the other hand, livestock serve as a source of foreign exchange to the Ethiopian economy and
contributes to 15% and 39% of the total and agricultural GDP, respectively and accounts for 12-15% of
the total export earnings.
- Livestock perform a multiple functions in the Ethiopian economy by providing inputs for crop
production and soil fertility management, raw material for industry, promoting saving, social function
and employment.
- In the highlands oxen provided draught power in crop production. In addition, dairy production plays
significant role as a source of additional income to the farming community through sale of raw milk,
processed milk products and live animals.
- Therefore, policy makers, development agents, farm households and experts should encourage the
livestock sector to bring the required output from the sector.

5.4. Livestock Nutrition

The livestock industry is one of the largest and most influential industries on the planet. With millions of
farms and billions of animals worldwide, its ultimate goal is to “manage production for optimal yields to
ensure economic viability and to supply sufficient volumes to feed large populations”. The health of large
animal groups directly correlates with the operational stability and overall profitability of a farming
operation. Every livestock operation has unique characteristics that lead to distinct livestock nutrition
requirements. Because of this, it is essential to review the ingredients of livestock feed to understand the
nutritional effect it will have on different types of animals. The level at which each nutrient is required by
an animal depend on whether the animal is being fed for:

 Maintenance

 maintenance + production

 maintenance + production + reproduction

Requirements for maintenance

- is the amount of feed that must be fed to keep an animal at a particular weight without any significant
change in body composition or it is that amount of feed needed to maintain essential body functions such as
respiration, heart rate, eating, keeping warm, etc.

- includes also the feed needed to replace the nutrients that are excreted daily from the body

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- tissue of the body are constantly undergoing breakdown and repair, and nutrients are required to
replace this loss.

Requirements for production

- are met after maintenance requirement

- are the amount of feed needed for growth, meat or milk production

- need large quantities of feed

Requirements for reproduction

- the amount of feed needed above maintenance, for the cow to conceive and produce a healthy fetus
and calf.

- are very important in a cow-calf operation

Factors determining the level of nutrient requirement:

- breed - overall balance of nutrition

- age and sex - stress from the environments

- level of production - hormonal and physiological activities

However, in order to formulate a balanced ration, you first must know the animal’s nutrient requirements
and the nutrient composition of the feedstuffs to be included in the ration.

Feed stuffs: includes Roughages and Concentrate

Roughage feeds Concentrate feeds

are feeds that are high in fiber and low in TDN are feeds that are low in fiber and high in TDN
contain above 18% CF when dry contain below 18% CF when dry

Livestock nutrition is primarily concerned with six different food groups, all of which serve a specific
purpose in maintaining livestock health, weight and product viability:

Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and provide energy to animals.

Proteins contain nitrogen that supplies rumen microorganism requirements and provides another source of
energy to animals. The protein allowance should be ample fore place the daily breakdown of the tissues of

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the body including the growth of hair, horn, and hoofs. In general, the protein needs are greatest for the
growth of the young calf, gestating and lactating cow.

Fats have a higher ratio of calories per unit of weight than carbohydrates and sugars can increase energy
density in feed portions

Water is a basic requirement for all animals to survive and thrive

Vitamins are organic nutrients that increase an animal’s resistance to diseases while also help maintain
body functions

Minerals are inorganic elements that aid in maintaining health, and supporting growth and reproduction.
They are essential for optimal animal health. Minerals are divided in to two parts regard to their use.

1. Major elements – include Ca, P, Mg, Na.

2. Trace elements - Cu, I, Mn & Zn.

5.5. Constraints to livestock production and productivity

The livestock industry in Ethiopia has got the chance that there is an ample production of beef, dairy,
mutton and chevon as the country have a large population of cattle, sheep and goat. However, there are a
number of constraints that limit the development of the industry includes:
1. Shortage of animal fodder and nutrition

2. Shortage of better health services and facilities

3. Absence of good livestock management and policy

4. Absences of sufficient and good animal breeds

A. Feed Resources (Animal nutrition): In the lowland pastoral areas, avail label forage is deficient in
quality and quantity for the number of grazing animals particularly in the dry season. In the mixed crop-
livestock farming system of the highlands increasing population pressure and demand for cropland,
diminished areas for crop residues and agro-industrial by-products become the major sources of feed
although they are not adequately used.

B. Animal Health: Livestock production is reduced by high incidence of diseases, which cause losses
directly from deaths, reduced growth rate, high costs of control, poor quality and quantity of finished
product. The other effects of diseases are lack of access to export markets and animal product and by

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 product can be condemned due to those parasite & bacteria. Many of the problems of parasites and other
diseases in adapted local animals are being exacerbate, as un-adapted exotic genotypes are used for
crossbreeding to increase productivity. Health management interventions and extension education approach
is also lacking to improve the efficacy of vaccines. Epidemiological information on the distribution of
major cattle diseases and parasites, their seasonal incidence, proportion of animals affected by age and sex,
are not well documented which help in properly planning diseases control strategies.

C. Livestock production and productivity: Although indigenous livestock in Ethiopia are well adapted to
the local environment, their productivity is low, first parturition in cattle occurs at about four years of age,
calving interval at two years while carcass weight at maturity is 110kg.
D. Sociological factors: These include the attitudes of the livestock keepers, which have little or no
economic benefit except prestigious and cultural inclinations. This includes keeping large herds for prestige
without considering productivity. Heavy payments for dowry encourage the keeping of large herds
resulting into overgrazing consequently degrading the land. Livestock keepers have an attitude of banking
their wealth as live animals consequently they are subject to different calamities of nature like deaths.

E. Marketing infrastructure: Proper and profitable marketing of products requires good information on
demand and supply prices, movement of the produces to where the demand is and an organization for the
producers so that they control the market. The infrastructure to send the produce and to get market
information is inadequate and consequently there are losses in weight and live animals in trekking from
producing to consuming areas.

F. Technology Transfer: The weakness of linkage between research and extension has been cited
repeatedly as one of the major constraints of under development of Ethiopian agriculture. This weakness
became an issue of a great concern in many of the agricultural for among policy makers, managers,
researchers, extension workers and funding organizations.

Other constraints to development of the sector include:

 Lack of rural infrastructure and services,

 Absence of approved livestock policy

 Inadequate specialist and skilled middle level staff

 Recurrent drought

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 *Pre-requisites to the future development and success of livestock industry in Ethiopia includes making
effort on the following areas:

 Livestock breeding

 livestock husbandry and management

 livestock marketing

 Production system

 Feed and water especially in arid and semi-arid areas