Husbandry and Breeding Practices of Indigenous Cattle Breed in Borana Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Dire, Golbo, Gomole, Melbe, and Woyama grazing land escapes of Boran Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia, from September 2021 to June 2023 to, assess the traditional farming and breeding practices of the pastoralists in the study area. Field studies and collection of data were carried out through semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informants, observations, and linear body measurements of sample cattle and secondary data collection from different sources. A total of 360 households were randomly selected and interviewed. The majority of respondents reported that the type of farming activity was pastoralist i.e. their livelihood depended almost on livestock production, Even though crop farming practices are an increasing trend. Despite being primarily used for beef, the majority of Borana cattle were used for milk and income purposes. According to this finding, the mean milk yield of Borana cattle was 0.30 ± 0.18 and 1.50 ± 0.78 litter per day in dry and wet seasons respectively. The mean milk output of Borana cattle cattle during the dry and rainy seasons was, respectively, 0.30 ± 0.18 and 1.50 ± 0.78 litter per day. The average age at first calving and calving interval were 5.05 ± 0.24 and 2.25 ± 0.33, respectively, whereas the mean for the age of sexual maturity for males and females was 5.20 ± 0.34 and 4.04 ± 1.80, respectively. The major selection criteria for both breeding female and bull were body size, body conformation, and coat color. According to the majority of respondents, uncontrolled seasonal natural mating was the sort of mating that was practiced. In general, the result of the current finding showed that there was a lower productive and reproductive performance as well as lower for most quantitate measurements from previous work done within the same areas of study. Therefore, traits milk yield growth in males and associated traits like adaptation and reproductive performances need to be incorporated in designing a breeding program for the improvement of Borana cattle.