Mortality Rate of Bali Cattle (Bos sondaicus) Calves in West Timor, Indonesia
I. G. N. JelantikA, R. CoplandB, M. L. MullikA,
ADepartment of Animal Science, The
BSchool of Animal Studies, The
High calf mortality has been reported to be the most prominent factor responsible for the low productivity of
A survey was carried out to investigate the mortality rate of Bali cattle calves in 4 districts in West Timor, Indonesia
Calf mortality varied significantly from 11.06% in TTU to 23.27% in Belu (Table 1). The overall average calf mortality rate was 17.9%, significantly below the calf mortality rate of 35% reported by Jelantik (2001). The differences in reported calf mortality could be due to a season effect or regional variation. Calf mortality varied from 7.6% in the sub-district of Miommafo Timur (in TTU) to 40% in the sub-district of Kupang Timur (Kupang District), but reached as high as 60% in some villages. 86% of the annual calf mortality occurred at the end of the dry season and beginning of rainy season (from October to December). According to farmers, the dominant factors causing calf death were diseases (53.7%), lack of milk (44.4%) and accidents (1.85%).
Table 1. Mortality rate of
District | Sub district range of mortality | Average District Mortality Rate (%) |
Kupang | 12.6% to 40.5% | 21.96 |
| 7.6% to 16.7% | 13.22 |
| 7.6% to 35.1% | 11.06 |
Belu | 9.8% to 35.1% | 23.27 |
Overall average | | 17.90 |
Probability | | 0.0062 |
These results are based on the opinions of farmers, who may be reluctant to admit calves have died from lack of milk or starvation as suggested by the work of Jelantik (2001). Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the highest calf mortality occurs in the remote areas, which may not have been sampled.
However, a calf mortality of even 18% represents a considerable biological loss. It should be possible to reduce calf mortality to between 5% and 10% with minimal intervention (Jelantik et al 2008), resulting in a considerable improvement in overall productivity of the cattle industry of West Timor, Indonesia.
Acknowledgements. This research was funded by The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, (project LPS/2006/005), and was conducted by a research team from the Centre for Cattle Research and Development, University of Nusa Cendana, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia and The School of Animal Studies, The University of Queensland, Australia.
References
Fattah, S. 1998. The productivity of
Jelantik,
Jelantik, I.G.N., Mullik, M. L., Leo-Penu, C., Jeremias, J., and Copland, R. 2008. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 2008, 48, 1-3 (in press)
SAS 2000. Statistical Analysis System, SAS/ STAT User's guide, SAS Institute Inc.,
Wirdahayati, R. B. and A. T. Bamualim. 1994. Cattle management system in
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar