Lecture notes for Agriculture

Board Review

A. N. del Barrio, Ph.D.

Director, Philippine Carabao
Center at UPLB
PRC Registration No. 0002537
 INTRODUCTION
 the carabao or water
buffalo remains
important in the
Philippine agriculture
because:
 it is an integral part of
crop production system
 it provides major
source of draft power
in almost all farming
operations
 INTRODUCTION
 it also provides
additional income
from the sale of milk
and live animals
either for slaughter
or breeding purposes
 Trends in carabao population
Commercial, 0.2%
 Total population is 3.11 M head of
carabaos in 2006 Backyard, 99.8%
 About 99.8 % belongs to small
hold farmers 3.2
3.1
PCC was established
 the decline (1980-1994) in 3
2.9
population can be attributed Number
to: 6 2.8
(x10 ) 2.7
• low productivity 2.6
2.5
• high extraction rate 2.4
2.3

Year
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2006
• high mortality rate

 the increase in inventory from

1995-onwards can be attributed High slaughter rate
to: High mortality rate
Low productivity
• carabeef importation
High importation of carabeef
 Volume of buffalo meat imports,
in metric tons
70
62.418
60
50
Volume, 40 36.395
metric tons 30 30.733

20
10
0
1997 2001 2005

YEAR
 Buffalo Production Systems
 Based of the number of animals raised
in the farm, the carabao production
system can be classified as:
 Smallholder or backyard system
 99.8% = backyard
 Commercial system
 0.2% = commercial
 Laws concerning the carabao
 RA 7307, otherwise known as the Philippine
Carabao Act of 1992 by Pres. Cory Aquino
 This law ensures Filipino farmers of the following
benefits:
 Avail of quality stocks at reasonable prices,
 Benefit from technology transfer activities on the care
and mgt of carabao and the processing of meat and
milk
 Encourage backyard dairy development in rural areas
 Increase carabao population growth to keep pace with
the growing population
 RA 8485 or Animal Welfare Act was signed
into law in 1997 by President Fidel Ramos
 To protect and promote the welfare of all
animals by supervising and, regulating the
establishment and operations of all facilities
utilized for breeding, maintaining, treating or
training all animals
 This law superseded the EO 626 or the carabao
slaughter ban
 What is Carabao Slaughter Ban (EO 626)

EO No. 8 of 1954 prohibiting the slaughter of

carabao regardless of age, sex, and physical
condition purposely to conserve work animals
- Superseded by other EO’s identifying a specific
term period for slaughter and age limit.
- EO 626 of 1980 locally known as 7-11, allows the
slaughter of male buffalo 7 years old and above and
female carabaos 11 yrs old and above
 How was it lifted?

- thru RA-8485 of 1998 Sec. 6 “Animal Welfare Act” in

1997
 Terminologies
 Carabao – Philippine water buffalo or swamp
carabao
 Cara – prefix connected to the sex, class, and
meat of carabao as introduced by Dr. Valente
Villegas
 Carabeef – meat of carabao
 Carabull – breeding bull at any age
 Caracow – mature female that already given birth
 Caraheifer – female carabao below 2 years of age
and has not yet given birth
 Chevron – two diagonal stripes on the ventral side
of the neck, one near the brisket and the other
near the jaw
 Draft animal – carabao used for work
 Silent heat – estrous behavior of carabao wherein
the animal is physiologically “in heat” but does not
show any visible signs
 Wallow – to roll in mud or water
 Yoke – a piece of arched or curved timber or wood
fitted on the neck of draft carabao
 Types & Breeds of Water Buffalo
 Swamp type - Bubalus
bubalis, 2n = 48
 Breeds available are

the Philippine carabao,

Cambodian and
Chinese buffaloes
 light gray to gray,

white bands below the Philippine carabao

jaw and across the Cambodian buffalo
chest and legs
Chinese buffalo
 Sickle-shaped horns

 1.5 -2 kg of milk/day
 River type - Bubalus bubalis,
2n = 50
 Breeds available in the

Philippines are Indian and

Bulgarian Murrah
Indian Murrah bull
 black or dark gray in color

 with tightly curled or

drooping straight horn

 Dairy type buffalo can

produce 8-10 liters of milk

daily

Bulgarian Murrah bull

 Fabrication
Chuck
Loin
Rib

Brisket Round
Plate
Flank

Wholesale cuts
 Fabrication procedure according to Ibarra (1988)
 Breeding
 The carabao can be bred
throughout the year. Mating
season usually takes place during
the wet season
 Estrous cycle is usually occurs
every 21 days (range from 18-25
days)
 Weight at breeding is about 250
to 300 kg
 Age at breeding is about 2.5 to 3
yrs Natural breeding
 Breeding
 Estrus period (sexual
receptivity) is 18 hours
(range from 5 – 36 hours)
 Ovulation takes place, on
the average, 15 hours
after estrus
 Signs of heat
 The female stands still
when mounted by a
bull or another female
(standing heat). This is
the best sign of estrus
 Signs of heat
 Swelling of the vulva and
reddening of the vaginal
epithelium
 Mucus discharges of
varying viscosity from the
vagina, it is clear and
watery at first and
becomes turbid and sticky
towards the end of estrus
 Signs of heat
 Mounting other animals in the herd
 Animal becomes restless and lacks appetite
 
Not all these signs may be manifested
by a carabao in estrus
 When to breed or inseminate
 It can be done by natural mating or
artificial insemination
 Best time to inseminate is towards the end
of estrus, in the latter 2/3rds of standing
estrus, or within few hours after estrus
 As a rule of thumb, apply a.m. – p.m. rule
which is inseminate in the morning and
repeat in the afternoon or inseminate in the
afternoon and repeat in the morning
 Supplementary Supplementary
Estrus
estrus behavior estrus
behavior
Stands to
be
mounted
(18 hours average)

Smells other cows

Attempts to ride other cows
Vulva moist, red slightly swollen Best time to
inseminate

Day -2(19) -1(20) 0 1

-24 -18 -12 -6 0 6 12 18 24 30
-
Hour

LH
peak

Estrogen

CL regresses: Follicle develops: Ovulation

progesterone low estrogen levels high

Cascade of events around the time of estrus in

cow
 Breeding or mating
 Natural mating…

or artificial insemination
 In AI..
 Put your finger at
the cervix’s front
limit.
 This area is where
the gristly cervical
tissue abruptly
changes into
AI is done by trained technician softer, more
spongy uterine
tissue
The target
 The
inseminator’s
target is the
junction of the
cervix and the
body of the
uterus or utero-
cervical junction
 Gestation period and others
 Average gestation period is 320 days (range
295 to 339 days)
 Age at first calving is about 3 to 4 years old
 Calving interval may range from 18 to 24
months
 Crossbreeding Program

Murrah Buffalo Phil. Carabao

2n=50 2n=48

Phil-Murrah
Crossbred (F1)
2n= 49
 Chromosome no. of F1

Murrah (2n=50)

Phil. Carabao 25 25
(2n=48)
24 49 49

24 49 49
Chromosome no. of F2 (F1xF1)

F1 (2n=49)
Crossbred
F1 (2n=49) 24 25
Crossbred
24 48 49

25 49 50

Genotypic ratio = 1:2:1

 Benefits from crossbreeding
 Increase in milk production
 From 1-1.5 liters to 4-6 liters per day
 Increase in growth rate
 From 250-500 g to 800 to 1,200 g per day
 Meat quality is as good as beef
 Maintain draftability of crossbred
 Due to heavier bodyweight, it can carry or pull
heavier loads
 It can plow as efficient as the PC
 Questions???
 If the swamp buffalo is crossed with riverine
buffalo, what will be the cromosome number of
the offspring?
 All first generation offsprings will have a chrosome no.
of 49
 Inter se mating of F1s resulted to offsprings (F2) with
48, 49 and 50 chromosome numbers having 1:2:1 ratio
 The unbalanced chromosome is due to the fusion
of chromosome 4 and 9
 Are they fertile? - yes
Karyotype of F1(PC x M) crossbred

 Due to unbalanced
chromosome
number it has been
hypothesized that
the F1 could be
sterile or subfertile
 Fusion of chromo-
some nos. 4 and 9
 Findings proved that
both the F1 and F2
were fertile animals
 AI and semen cryopreservation

AI and estrus synchronization

ET and superovulation

Genetic ET and embryo sexing

Improvement
ET and embryo splitting

IVM/IVF

Vitrification of oocyte and embryos

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Semen cryopreservation
Genetic
Oocyte/cryopreservation embryo
Conservation
Somatic cell cryopreservation
PRODUCTION OF HIGH GENETICS WATER BUFFALOES THROUGH
THE USE OF IN VITRO EMBRYO PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
Genetically
superior buffalo
slaughtered at FAL, India
Frozen embryos are Native buffalo
Collect ovaries warmed prior to from farmers
upon slaughter embryo transfer serves as embryo
recipients
Collect immature
oocytes from ovaries Frozen embryos are
and culture for in vitro transported to the Phil
maturation

Sperm-oocyte Embryo transfer of genetically

co-culture for in superior embryo to native
vitro fertilization recipient animals

Genetically superior buffalo

embryo produced in vitro and
Sperm cells from vitrified for cryopreservation
genetically in liquid nitrogen tank
superior buffalo from NDDB, India Superior buffalo calves
for rural farmers
 Warming of vitrified embryo
-Vitrified embryo from LN2
were warmed in sucrose soln
prior to loading to embryo
transfer gun

In vitro produced vitrified embryos

stored in liquid nitrogen

Resultant calves from in vitro

produced vitrified warmed
embryos

Embryo transfer to GLORY- the first born buffalo calf

recipient animal out of in vitro produced vitrified
warmed embryos together with the
mentors, Indian Ambassador to the
Philippines and Mrs. L. Shahani
 Act of Giving Birth
 Normal Duration
 Labor stage - 2-6 hours
 Expulsion of fetus - 0.5 – 3 hours
 Expulsion of placenta - 0.5 – 8 hours

 If the placenta will not be expelled after 8-12

hours, then it called retained placenta and time
to call the veterinarian
 Dystocia- means difficult birth
Signs of parturition
 Presence of milk in
the mammary gland
 Swollen teats

 Presence of thick
mucus
  Water bag appears
first
Water bag

 For normal delivery,

the forelegs appear
Forelegs first, followed by
muzzle resting on the
forefeet
  Expulsion of the
fetus
 Animal in standing
position
 Indication of normal
delivery
Calf covered  Calf is fully covered
with membrane with fetal membrane
  The cow will
Cow cleaning normally remove the
the calf
membrane by eating
it
 If the cow is weak,
it needs our
assistance

Cow eating the

membrane
 Calf is fully groomed
and need to suckle the
colostrum immediately
(within I hr after birth)
 Immunoglobulin level of
colostrum is high until
the 3rd day of milking
 Cut the navel cord
about 2-3 inches from
the base and dip in
iodine solution
Figure 1. Rate of decline of immunoglobulin and total
protein levels in colostral milk

140
120
Ig and TP levels (mg/dl)

Y = 135.41 - 16.13X
100
80 Ig
60 TP

40
Y = 76.41 - 8.9X
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No. of milking
 Weaning
 Under smallholder operation, weaning is 8
to 12 months
 Early weaning can also be done 4-5
months
 In commercial operation, weaning (from
the dam) is done as early as 3-5 days after
calving and allow the calf to drink milk
from the pail
 Other management practices
 Branding and castration can be done at the
age of 6 months or after weaning
 Castration can be done by:
 Slit method – this is done by making incision on
the scrotal sac (more reliable and
recommended)
 Burdizzo pincher or the bloodless method – this
is done by crushing the spermatic cord and
blood vessels and that supply blood to the
testicles
What is Body Condition Score? (BCS)

 The aim of BCS is to keep the health of

animal.
 Closely related to the nutritional status of
the animal.
 Check the degree of accumulation and
mobilization of body nutritional reserves,
mostly body fat under the skin.
 Score : 1 ~ 5 (in dairy), 1 ~ 9 (in beef)
 How to judge BC
1) Observe the anus area
Is there cavity or filled?
(1)
(3) (4) (2)
2) Palpate the hip bone and pin bone
Is the border sharp or rounded?

3) Observe the back bones (5)

Are they clear or not?

4) Palpate the ends of the spine
Are they sharp and covered only by
　 　 skin, or rounded and covered by
fat
　 　 under the skin?

5) Observe and palpate the ribs

Are they individually visible or
covered by muscle and fat?
BCS 1

BCS 3

BCS 5

BCS 2
BCS 4
 Attach importance to BCS
 Too thin :  Too fat :
1) Low milk production 1) Dystocia
2) Unclear of estrus 　　 (difficult
delivery)
after delivery
2) Low milk
3) Retention of production
placenta 3) Reproductive
4) Poor reproduction difficulties
 Number Number
BCS Interval from calving Interval from calving
of of

　 Buffalo to first estrus (days) Buffalo to pregnancy (days)

Relationship between BCS and Reproduction results in WB
2 7 　 81.9±17.2 　 5 　　 120.8±22.6 　

2.5 17 74.4±30.2 11 　　 108.9±31.9 　

3 93 64.2±25.7 　 77 88.6±37.0 　

3.5 121 49.9±29.3 111 76.4±31.9 　

4 101 36.7±15.2 　 89 70.9±25.9 　

4.5 44 57.5±13.7 39 79.2±35.0 　

5 29 63.8±26.5 　 21 85.6±45.3 　

(Source): Baruselli, 1990

 Feeding of ruminants?

Ruminants are
like large drums
for digesting
plant leaves
The amount of feed a ruminant eats is limited
by the time it takes for the feed to break down
in the rumen

Module 2
Feed Requirements
for Ruminants
 Presence of multiple
compartment stomach:
 Rumen or paunch
 Reticulum or honeycomb
 Omasum or manyplies
 Abomasum or true
stomach Rumen Reticulum
Omasum

Abomasum
 Bacteria = 109 –1011
Protozoa =107 – 109

Fibrous forage is broken down only

slowly by the rumen,
so feed intake by the animal is restricted

In the rumen: end product of digestion

Protein – microbial protein, NPN
Carbohydrate – VFAs (acetic, propoinic, butyric acids)
Fats – fatty acids and glycerol then to propionic acid
Module 2
Feed Requirements
for Ruminants
 What kind of feed do
ruminants need?

Ruminants need both

quantity (energy)
and quality (protein)
in their diets
to grow well

Module 2
Feed Requirements
for Ruminants
 How much feed do
ruminants need?

Ruminants need to eat at least

15% of their bodyweight in fresh
forage each day or about 3% of
bodyweight in dry matter

Module 2
Feed Requirements
for Ruminants
 Feeding Systems

All-roughage system
 Forage in the form of

pasture grasses soilage,

silage, hay, etc.
 Crop residues such as

rice straw, corn stover,

sugarcane tops, etc.
 Cut-and-curry system or

grazing/tethering.
 Feeding Systems
Roughage-concentrate system
 Roughage-concentrate ratio

(70:30)
 Addition of concentrate feeds

in the ration e.g. grains

(corn), oil meals (copra
meal), root crops (cassava),
milling and factory by-
products (rice bran)
 Use in backyard, and feedlot

fattening operations.
 Other management practices
 Management practices for raising
carabaos varied from regions,
households and individuals
 Allowing the carabao to wallow is a
common practice
 Provision of housing for buffalo is
not common; if constructed it is
made from locally available
materials
 Trees provide enough shelter for
carabaos
 Housing for feedlot fattening
 In an open
confinement
 Mature feeders = 4
to 4.7 sq. m.
 Yearling = 2.8 to 3.7
sq. m.
 Pen for calves
 Measures 1m x 1.5m
 Elevated, about 1 foot
high
 Provided with hay
bedding
 Provided with waterer
and pail for the
concentrate
 Housing for mature
carabaos
 Each animal is allocated 6
to 8 sq. m. of floor space
 With feeding trough,
waterer and shower
 Animal Health mgt

 Deworming program
 Calves
 At 1 week of age
 At 1 month of age
 At 3 months of age
 Then, every 4-6 months
 Mature animals
 Every 4-6 months
 Dewormers
 Albendazole, 1ml/10kgBW
 Triclabendazole, 1ml/10 kgBW
 Vaccination program (FMD & Hemosep)
 At 3 months of age (initial shot)
 At 4 months of age (booster shot)
 Then, every 6 months
 Tuberculosis test
 Once a year
 California mastitis test (CMT) for milking
animals
 Once a month
 Bloat or tympany – is a distension of
the abdomen due to gas trapped in the
rumen
 Frothy bloat (primary rumen tympany) –
caused by overeating legumes
 Remedy: To puncture on left paralumbar
fossa or hunger hollow using a trocar to
release the gas
Hardware disease or reticuloperitonitis
 Uterine prolapse

 Usually occurs
immediately
after calving,
within 12 hrs
after parturition
 Associated with
the slackness of
the ligament
holding the
reproductive
tract
Animal ID
 Uses eartags, tattoo
or notch
 Horn branding is
also practiced
 Comparative composition of milk

Composition Cattle Carabao

Water 87.28 80.16
Fat 3.80 8.60
Protein 3.30 5.20
sugar 4.90 5.10
Mineral 0.72 0.94
sugar 4.90 5.10
 Nutrients for Carabaos
1. Water. Buffaloes are observed to take in more
water than cattle per day, especially when fed
relatively dry materials.
 300 kg average weight will need about 20-25
l/day up to 35 l at the height of summer.
 lactating animals need up to 45 l daily.
 evaporation losses could amount to 20 l in
summer.
2. Energy.
 the main sources of energy in the diets are
carbohydrates, fats and protein.
 fibers form a big component of carabao diet and
their digestibility ranges from high in succulent and
young plant parts to very low in residues and by-
products.
 concentrate feed as grains, carbohydrates are
readily available, more expensive, not affordable
by small farmers.
 proteins although energy sources, are the most
expensive ones.
 supply nitrogen for microbial protein formation
 dietary proteins that by-pass the rumen fermentation
are effective sources of amino acids
 in situations where there is more need for energy, or
other requirements for protein metabolism are
lacking, then protein is used as energy source
instead.
3. Protein
 Proteins are broken down into nitrogen and
alpha keto acids.
 N is incorporated by bacteria to form microbial
protein which in turn passes through the rest of
the digestive tract; broken down into amino
acids and subsequently absorbed in the small
intestines. Some by-pass protein are similarly
digested in the small intestine.
4. Vitamins and Minerals
 microbial activity in the rumen makes it possible
for the carabao to dispense with some vitamins,
such as B-vitamins, C and K on the diet, since
these are normally synthesized by the
microorganism.
 Vitamins A, D and E should be provided in the
diet or if the feed does not supply enough,
supplemental vitamins are needed.
 mineral elements must be consistently
included in the diet as they are constantly
excreted from the animals body
 there is some level of “recycling” of these
minerals, some are lost through the feces,
urine and sweat and these must be
replenished.
 needed in minute amounts and in their
absence, metabolic activities cannot proceed
 calcium and phosphorus are constituents
of skeletal parts and needed in bigger
amounts.
 other minerals required include sodium,
sulfur, chlorine, potassium, magnesium,
iodine, iron, manganese, zinc, copper,
cobalt and selenium.
 Tuberculosis test
 Once a year
 California mastitis
test
 Once a month