RUMINANT PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

• What is/are Ruminant(s)

– any member of the order Artiodactyla, suborder Ruminantia ex. Sheep, cattle, goat, buffalo, camel,
giraffe, deer
– These animals are even toed and hoofed all chew the cud and have the stomach consisting of four
chambers.
DOMESTICATED RUMINANTS
• Small Ruminant (SR)
– Goat (Capra hircus)
– Sheep (Ovis aries)
• Large Ruminant (LR)
– Cattle S.N.( Bos taurus), the European or "taurine" cattle (Bos indicus), the zebu
– Carabao/Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)
FUNCTIONS
• Source of Food
– Meat
– Milk
• Source of Clothing
– Provide wool and leather for clothing, shoes, gloves, bags, belts, jackets
• Source of Power
• Source of Recreation
– Livestock shows
• Conservation of soil and soil fertility
– 80% of the nutrient value in feed is excreted with the manure on the soil
• Utilization of other animal by products
– Ex. Soap, glue, etc.
PROBLEMS
• Requires big capital
– Feeds, farm implements, stocks
• Products are perishable
– Meat and milk cannot be stored for a long time
• Disease cause big losses
• Transportation and Marketing problems
– Farm to market roads especially during rainy season
– Weight shrinkage of 20-30%
– Absence of cold storage facilities
– Absence of auction market, that will eliminates activities of middlemen
• Financial support
– Lending institutions have high interest rate
– Funds are loaned out to wrong parties
• Technology dissemination and utilization
– Packaging and disseminating the matured technology, through print, radio and TV
PROSPECTS
1.Business
– Form of progressive agriculture
– Conversion of plant materials into valuable animal products
– Utilization of by-products
– Soil fertility
– Making good use of farm waste
– Utilization of idle and non-arable lands
2.Service
• Good distribution of labor
– No holidays
– No time for vices
– Providing employment
• Fascinating job
– To be imaginative (selection of animals with good lines and better performances gives joy
and satisfaction)
3.Food and Nutrition Potentials
• Source of family food
• Reduction of living expenses
COMMON TERMINOLOGIES IN RUMINANT PRODUCTION
• Abomasum - The fourth compartment or true stomach of ruminants animals.
• Ad libitum - Feeding at pleasure; unlimited or liberal.
• Artificial insemination
– The placing of sperm in the female reproductive tract by methods other than natural means.
• Asiatic Urial
– Breed of wild sheep believed to be ancestors of some present-day domestic breeds.
• Backgrounding
– Growing and feeding of calves from weaning until they are ready to enter the feedlot.
• Bos taurus
– Domestic cattle originating from either the Aurochs or the Celtic Shorthorn.
• Bos indicus
– Humped cattle found in tropical countries.
• Bull - Male bovine of any age which has not been castrated.
• Buck- Male of such species as goats, deer, rabbits, etc.
• Calf- Beef animal under one year of age.
• Calf starter- High energy, high protein concentrate feed for dairy calf.
• Calving- The act of giving birth in cattle.
• Carabeef - The meat of carabao above 2 years of age.
• Carabull - Breeding male carabao of any age.
• Caracalf - Young male or female carabao under one year of age.
• Caracow - Mature female carabao below two years of age that has already dropped a calf.
• Caraheifer - Female carabao below two years of age which has not given birth to a caracalf.
• Carcass- Body of a dead or slaughtered animal.
• Cast down- Throwing down of animal for proper restraining.
• Castration- Surgical operation during which the primary male sex organs are removed.
• Chevon- Meat from goat.
• Colustrum - The milk produced in the first few days after parturition.
• Concentrates- Gains or feeds that are low in crude fiber but having high digestible nutrient content.
• Conception- Pregnancy.
• Copulation- The mating of male and female animals.
• Corpus luteum - Reddish-yellow mass which forms in a ruptured follicle in the ovary of mammals; the
hormone progesterone is released by the corpus luteum.
• Cow- Female bovine which has had one or more calves; or an older female which has not had a calf but has
matured.
• Cowper’s gland - Accessory gland in the male reproductive system that produces a fluid which moves
ahead of the seminal fluid, cleaning and neutralizing the urethra.
• Crisscrossing - Mating crossbred females to a sire belonging to one of the parent breeds of the female; also
called backcrossing.
• Crossbreeding- Dam mating of different breeds.
• Culling- The process of eliminating the unproductive animals from the herd.
• Dairy beef- Steers of dairy breed grown and finished the same as beef steers. It also includes all cows,
heifers, culls and calves including veal calves.
• Dewlap- Hanging fold of skin under the neck of animals especially some breeds of cattle and goats.
• Docile- Easily managed or handled; tamed.
• Dry cow - Non-lactating cow.
• Domesticate- To adapt the behavior of an animal to fit the needs of people.
• Doe- Female of those species in which the male is called a buck; for example goats, deer and rabbits.
• Doeling - Mature female goat that has not yet kidded.
• Draft animal- Animal used for pulling loads or for work.
• Estrus- The time during which the female will accept the male for copulation: also referred to as being “in
heat”.
• Ewe- Female sheep or lamb.
• Feeder- Carabao for fattening at least 2 to 3 years old.
• Feeder calf- Weaned calf which is under one year of age and is sold to be fed for more growth.
• Flushing- Increasing the amount of feed fed to an animal for a short period of time usually just prior to
breeding.
• Gestation- The time during which the animal is pregnant.
• Grading up- The mating of purebred sires to grade females.
• Grecian ibex- Species of wild goat believed to be ancestors of some of today’s domestic breeds.
• Heifers- Sexually mature female cattle that have not yet calved.
• Herd- Group of animals in the farm.
• Inbreeding- Mating of related animals.
• Kid- Young goat still or usually immature.
• Kidding- Same as freshening or parturition.
• Line breeding- Form of inbreeding in which the animals being mated are more distantly related than in
close-breeding and their ancestors can be traced back to one common ancestor.
• Milking doe- Nursing or lactating female goat.
• Moufflons - Breed of wild sheep believed to be ancestors of some present-day domestic breeds.
• Omasum - The third compartment of the ruminant stomach.
• Outcrossing - The mating of animals of different families within the same breed.
• Parturition- Act of giving birth.
• Pasteurized milk- Milk heated at 63ºC for 30 minutes to destroy any harmful organism, while causing
minimal changes in the composition, flavor and nutritive value.
• Pasture- Land with herbage or forage crops for grazing animals.
• Pedigree- Record of the ancestors of an animal.
• Phenotype- A physical appearance of an animal.
• Ram- Male sheep or lamb which has not been castrated.
• Ration- Feed allowed for a given animal for a day or 24 hours whether it is fed at one time or in proportions
at different times.
• Rectal palpatation - A method of pregnancy diagnosis.
• Reticulum- The second compartment of the ruminant stomach.
• Roughage- Feed containing more than 18% crude fiber when dry.
• Rumen- The first and largest compartment of ruminant stomach.
• Ruminant - In ruminants, the process of chewing cuds.
• Rumination- In ruminants, the process of chewing cuds.
• Silage- Forage which has been placed in silos to preserve it and make it palatable.
• Silent Heat- Undesirable characteristic of some carabaos of not manifesting heat openly.
• Soilage - Fresh forage cut to feed animals tethered or kept in sheds.
• Stag- A male animal usually beef or swine which was castrated after reaching sexual maturity and showing
the physical traits of the uncastrated male.
• Steer - Male bovine animal which was castrated before reaching sexual maturity.
• Veal- Meat from veal calves.
• Wean - To separate the calf from the dam.
• Wether - A male sheep or goat that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity.
BREEDS
A. Goat
1. Meat Type
• Native Breeds
– Small, stocky and low set
– Weighs 20-30 kg
– Milk yield 66 kg in 187 day lactation period.
• Boer
– Heavy breed from Africa
– Weighs 60-100 kg
2. Milk Type
• Anglo Nubian
– British breed
– Proud looking graceful goat with pendulous ears and Roman nose
– Weighs 50-80 kg
• Saanen
– Switzerland
– Weighs 50-70 kg
• La Mancha
– US breed
– Weighs 50-80 kg
B.1. Beef Cattle Breeds
• American Brahman
– Gray color is the most common color, but red and darker color also occur
– Originates in India
• Hereford
– Comes from England
• Charolais
– From West-Central France.
• Chianina
– Largest beef breed, males 1500 kg
• Wagyu
– From Japan
B.2. Dairy Cattle Breeds
• Holstein Friesian
– Netherland
• Sahiwal
– Pakistan and India
• Jersey
– U.S.
 C. Carabao/Buffaloe
• Swamp type/ meat type
– With chevron at the ventral side of the neck
Ex.) Phil. Native
• Dairy/ Riverine Type
– Massive and stocky built
– Udder and teats are well-developed
Ex.) Murrah Buffalo, Nili Ravi
D. Sheep
– Mostly meat type
Ex.) Barbados (brown or dirty white in color), Katahdin, Merino
BREEDING SYSTEMS
1. Inbreeding
• It is the mating of two individual animals that are related to each other.
Ex.) father to daughter
brother to sister
mating between cousins
• It is not a bad system but are associated to some effects which oftentimes do not lead to the improvement of
animal
• When they are related, there is a greater possibility that they share common genes. Some of the genes are
recessive and will combine in homozygous state, then they will be expressed in the phenotype of the
individual. These are a lot of recessive genes that are either be detrimental, semi-lethal in their effects.
In general, inbreeding depresses:
1. vigor/ libido
2. fertility
3. size
4. lifetime productivity
2. Outbreeding
• mating of unrelated individual
a. outcrossing/straightcrossing
-breeding of same breed
ex.) Brahman bull X Brahman cow
b. crossbreeding
-two animals of different breed
ex.) Holstein Friesian bull X Brahman Cow

c. Upgrading
- mating a purebred to a native breed
Ex.) Murrah Buffaloe bull X Native Phi. Carabao (Cow)
• Outbreeding – brings hybrid vigor or heterosis
• Heterosis – is a phenomenon wherein the offspring will perform better than their parents.
HOUSING
Factors to consider in site selection
1. Topography of the land/ contour
-rolling is ideal, although level land can be considered provided drainage is not a
problem.
2. Accessibility to transportation
3. Distance from the market
4. Water Supply
PASTURE DEVELOPMENT
• Pasture – a land with herbage or forage
crops for grazing animals.
TYPES:
a. Native – with native vegetation
1. cogon
2. bagokbok
b. Improved – planted with introduced pastures (grasses & legumes)
• IMPROVED
(grasses & legumes)
- Napier grass
- Paragrass
- Signal grass
- Star grass
- Stylosanthes
- Calopogonium
- Centrocema
- Arachis
 MEASUREMENT OF GRAZING
• Stocking rate/carrying capacity
— through animal unit
Example:
Bull = 1.25 a.u.
Cow = 1.0 a.u.
B-calves = .75 a.u.
Heifer = .75 a.u.
Calves = .5 a.u.
• Native Pasture SR/CC
– .3 a.u./ha. 3 has = 1 a.u./cow
• Improved Pasture
– 3 a.u./ha. 1 ha = 3 a.u.
Example:
1 bull – 1.25
10 cows – 10.00
2 bcaloes – 1.5
3 heifers – 2.25
7 calves – 3.50
18.50
x 3
55.50 has native
FENCING
Requirements
1. materials should be strong and durable
2. post must be buried 60 cm below and should
be 1.22 meter above the ground
3. distance of 4 to 5 meters between post is
recommended
4. wire should have the strength to withstand
trampling and charges of animals
COST ESTIMATES
Formula needed:
thickness X width X length
1. No. of board feet =
12
2. No. of Post
a. Open line
total distance
No. of posts = +1
distance between posts
b. Close line
No. of posts = total distance +
distance between posts
(No. of outside corners X 4)
(No. of gates X 4) +
(No. of inside corners X 2)
3. Rolls of Barbed Wire = total distance X no. of strands
length/roll of barbed wire
4.1 Kilograms of Nails = no. of posts X no. of strands
no. of nails per kg
5. Labor Cost = 20-30% of the cost of materials
6. Fencing Cost = summation of cost for post, wire, nails and labor