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Item Evaluation of factors affecting productivity and profitability of Lohmann Brown layers in a semi-arid environment(2020) Samkange, Alaster; Kandiwa, Erick; Mushonga, Borden; Amunyela, Selma A.; Bishi, Alec S.; Charamba, Vonai; Mbiri, PricillaA prospective 27-week study investigated the effect of age, ambient temperature, humidity and photoperiod on egg weight and production in Lohmann Brown layers, and thus the profitability of the egg-producing enterprise at a farm in central Namibia, designated Farm A. Overall, age of birds, average temperature, humidity and photoperiod were strongly correlated with mean egg weight (r=0.84, 0.7, -0.51 and 0.7, respectively; p<0.001) but there was a weaker correlation of age, temperature, humidity and photoperiod to the number of eggs/bird (r=0.49, 0.41, -0.43 and 0.34, respectively). Increase in the age of birds, temperature and photoperiod resulted in a significant increase in mean egg weight. A decrease in humidity, however, resulted in a significant increase in mean egg weight. Labour and feed costs contributed 51% and 14%, respectively, to the overall costs of the enterprise. Egg sales contributed the bulk of the income at 88%, which was followed by the sale of spent layers at 12%.The study concluded that Lohmann Brown layers performed well in the semi-arid conditions of central Namibia provided that extreme environmental conditions are avoided. The high input costs, especially labour and feed, were the main constraints to profitability and finding ways to reducing these costs is key to increasing profitability. Increasing the size of the flock is one practical way of offsetting the high labour costs.Item Assessment of normal mortalities, biosecurity and welfare of Lohmann Brown layers at a farm in central Namibia(2020) Samkange, Alaster; Mushonga, Borden; Kandiwa, Erick; Kambode, Josephina Ndamonako; Mbiri, Pricilla; Gorejena, Brighton; Madzingira, OscarObjective: The current study investigated the causes of mortality and evaluated the biosecurity situation and welfare conditions of Lohmann Brown layer chickens reared for 12 months, from point-of-lay, at farm A in central Namibia. Materials and Methods: Necropsies, standard biosecurity appraisal and on-farm welfare assessment tools were used. A standard protocol was used for post-mortem examinations of dead birds. The Chi-square test was used for analysis of causes of mortality whilst linear regression was used for analysis of the temporal distribution of mortality. Results: The overall mortality rate throughout the study period was 18.7% (N = 1000). There was a very strong negative correlation between duration of birds in lay and proportion of live birds [r (162) = 0.97, p<0.05]. The proportion of live birds decreased by an average of 2.98% for every 50 days of the laying period. Overall, the proportional mortalities due to undetermined causes (31.6%) were greater than those due to inflammatory conditions, trauma, cannibalism and retained eggs (20.9,19.3,16.6 and 11.8% respectively, p<0.05). Conclusion: The high mortality rates reported in this study have an obvious negative impact on productivity and thus there is a need to improve the biosecurity and welfare conditions for these layers in order to improve profitability.Item African swine fever outbreak at a farm in central Namibia(2019) Samkange, Alaster; Mushonga, Borden; Mudimba, Douglas; Chiwome, Bernard; Jago, Mark; Kandiwa, Erick; Bishi, Alec S.; Molini, UmbertoAn outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) occurred at a farm in central Namibia in March 2018. Fourteen pigs died out of a herd of 59 animals over a period of 16 days between the first and sixteenth of March 2018. The clinical signs observed included sternal recumbency, fever, weakness, pain and reluctance to move, hyperemia of the skin and anorexia, followed by death. Necropsy findings included large amounts of unclotted blood in the pleural and peritoneal cavities, diffuse carcass congestion, splenomegaly, consolidation of both lungs, hemorrhagic and frothy airways and trachea, hepatomegaly and congestion, congestion of the gastric mucosa, enlarged and congested kidneys, ecchymotic epicardial, and endocardial hemorrhages, and very enlarged and congested urinary bladder. All the remaining pigs were euthanized, burned, and buried under state veterinary supervision. The authors concluded that the outbreak resulted from indirect transmission of the ASF virus due to lapses in biosecurity measures.Item Demographics, distribution, ownership and naming patterns of pets presented to a mobile clinic for sterilisation in Namibia(2020) Baines, Ian John; Baines, Sharon; Mushonga, Borden; Gorejena, Brighton; Mbiri, Pricilla; Samkange, Alaster; Kandiwa, Erick; Madzingira, OscarThis study analysed the demographics, spatial distribution, ownership and naming patterns of dogs and cats presented to the University of Namibia’s veterinary mobile clinic for sterilisation from small underserved towns around Namibia. The proportional distribution of pets was determined based on species, sex, age, owner gender, town of origin and naming categories. Overall, 84.4% (n = 2909) of the animals presented for sterilisation were dogs and the remainder were cats (15.6%, n = 539). Of the dogs presented for sterilisation, 51.9% (n = 1509) were male and 48.1% (n = 1400) were female. In cats, 51.4% (n = 277) were male, whilst 48.6% (n = 262) were female. Overall, the majority of pets (68.2%) were presented for sterilisation from urban areas than rural areas (31.8%). About 49.8% of men and 24.2% of women that presented pets for sterilisation came from urban areas, whilst 20.1% of the women and 11.7% of the men that presented pets for sterilisation were from rural areas. Of all the pets presented for sterilisation, the majority were male-owned (64%, n = 2206). Pets were mainly presented for sterilisation at < 2 years (41.1%), 2 to < 4 years (32.4%) and 4 to < 6 years (15.4%). The naming of pets was mainly after people (42.4%), circumstances (20.6%) and appearance (15.5%). This community engagement exercise yielded valuable demographic data indicating that pet origin, sex and species and owner gender were important factors in determining the voluntary presentation of pets for sterilisation in the study area.Item Conception rates and calving intervals of different beef breeds at a farm in the semi-arid region of Namibia(2019) Samkange, Alaster; Kandiwa, Erick; Mushonga, Borden; Bishi, Alec S.; Muradzikwa, Erdwin N.; Madzingira, OscarA retrospective study from 2004 to 2017 investigated the effect of bull age, cow age and breed on conception rates, and calving intervals of beef cattle at Neudamm farm, Khomas region, Namibia. Bulls ranging from 4 to 14 years of age were used to breed cows up to 17 years of age. A total of 1804 pregnancies were diagnosed in Afrikaner (81.8%), Nguni (14.1%), and Simmental (4.1%) cows. The overall conception rate of beef cattle during the study period was 71.7 ± 9.5%. The overall conception rate of the Nguni cows (78.3%) was significantly higher than that of the Afrikaner (70.9%) and the Simmental cows (64.9%) (p < 0.05). The age of sires had no effect on overall conception rate in all three breeds (p > 0.05). Afrikaner dams more than 10 years old had the least rate of conception (60.4%, p < 0.05) within that breed category. Nguni dams between four to 10 years had the greatest conception rate (86.5%, p < 0.05). Age of dams had no effect on conception rates in Simmental cattle (p > 0.05). The overall mean length of all calving intervals in the Nguni cows (366 ± 35 days) was significantly shorter than those of the Afrikaner cows (487 ± 62 days) and the Simmental cows (484 ± 110 days) (p < 0.05). The 2013 breeding season produced the highest overall conception rates (~ 85%), and the 2007 breeding season produced the lowest overall conception rate (~ 51%). From a fertility point of view, the Nguni breed seemed best suited for the semi-arid conditions which are prevalent in most of Namibia.Item Bovine rumen impaction caused by ingestion of Gonometa postica cocoons in eastern-central Namibia(2019) Samkange, Alaster; Hausiku, Magrecia; Kandiwa, Erick; Mbiri, Pricilla; Muradzikwa, Erdwin N.; Mushonga, BordenCases of rumen impaction caused by ingestion of Gonometa postica cocoons occurred at a farm in eastern-central Namibia. Ten animals died on the farm over the previous 5 months. Rumenotomies were successfully performed on three affected animals. The authors were of the opinion that the affected animals ingested the cocoons around the time of weaning, which then resulted in tangled masses that gradually stretched and enlarged because of entrapment of ingesta, eventually causing impaction of the rumen in the young adult animals. These are the first reported cases of ruminal impaction attributable to G. postica cocoon ingestion in Namibia.Item Relationship of age and live weight to linear body traits in female intensively reared Boschveld chicken in Namibia(2019) Petrus, Ndilokelwa P.; Kangootui, K.; Kandiwa, Erick; Madzingira, Oscar; Mushonga, BordenThe aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between linear body measurement and age and body weight in indigenous female chickens of the Boschveld breed in Namibia. Thirty-five chickens were reared from day old to 18 weeks of age at the university farm. Neck length, shank length, comb length, keel length, chest length, chest girth, wing length, beak length and body length.Item Assessing the potential of using nylon bags in batch analysis of crude fibre and ether extract of livestock feeds(OMICS Group, 2012) Ncube, S.; Mpofu, I.The objective of this study was to determine the potential of laboratory batch analysis and optimum number of bags to be used. Katambora, veld hay and maize stover were analyzed for Crude Fibre (CF) and Ether Extract (EE) using the proximate analysis procedure but with samples bagged in nylon bags of pore size 60 micron. A completely randomized block design was used with Treatment 1 as the control, Treatment 2 with 1 bagged sample, Treatment 3 with 2 bagged samples, Treatment 4 with 3 bagged samples and Treatment 5 with 4 bagged samples. Results showed that there is a potential to use nylon bags in CF and EE analysis on katambora, veld hay and maize stover. There was an interaction between block and treatment. EE analysis on Katambora showed no significant difference among all treatments but for maize stover and veld hay, treatment 4 and 5 were significantly different from all the other treatments. In CF analysis trial, treatment 2 and 3 did not differ significantly from the control, while treatment 4 and 5 were significantly different from the control for all the diets. It was concluded that there is a potential to do batch analysis with optimum number varying between forage type and component of analysis. The proposed batch analysis is more sensitive with EE than with CF analysis.Item An assessment of the role of research and extension services for small-scale crop farmers in North-Central Namibia(2012) Thomas, BenisiuThe aim of this study was to assess agricultural research and extension services that are aimed at improving rural household livelihoods in the changing environment in the north-Central Regions of Namibia. The study reviewed various secondary sources or publications and unpublished sources comprising technical reports, books, review papers and maps, all of which were deemed useful based on the role of agricultural research and extension services in north-Central Namibia. The presentations of the results were illustrated by examples from the area of crop production including seed multiplication, animal draught power and crop improvement schemes. The study found sufficient evidence that some research-extension strategies being employed are moderately successful. The main challenge, however, remains to strengthen national farming research or extension systems with an appropriate institutional and coordinating structure, focusing on decentralised participatory and adaptive research and on farm trials.Item Identifying learning styles and technology acceptance of agriculture students: an effort to improve educational effectiveness(Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, 2012) Murphrey, T.P.; Kalundu, S.K.; Jones, W.A.Item Coping with Climate Change Challenges by Feeding Indigenous Chickens under Intensive Systems in Namibia(OMICS Group, 2012) Petrus, Ndilokelwa P.; Mpofu, I.; Shikongo-Nambambi, Martha N.Floods that have hit Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) of Namibia in recent year pose feeding and other challenges to indigenous chicken. Indigenous chickens constitute a major source of livelihoods among rural farmers. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of intensive feeding of high and low plane of protein nutrition to indigenous chickens as one way of coping with environmental challenges caused by annual floods in the NCAs. Adequacy of protein inclusion in the diet is a viable option for improving the growth of small rural owned chickens. Two hundred and four indigenous chickens were subjected to two levels of plane of nutrition namely high and low plane of protein nutrition. At the low level, the protein was 18% in the 1-8 week age group, 16% in 9-22 week age group and 12% in the 23-36 week age. Feeding at high plane of protein nutrition was as follows; 23% in the 0-8 week age group, 20% in the 9-22 week age group and 16% in the 23-36 week age group. The control group was fed according to the Namibian poultry industry standards. The results showed significant and highest responses between the treatments in weeks 1-8 of age. Between 9-22 weeks, chicken mortality lowest at 5.6% in the high plane of nutrition group compared to 14.4% in the low plane of nutrition. The birds in control group consumed significantly (P<0.05) less feed than those fed with the high and low protein diet. Intensive feeding has a potential of alleviating nutritional stress of indigenous chickens under adverse environmental conditions. Farmers however, have to respond by cropping more intensively for the feed resources to be available.