Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi

A survey was conducted between December 1984 and June 1985 to determine the sex, live and dressed weight, organ weight and the seasonal variation in small ruminants slaughtered at Mitundu, Central Malawi. Least numbers (2-6 per week) were slaughtered between February and April: numbers varied from 8...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kamwanja, L.A., Ayvade, J.A., Makhambera, T.P.E.
Formato: Conference Paper
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 1985
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70748
_version_ 1855532091698053120
author Kamwanja, L.A.
Ayvade, J.A.
Makhambera, T.P.E.
author_browse Ayvade, J.A.
Kamwanja, L.A.
Makhambera, T.P.E.
author_facet Kamwanja, L.A.
Ayvade, J.A.
Makhambera, T.P.E.
author_sort Kamwanja, L.A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A survey was conducted between December 1984 and June 1985 to determine the sex, live and dressed weight, organ weight and the seasonal variation in small ruminants slaughtered at Mitundu, Central Malawi. Least numbers (2-6 per week) were slaughtered between February and April: numbers varied from 8-20 per week the rest of the time. Socio-economic reasons contributing to this variation are discussed. Females (67 per cent of animals slaughtered) were heavier than males (25.7 ± 0.47, 19,6 ± 0.81 and 21.7 ± 0.83 kg for females, entire males and castrates respectively). More than 60 per cent of slaughtered females were over 32 months of age while 80 per cent of males were less than 24 months old. Slaughtered males were 44 per cent and 56 per cent castrate and entire respectively. The dressing percentage ranged from 52.3 and 55.1. Weights of various organs and their contribution to live and dressed weight were similar within and between species except that rams had heavier testes (0.66 ± 0.03 kg) than bucks (0.42 ± 0.01 kg). Reproductive and growth potential of sheep (Dorper and local crosses) on natural pastures and Chloris gayana were also investigated. Twinning rate of ewes was 2.2 per cent and lambing interval was 255 ± 13.5 days suggesting that post-partum anoestrus averaged 105 days. Ram and ewe lamb birth weights averaged 2.63 ± 0.19 and 2.65 ± 0.14 kg. Birth weight of lambs was 8.8 per cent the liveweight of ewes.
format Conference Paper
id CGSpace70748
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 1985
publishDateRange 1985
publishDateSort 1985
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace707482023-02-15T13:14:01Z Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi Kamwanja, L.A. Ayvade, J.A. Makhambera, T.P.E. ruminants reproduction markets malawi seasons slaughtering sex A survey was conducted between December 1984 and June 1985 to determine the sex, live and dressed weight, organ weight and the seasonal variation in small ruminants slaughtered at Mitundu, Central Malawi. Least numbers (2-6 per week) were slaughtered between February and April: numbers varied from 8-20 per week the rest of the time. Socio-economic reasons contributing to this variation are discussed. Females (67 per cent of animals slaughtered) were heavier than males (25.7 ± 0.47, 19,6 ± 0.81 and 21.7 ± 0.83 kg for females, entire males and castrates respectively). More than 60 per cent of slaughtered females were over 32 months of age while 80 per cent of males were less than 24 months old. Slaughtered males were 44 per cent and 56 per cent castrate and entire respectively. The dressing percentage ranged from 52.3 and 55.1. Weights of various organs and their contribution to live and dressed weight were similar within and between species except that rams had heavier testes (0.66 ± 0.03 kg) than bucks (0.42 ± 0.01 kg). Reproductive and growth potential of sheep (Dorper and local crosses) on natural pastures and Chloris gayana were also investigated. Twinning rate of ewes was 2.2 per cent and lambing interval was 255 ± 13.5 days suggesting that post-partum anoestrus averaged 105 days. Ram and ewe lamb birth weights averaged 2.63 ± 0.19 and 2.65 ± 0.14 kg. Birth weight of lambs was 8.8 per cent the liveweight of ewes. 1985 2016-02-08T09:02:42Z 2016-02-08T09:02:42Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70748 en Limited Access
spellingShingle ruminants
reproduction
markets
malawi
seasons
slaughtering
sex
Kamwanja, L.A.
Ayvade, J.A.
Makhambera, T.P.E.
Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title_full Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title_fullStr Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title_short Characterization of small ruminants in the Mitundu area, Lilongwe, Malawi
title_sort characterization of small ruminants in the mitundu area lilongwe malawi
topic ruminants
reproduction
markets
malawi
seasons
slaughtering
sex
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70748
work_keys_str_mv AT kamwanjala characterizationofsmallruminantsinthemitunduarealilongwemalawi
AT ayvadeja characterizationofsmallruminantsinthemitunduarealilongwemalawi
AT makhamberatpe characterizationofsmallruminantsinthemitunduarealilongwemalawi