felixzo1:
my question is ,are you sure it is only two years old, if yes, it can add weight if fed well and treated. what is the price tag

felixzo1:
the animals will aclimatise over time, care should be placed on things like accommodation and feeding, most grasses in the South have high water content of about 75% or more, if this grasses are fed to this sheep on arrival, they will purge a lot and may die . there are two solutions, 1 reducing the water content in the grasses by sun drying before feeding. or buying some grasses along with your sheep and gradually introducing them to the grasses s in the South. sheeps are goats in the north are more use to dried grasses especially during the dry period of the year

Maple:
Nice photos. That Friesian bull looks indeed scary. Only a Fleckvieh bull can beat that looks.

BTW, I did inseminated my Brown swiss and AFS crossbreeds with semen from one of those sacary looking friesian bull, they're about 4 months pregnant now. I used sexed jersey Bull semen to inseminate my Simmental & Ayshire crossbreed heifers to minimize birth complications, besides the Jersey is acute breed. As for my Friesian cross, I chose Fleckvieh semen.

GOM2016:
Professionals in the house, at what age do heifers usually get pregnant? what breed of Nigerian cow is best for diary stock?

Profgordons:


There is no fixed age actually, most times body weight is used as this is a variable function of age and management practices of which feeding plays a key role. Also some breeds are slower to develop. Generally speaking, this would be greater than 2.5years in any known pure breed in Nigeria. As for the breed of choice, the white fulani wins it. It matures earlier, good fertility, highly drought and disease resistant. It's udder conformity is not bad as well. I hope this helps. My advice is for you to learn as much as possible before investing. Commercial Dairy is not like raising commercial chickens.

GOM2016:
Professionals in the house, at what age do heifers usually get pregnant? what breed of Nigerian cow is best for diary stock?

felixzo1:
firstly about the AI go to NAPRi Zaria to their ruminant section, you will be able to get a competent person to synchronize your cows and insiminate them. the price is N15000 for both services but since it is a government facility you could get it cheaper

Profgordons:



Many Thanks Bro, I've been there before. I think I'll have to meet someone else the next time I visit.. Their staffs' attitude was somewhat unpleasant and no one seemed to know much about anything. Also is any Nigerian Vet Coy selling sexed semen? Am interested in knowing how Maple got his and what the success rates were for the heifers or cows per service.

felixzo1:
I will give you a contact of someone in NVRI Vom, he is very resourceful, he has done insemination for Intergrated Dairies Vom in the past and has done sexed insemination for Nagari farms.

Profgordons:


That will be great, thanks. I sent an email to your gmail earlier, it should be easy for you to identify.

Thank you.

felixzo1:
on the average the first estrus cycle in our local breeds is observe between 39 to 45 months.( above 3 years) one of the limiting factors affecting cattle production is the late maturity of our local breeds. developed foreign breeds have their first calf by 24 to 30 months . estrus is observed around 15 months.feeding is a serious factor for early maturity especially in foreign cows(Bos Taurus) than local breeds ( Bos indicus) . one of the unique things about our local cows is despite the nomadic life style for herdsmen, they have high fertility and can withstand long trekking ,drought and food shortages. on local breeds for dairy , gudali has a genetic potential for higher milk yields than white fulani. under experimental condition s gudali has out performed white fulani by 2 litres daily, gudali produces 5 litres when well fed,with grasses, water and concentrates (2kg)while white fulani gave 3 litres under same feeding conditions

Profgordons:


There is no fixed age actually, most times body weight is used as this is a variable function of age and management practices of which feeding plays a key role. Also some breeds are slower to develop. Generally speaking, this would be greater than 2.5years in any known pure breed in Nigeria. As for the breed of choice, the white fulani wins it. It matures earlier, good fertility, highly drought and disease resistant. It's udder conformity is not bad as well. I hope this helps. My advice is for you to learn as much as possible before investing. Commercial Dairy is not like raising commercial chickens.

GOM2016:
Good evening my teachers in the house, is it possible to enhance maturity in heifers, as in bringing it forward?

GOM2016:
@profgordons, my teacher am only considering my payback period ooo . on the issue of structure, what are the necessity to put in place before the herds. thank you.

Maple:
@Felix, I have experience in cattle farming, and I have to admit that your post is truly inspiring to those of us that have passion for the business. However, my contribution to this post would be to advice those interested in venturing into cattle farming business to make security of their livestock a #1 priority with an unwavering diligence

I ventured into cattle farming (starting with 6 cows) about two years ago in Abuja using a well gated and fenced 2 plots of land. Unfortunately, when I was close to reaping the fruits of my labor, one night some armed cattle rustlers (thieves) broke into my farm stole all my cattles, along with several others in the neighborhood. Search parties were sent out the following morning, but to no avail. And the police, were useless.

Cattle rustling is now very rampant in Nigeria and even more rampant than highway robbery. It is a major dream killer for many prospective livestock farmers. Cattle rustlers are often well armed, and carry out their nefarious acts with utmost sophistication. using sophisticated weapons and so on. I was not unaware of the menace posed by cattle ruslers before I started, which was why I chose to locate my fenced farm in abuja. Sadly, what I was not aware of, was how daring they can be; to even break into a gated and well fenced farm located around Abuja and in a thriving neighbourhood, says alot. It means no location is safe from these people. However, you can secure your farm in a manner that would make their nefarious task very very difficult and expensive for them to carry-out.

Despite my unfortunate experience, my passion for cattle farming business remains unshaken, because it is a very lucrative business when successfully run. I have learned some important lessons with my experience and which I like to share:

1) Construct a very strong iron boulder fencing for your livestocks inside your farm, do so, even if your farm is already fenced. Double fencing means double risk for would-be thieves. Construct the iron fencing in a manner such that once you placed your livestock inside, it would be very hard for them to be taken out of it. Also, repair any lapses you may find in your fence or gate. Put metal caps on your fence & gates interlocks, so it makes it harder to break the locks. Any extra break-in time , is bad omen for would-be thieves.

2) Be wary of strangers around your farm location , Any new face loitering around your farm should be a warning sign. If they dont have their insider/spy who already knows your farm, livestock/Cattle rustlers spend a great amount of time (days & weeks) surveying/spying a farm, before they strike.

3) Be wary of who you invite into your farm, from the common farm help to the professional veterinarian. Some croocks among veterinarians (not to even mention farm help/workers) are known to profit by passing their client's farm herd infos, routines & security details to livestock/cattle rustlers, so beware.

4) It is very important that you have dogs in your farms. The commotion dogs create from their barking at intruders would significantly deter cattle rustlers from striking. The night cattle rustlers strucked my farm, they attempted to steal cows from another neighbourhood not far from my farm location, fortunately, that farm had dogs. Their constant barkings woke the people in the area, and the thieves fled.

5) keep your farm routines to yourself and to those who you can trust, and try not to create a consistent farm visitation time for yourself. Thus, be less predictable even to your farm workers, should u decide to hire any.

6) Finally, if you can afford it, hire a security guard, or build a dwelling place in your farm, and have someone live their. The presence of a person or people living inside your farm can dissuade would-be thieves.


Hi, so sorry for ur loss. I hope u have been able to recover from it. I am really interested in cattle rearing and I live in abuja. Iwant to know if u still av a farm here and also can we meet and discuss.
I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks

fiddzy:
Good day sir mr maple scrooling through your thread i came across your picture on hydroponic fodder lab pls sir i have some questions. My questions are these 1.how much is the cost of each tray because where i stay here the fabricator told me 800 and i feel he is trying to rip me off 2.do you also use red sorghum varieties because from what i learned white sorghum variety is used . Pls anyone in the house can also share ideas thanks.

Maple:
@akinodeo, you could shoot me a pm via tjumar3@gmail.com

bugativeron:
I have got 8pcs of rams & goats to sell in Ibadan

Maple:


1. Fabricator price would depend on your location. N800/tray is a reasonable price within FCT.
2. Yes, you can use red sorghum too. Though its not widely established, however some believe that poultry & pigs utilize more energy from white sorghum than red sorghum, even though their starch contents are somewhat similar. As for cattle, this is of no concern.