Détails de la publication

Comparison of growth and milk production performances of the Borgou breed to those of the crossbreeds Gir - Borgou and Girolando - Borgou at the Okpara Breeding Farm in Benin

Détails de la publication

• Type:Article
• Domaine: Production et santé animale
• Année de publication: 2018
• Auteurs: BOUKARI F. Z. A., ALKOIRET I. T., TOBADA Pamphile, AKPAKI V., AHISSOU A., TOURE F. Z., YACOUBOU A. M., BONOU G. A., DOTCHE I. O., YOUSSAO I. A. K.
• Cultures: Lait
• Couverture géographique: Nord-Bénin
• Mots clés: Artificial insemination; Crossing; Milk; Weight; Cattle; Benin

Résumé de la publication

Benin is deficient in the meat products production because of the low productivity of the local breeds in general and of the cattle in particular. This study aims to improve the production of milk and meat of the Borgou breed by crossing with the exotic breeds Gir and Girolando at the Okpara breeding farm. For this, semen from exotic breeds was used to inseminate 355 Borgou cows and births were recorded. Data were collected on 280 calves for growth performance and on 55 cows for crossbreeds’ milk production. The study found that the average weights of crossbreed calves are greater than the average weight of the Borgou calves at the standard age. At 12 months of age, the Borgou weight (101.93 kg) was significantly lower (p <0.01) than those of the Gir-Borgou (171.25 kg) and Girolando-Borgou (175 kg) crossbreeds. However, no significant difference was observed between the 12-month weights of the two crossbreeds. From 0 to 12 months of age, the average daily gain of Gir × Borgou (473.97 g/d) and Girolando × Borgou (488.63 g/d) were higher (p <0.001) than that of the Borgou breed (234.88 g/d). The average daily milk production was 1.25 liters, 6.80 liters and 4.40 liters, respectively for the Borgou breeds and the Gir-Borgou and Girolando-Borgou crossbreeds. The crossing has improved the growth and production performances of the Borgou breed.