THE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL PESHAWAR

Department Of Livestock Management & ABG Faculty of Animal

Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences
MSc (Hons) Midterm paper of Range Livestock Management

Name: Irfan Ullah Time allowed: 1hr Total

Marks: 30

Class No:477 Section: A

Q:- Fill in the blanks (over writing will carry negative marks) (10)

1 About 40% of total area of the country is range land

2 Sheep and goat obtain about 60% of their feed from Range land
3 In Baluchistan 90% of the required livestock feed is provided by Range
land
4 Following are the biophysical factors cause deterioration of range land
in Pakistan
1 number versus quality 2 land tenure system

3 migratory herds 4 arid climatic pattern

5 scarcity of water

5 Greater Cholistan has a better grazing ground but lack of watering

points
6 The gestation period in sheep are from 140 to 159 days with an average
of 148 days
7 Ecosystem of range land are 1. physiography 2. soil 3. vegetation
4. water 5. animal life
Q2:- Tick True/ False (over writing will carry negative marks)(5)

1 Regrowth in alpine pasture occurs in April immediately after the

snow melt (False)
2 During winter livestock remain in Pothwar scrub ranges on Govt land
(False)
3 With Russian invasion the Afghan Pawandas settled in part of
Baluchistan and tribal areas (True)
4 Sheep is most important range animal and is seasonal breeder
(True)
5 The local term used for range land in Pakistan is “Chairgha” (True)
6 In past the range land in Pakistan have primarily managed for forest
development (False)
7 Baluchistan covers about 40% area of the total country area (True)
8 The major part of range land in Pakistan lies in the arid and semi-arid
zone (True)
9 Scarcity of water is not a limiting factor in the proper utilization of
range land (True)
10 In the northern mountain of Pakistan four traditional grazing system
are practiced (False)

Q3:- Define the following (3)

a. Range land
The local term for rang land in Pakistan is chairgha which is
erroneously consider as waste land same with desert or arid land.
Range land define by committee on rang management as
uncultivated area (although some time disturb by cultivation that
support natural or seeded herbivore or shrubby vegetation with or
without tree
 b. Range land management
Rangeland management is a professional natural science that
centers around the study of rangelands and the "conservation and
sustainable management [of Arid-Lands] for the benefit of current
societies and future generations. Range management is defined by
Holechek et al. as the "manipulation of rangeland components to
obtain optimum combination of goods and services for society on a
sustained basis
Q4:- write a short note (3)
i. Supplemental feeding of sheep / goat on ranges

Small ruminants are prevailing in local livestock systems. In

crop-livestock-rangeland rainfed mixed systems, livestock substitutes for

natural and purchased inputs, in addition to producing meat and milk. The

ranges in their present form do not produce year-long forage requirements

and almost all vegetation goes dormant during winter season. The

livestock, mostly small ruminants, depend on the diet provided for a small

part now by rangelands, and mostly by complements, crop residues

(cereals, vegetables, etc.) and some forages. The low current contribution

of rangelands to livestock feeding is due to the tremendous increase in

sheep and goat numbers, but also to the loss of traditional management

tools and the modification of land tenure occupation. The vegetation in

general and particularly the tree flora have been extremely misused and

the rangelands degraded by man and his livestock. The overgrazing of the
rangelands has been historic but what amounts to destruction in many

parts is recent, following mechanized transport and feed subsidy to

pastoralists. Sheep and goats are collecting nearly all available annuals and

ephemerids on the range. They are heavily dependent on hand-fed

concentrates, agro-industrial by-products, cereals, and straws. Diets

containing these feed resources are often unbalanced for main nutrients,

thus cannot overcome microflora and host animal requirements. While

chemical-based promoters (e.g. antibiotics, probiotics, etc.) proved efficient

in stimulating rumen digestion and consequently in increasing sheep and

goat performances, the recent concern of consumers about the risk on

consuming meat and milk of animals receiving these additives encouraged

scientists to look for simple, cost-effective and healthy alternatives. The

advantageous use of alternative feed resources in sheep and goat feeding is

discussed in the forthcoming sections.

Q5:- Write a note on nomadic grazing system in Northern Mountains

of Pakistan (6)
1) In this system, people spend their summer in alpine areas
and shift to scrub zones in winter.
2) Golan and Backcrawls are following this system in
northern areas. They do not have a proper settlement.
3) At the end of May, they start moving upward to the
temperate zone.
 4) The walk 20 km daily and rest at night near watering
places.
5) They have trained dogs with them for guarding.

THE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL PESHAWAR

Department Of Livestock Management & ABG Faculty of Animal
Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences
MSc (Hons) Final term paper of Range Livestock Management

Name: Irfan Ullah Time allowed: 1hr Total Marks: 40

Class No. 477 Section A

Q1:- Fill in the blanks: (Overwriting will carry negative marks) (15)

11 Range land in the country hardly provide 50% of the total feed
requirement for sheep and goat
12 At 60% utilization rate the current annual forages produce from
range land is about 15 to 30 million tons of dry matter
13 The production of dry matter various from 90 kg to 1348 kg per
hectare
14 One animals’ unit being equal to feed requirement of cow and calf.
15 The Air-dry weight per hectare from DG Khan range land is __________
kg
16 The normal range of supplementation for sheep and goat is 110 to
125 gm per head per day
17 Farm animals such as cow, buffalo, and camel can be considered as
range animal other than sheep / goat
 18 Success of grazing system depend on factors such as 1 climate
condition 2 physiography area 3 kind of animal 4 fertility level 5
Forages
19 Rotational grazing system based on rotation of ___________ over the
entire __________
20 Rotational grazing system is more expensive due to high cost of
fencing and ____________
21 In different grazing system the entire range is opened to ___________
throughout the _________ season
22 One sheep is equal to 0.2 animal unit while one camel is equal to 0.7
animal unit
23 Pasture may be classified as seeded and native pasture.
Q2:- Tick True/ False (over writing will carry negative marks)
(7.5)
1) Small ruminants do well when pasture is over stocked (True)
2) The term pasture is of Greek origin from the word pasture (False)
3) The transhumant flock cover distance varying from 30 – 100 km both
ways (False)
4) Dairy goat performs better when stall feeding (True)
5) Beef cattle thrive much better on range land (False)
6) The general practice to arrange at breeding time 3 rams / buck for each
100 ewes / does (True)
7) No extra labor and feed are required for the lambing / kidding season
(False)
8) Goats like to eat from above 25 cm to as high as they can reach (True)
9) The province of Punjab having 58% of sheep of total number of sheep in
Pakistan (False)
10) In mountain area sheep flocks are replaced gradually by goat flocks
(True)
11) There are above 35000 sheep / goats’ flocks in the country (False)
12) 30% flocks in Pakistan comprises of 16 – 75 sheep / goats
(True)
13) Grazing charges are almost uniform in different range land area
(False)
14) According to estimate the population of nomads in Pakistan is
around 1.5 million (False)
15) Does with more than two kids should be given 25 – 50% more
supplemental feed than one kid does (True)

Q3:-Write a short note on main objectives of grazing system/ type

(2.5)
• Supply nutrients for pastured livestock
• Condition forage for hay production
• Grazing to control weeds
• Maintain pasture plants
• Livestock grazing reduces the competition from nonnative plants so
that other desirable grasses and wildflowers can regenerate and
coexist

Q4:-Write down the name of different grazing system (2.5)

1. Rotational grazing system

2. Continuous grazing system
3. Strip grazing system
4. Differed grazing system
 5. Rest grazing system
6. Best block grazing system
7. Seasonal grazing system

Q5:-Write a short note on best block grazing system (3)

The block which have specific and sufficient quantum of feed for animal
grazing. In this system the 50 percent of utilization is achieved, and the
remaining 50 percent will be resowed or regrow again. System is important
virgin of grazing system.

Q6:-Write a short note on sheep / goats per hectare of rangeland (3.5)

Number of sheep and goat depend on some major factors, (like type of the
soil, clay, sand, rock, loamy etc). for cultivation, some of the plant species
grasses weeds woody plants, trees, shrubs, bushes, for vegetation.
Rainfall or irrigation: climatic, (tropical and sub-tropical)
Climatic condition depends on number of animals in one flock
Topography of land: a land must be plane, rolling, hill, marsh, sand
Category of animal: 6 goat and sheep on 1 hector grazed, in case of poor
pasture 2 to 3 animals grazed per hector/year. This method was so good
for sheep, good to be kept per hector.

Q7:-Write a note on transhumant system of grazing (6)

Transhumance.

Is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement

of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures.
In mountain regions it implies movement between higher pastures in
summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home,
typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number
of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the
base. In contrast, horizontal transhumant is more susceptible to being
disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change. Traditional or fixed
transhumance has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly
Europe and western Asia. It is often important to pastoralist societies, as
the dairy products of transhumance flocks and herds
(milk, butter, yogurt and cheese) may form much of the diet of such
populations.
THE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL PESHAWAR
Department Of Livestock Management & ABG Faculty of Animal
Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences
MSc (Hons) Practical paper of Range Livestock Management

Name: Irfan Ullah Time allowed: 45minuts Total Marks: 30

Class No. 477 Section A

Q1:- Write in detail water development for rangeland improvement

(15)

Water development

In addition to meet the requirement of some ruminant for water

this is effective tools for ensure the proper distribution of animal in parts of
range which remain unutilized due to lack of drinking water careful plan
development of watering parts is essential since in overgrazed areas they
can lead to further deteriorations of the range, water development must fit
into an overall range management plan
Spring:

Spring development has been successfully carried out in Maslach

range area of Baluchistan where small spring /seeps have been improved
water is collected in a concrete tank and carried through pipes and
channels to various points within the range area .this type of water is
common in mountain area

Tubas:

A tuba or dug out is another type of water development in Pakistan

in desert plains particularly in cholistan .it depend on rain for water
supplies and are filled from water drain from collecting area .tubas are dug
in a low lying area .the depth of tuba should be 3 to 4 meter since water
from tubas less than 3 meter is lost quickly through evaporation.

Small dames:

Small dams and streams collects and store more water than tubas
.number of such dams have been constructed in the hilly and mountains
area but some time they don’t prove successful in the hilly area because of
a lack of adequate spill ways .these dams needs regular deserting otherwise
their water storages capacity is greatly reduced

Well:
 In most range area the dependable and common source of livestock
drinking water is wells water from the well is drawn manually or by animal
power. Wells maybe shallow (4 to 5 meter) along the rivers and channel
but in planes some wells are as deep has 50 meters

Windmills:

Few windmills from open surface wells however the problem is

lack of mechanical skills exists in distant areas have been installed in the
range area of Baluchistan and Sindh to lift water
Q2:- Write a detail note on rotational grazing system (15)

Rotational grazing is the practice of moving grazing livestock between

pastures (often called paddock) as needed or on a regular basis. There are
many approaches and types of grazing that fall under the broad umbrella of
rotational grazing.

But well-managed rotational grazing means that you evaluate the

nutritional and forage needs of your animals, assess forage quality and
quantity, regulate the acreage of access and control which parts of the
pasture/range that the animals have access to.

Many grazers use temporary electric fence systems to manage the size of
the paddock. This allows the manager to control grazing and control access
to forage to fit the nutritional needs of the class of livestock (e.g. lactating
ewes versus dry ewes). One of the more common approaches/paradigms is
termed “Management Intensive Grazing”.

Increased forage production. The general rule of thumb is that a well-

managed controlled grazing program can increase quality forage
production by 30-70% each year. Much of this increase in forage is
accomplished by minimizing overgrazing of some plants in the pasture.

A grass or clover plant that is nibbled on every few days loses, has little
time to recover from the injury insult of grazing before being injured
(grazed) again. It loses root mass and energy reserves and has greatly
reduced forage production over the grazing season. A plant that is able to
recover from a single grazing incident for three weeks or more before
being injured by grazing again has more resources to put into growth and
can produce 30-70% more forage.

A grass leaf that is half an inch long has a very small “solar panel”. A grass
leaf that is two inches long has a much larger area for photosynthesis and
can grow much faster, recover from grazing much faster and produce much
more forage over the course of the season. The rule of thumb for most
plants is to not graze below a minimum of two inches (though this can vary,
as Bermuda grass can be grazed much lower to the ground than orchard
grass or big bluestem).
Increased soil fertility.

Controlled grazing does several things to improve pasture soil fertility and
organic matter. Two specific things include:

1. Spreading manure around the whole pasture since grazing sheep and
cattle typically return to the water tanks or a single favorite shade
tree. This results in the mining of minerals and nutrients from the far
parts of the pasture and depositing them at the water tanks or shade
trees.
2. Plants that are over-grazed or less healthy from being grazed every
few days have smaller root mass which leads to less soil organic
matter.

Increased organic matter and soil fertility will reduce needs for purchased
fertilizers, and result in increased forage production.

Increased resistance to drought. Increased soil organic matter and better

forage cover due to better grazing management will slow water movement
during hard rains and increase absorption of water by the soil. Decreased
water runoff and increased soil organic matter keep pastures more
resistant to impacts of drought, increase forage production, and maintain
forage growth longer into periods of droughts.

Less wasting of forage. A flock of ewes or herd of cattle that are given
access to 20 times as much forage as they can eat in a day or two will walk
a lot of forage into the ground, defecate and spoil forage as they walk to and
from the best forage spots over the 3 weeks or more that they are on the
pasture time. By only providing a few days or a single day’s worth of forage,
there are many fewer opportunities to walk on plants and excrete on forage
making it less palatable.

Soil compaction. While less of an issue with sheep than cattle (150 lb ewe
versus 1000 lb cow), walking longer distances over the same paths
increases soil compaction, which decreases soil fertility, water absorption
and ability of forage plant roots to penetrate the soil. Fewer days on the
same paddock per year will result in less soil compaction.

Control less desirable plants. This can be done in several ways with
controlled grazing. Our pastures have a couple areas of cheat grass which
has a short window of decent grazing followed by many months of being
dry and unpalatable with sharp pointed seeds. In many years, we can put
the sheep on the cheat grass areas in early spring and graze them hard.
Over the years, the amount of cheat grass has decreased. The ability to
control paddock size can strongly encourage your sheep (or cattle) to eat
the less desirable plants at the times you need them to.