Why where you buy a cow matters and curbing white flies

HOW DO I MAKE MY OWN ANIMAL FEEDS
I want to formulate my own pig feeds from starters, growers to finisher? Please elaborate on some ingredients like whole maize, pollard, maize germ, sunflower and cotton seed cakes, bone meal, wheat bran, soya meal, coconut and rice germ and the ratios to be used.

Farmer

Ration formulation is the application of scientific concepts of animal digestive system, nutrients digestion and metabolism to inform choice of feed materials and at what level to provide for the specific species and class of animal.

In general, like human beings, animals require a balanced diet, that is, a meal consisting of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Animal feeds are generally classified based on the major nutrients they provide. Energy and protein feed stuffs are further categorised as forages and concentrates depending on digestibility and level of nutrients they provide.

Forages include grasses (energy feed stuff) and legumes (protein feed stuff). Energy concentrates include grains, their milling products and by-products, agro-industrial by-products such as vegetable oil, molasses and brewers waste. Protein concentrates include plant products (oil seed cakes and meals) and animal products such as fish and meat meal, among others.

To cater for minerals and vitamins, premixes are usually added to enrich a feed ration. Additives may also be included in the feeds to increase digestibility, enhance utilisation of other nutrients to add value to products or to enhance the health of an animal.

Pigs are monogastrics (have a simple stomach) which implies they require a high quality ration in terms of nutrients availability to facilitate their desired fast growth rate. To make your own ration, it would be advisable you know the nutritive value, cost of the materials you would wish to use and consult an animal nutritionist for initial and routine advice in feed formulation.

There is no specific formula that one can use to make feeds. The ratios change and the ingredients used differ in quality, source and cost.

Department of Animal Sciences,
Egerton University

I NEED INFORMATION ON VELVET BEANS

I have plenty of the climbing black velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens), also called the magic bean. Please let me know about its;
(a) Soil requirement and best month of planting.
(b)  Market value and avenues.
(c) Preparation into food or beverage.

Mutuanga

Mucuna pruriens is used as an important forage, fallow and green manure crop. It also improves soil fertility as it fixes nitrogen that fertilises the soil. Velvet bean is suitable in intercropping systems where it is grown alongside maize, millet, sorghum or sugarcane.

The crop gives reliable yields in dry farming and low soil fertility conditions that do not allow the profitable cultivation of other legumes. Velvet beans yields range from 10 to 35 tonnes of green material per hectare and are grown from 800 to 3,300kg seeds per hectare depending on the cultivation conditions.

As fodder, animals can enter the sward after the pods have matured. When velvet bean is intended for forage, it may be harvested 90 to 120 days after sowing, when the pods are still green. Because of its dense matted growth, velvet bean is difficult to harvest and cure for hay.

Yields for hay average 2.8 to 3.6 tonnes per hectare. Domestic preparation to decrease the content in anti-nutritional factors of the seeds include boiling in water for one hour, autoclaving for 20 minutes, water-soaking for 48 hours and then boiling for 30 minutes, or soaking the cracked seeds for 24 hours in 4 per cent Ca(OH)2.

Velvet bean can be a good cover crop and green manure because it can establish very quickly without requiring complete soil preparation and once slashed into a thick mulch, the velvet bean foliage protects the soil from erosion and prevents germination of weeds.

However, care should be taken since it has toxicological problems mainly from velvet bean seeds. In coffee growing areas, many soils are poor and acidic, leading to very low yields of less than a kilo per tree.

Velvet bean can be a good alternative plant to restore the soil fertility in coffee farms. Coffee cooperative societies can, thus, be a good market for your produce.

Prof Paul Kimurto is crops expert, Division of Research and Extension, Egerton University.

STRATEGIC PARTNER IN RABBIT FARMING

I am a farmer in Naivasha with 10 acres. I am keeping rabbits on small-scale and would like to increase capacity and turn the project into a profitable venture. I am looking for a willing strategic partner for this business. I am also interested in contract farming. Kindly advice on the two ventures.

Lucy

Rabbits are among the most prolific livestock with numerous advantages. Among the benefits are they do not require expansive areas to keep, need small amounts of feeds compared to other animals and grow fast than poultry.

They are also valued for their white meat which is lean and highly nutritious. To make your enterprise profitable, it would be advisable to seek contracts with hotels that serve rabbit meat and supermarkets that have butcheries especially in urban areas. Again, it would also be of benefit if you venture into value addition before selling meat and other products.

Value addition may include selling prime cuts and packaging. A strategic partner may include but not limited to a feed industry that will formulate rabbit rations specific for your objectives, an animal health and or production professional for guidance and services.

Wangui James Chege
Department of Animal Sciences
Egerton University

FROM WHICH REGION SHOULD I BUY A COW?

I am planning to start a dairy farm in Siaya. What effect would weather conditions have on a dairy cow bought from Mt Kenya region and taken to Siaya?

What are the best breeds you would recommend for maximum milk production and apart from the region, where else would you recommend that I source a cow?

Sospeter

Difference in environmental conditions may either interact negatively with genetics of a particular breed, making the animal susceptible to diseases, or affect availability of feed resources, all of which eventually influence milk production.

Central Kenya is in a cool and wet highland region that sustains dairy production in which the Friesian breed performs well. In addition, the environment allows the area to be self-sufficient in production of pasture, fodder, legumes and energy sources for supplementary feeding.

On the other hand, Siaya is in a sub-humid medium altitude region which ideally receives high and reliable rains with good soils that can support crop and animal production. It is, therefore, possible to keep Friesian cows in Siaya.

However, the challenge you are likely to face is low pasture and fodder production while the energy-giving crops may not be sufficient for maximum productivity.

The sub-humid climate in Siaya is likely to predispose your dairy cattle to diseases such as trypanosomiasis or other tick- borne infections but these can be controlled through stringent vaccination programmes. Besides Friesian, you can consider Ayrshire breed though its production is low.

Sophie Miyumo
Department of Animal Sciences
Egerton University