Slayi Mhlangabezi, Maphosa Viola, Fayemi Olutope Peter, Mapfumo Lizwell
Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2014 Oct;46(7):1209-15. doi: 10.1007/s11250-014-0630-5. Epub 2014 Jul 4.
Rearing of goats under communal farming conditions is characterised by high kid mortality and low weaning percentages. A survey was conducted to determine farmers' perceptions on the causes of kid mortality during summer under the communal farming system in Nkonkobe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This was done by administering questionnaires to a total of 162 respondents in 14 villages around Nkonkobe Local Municipality. The study showed that majority of farmers (75 %) keep flock sizes of less than 10 goats and kids, and this indicates that goat production in Nkonkobe Local Municipality is suppressed. According to the farmers, diseases (89 %), endo-parasites (72 %) and ecto-parasites (68 %) were perceived as the major causes of kid mortality. Other causes reported include starvation (15 %), extreme weather conditions (28 %), abortion (7 %), theft (35 %), diarrhoea (43 %), accidents (10 %) and wounds (9 %). The low number of goats could be attributed to high mortalities. It was also found that all causes reported by farmers played a role in high kid mortality in Nkonkobe Local Municipality. However, the causes which require more emphasis to formulate extension support were tick-borne diseases and parasites. This study provided baseline information on possible causes of kid mortalities in Nkonkobe Local Municipality. There is, however, a need to conduct further studies to determine actual causes of high kid mortalities so as to develop preventive strategies that would minimize kid mortality for good economic returns.
在社区养殖条件下饲养山羊的特点是羔羊死亡率高且断奶率低。在南非东开普省恩孔科比地方市，进行了一项调查，以确定社区养殖系统下农民对夏季羔羊死亡原因的看法。这是通过向恩孔科比地方市周围14个村庄的总共162名受访者发放问卷来完成的。研究表明，大多数农民（75%）饲养的山羊和羔羊数量少于10只，这表明恩孔科比地方市的山羊生产受到抑制。据农民称，疾病（89%）、体内寄生虫（72%）和体外寄生虫（68%）被认为是羔羊死亡的主要原因。报告的其他原因包括饥饿（15%）、极端天气条件（28%）、流产（7%）、盗窃（35%）、腹泻（43%）、事故（10%）和伤口（9%）。山羊数量少可能归因于高死亡率。还发现，农民报告的所有原因在恩孔科比地方市羔羊高死亡率中都起到了作用。然而，需要更加强调的制定推广支持措施的原因是蜱传疾病和寄生虫。这项研究提供了恩孔科比地方市羔羊死亡可能原因的基线信息。然而，有必要进行进一步研究以确定羔羊高死亡率的实际原因，从而制定预防策略，将羔羊死亡率降至最低以获得良好的经济效益。
