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Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613465109069824 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Webb, E.C. (Edward Cottington) |
| author_browse | Webb, E.C. (Edward Cottington) |
| author_facet | Webb, E.C. (Edward Cottington) |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53514 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:34.553Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53514 Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa Webb, E.C. (Edward Cottington) mmaime@nwpg.gov.za McCrindle, Cheryl Myra Ethelwyn Maime, Masethe Jan UCTD Calving percentage Fertility Infectious diseases Semen Ixodid ticks Breeding soundness examination Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. A low calving rate (ranging from 20% to 40%) was recorded by state veterinary officials in 10 villages in the Moretele Local Municipal District in 2011. A previous study in the same area conducted in 2003 suggested that the probable cause of the low calving rate was bull infertility. However, only 13 bulls were examined in that study. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the fertility of a larger sample of communal bulls (n=50) to assess their fertility and the perceptions of farmers about bull fertility. A participatory planning workshop was held to inform farmers from Moretele Municipal District about the project and 77 farmers agreed to participate in this study. The criteria for assessing bull fertility included testing for infectious diseases (brucella abortus, campylobacter fetus and trichomonas fetus), measuring scrotal circumference as well as scrotal and preputial tick damage. The electro-ejaculator method was used to collect semen from bulls throughout the study and the Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis system was used to measure total, progressive and non-progressive motility. Slides stained with eosin and nigrosin were examined microscopically for semen morphology. In herds studied, the number of cows and number of calves born over the study period (12 months) were recorded during farm visits, to calculate calving percentage. Data on farmer demographics and opinions were obtained using structured interviews. Two bulls tested positive for brucellosis and ten others were excluded from the project due to various reasons. One was suspicious for T fetus. The average calving percentage of herds studied was 35.86%. The overall percentage motility of bull semen was 78.73 ± 25.34 %, but percentage progressive motility was very low, with an average of 27.39 ± 15.81 %. Percentage non-progressive motility was higher at 51.34 ± 19.92 %. Only 50.62 ± 35.80 % of the spermatozoa were morphologically normal. Tick damage to the scrotum and prepuce was observed in 92% of the bulls tested. Scrotal circumference showed an overall mean of 37.63 ± 3.42 cm and the overall mean age of the same bulls observed was 3.88 ± 0.99 years. About 13% of the bulls did not reach the minimum scrotal circumference threshold of 34 cm which is recommended at that specific age. Demographic data indicated that farmers were mostly interested in physical conformation of the bulls (n = 9)18.4% and their reproductive performance (n = 15, 30.6%). When purchasing a bull, no farmers asked for breeding soundness evaluation or proof that the bull was negative for B. abortus, T. fetus or C. fetus. It was concluded that most of the bulls (92%) were infertile based on results showing that semen was of poor quality and lack of structural soundness, possibly due to tick damage. It is recommended that extension campaigns be aimed at disseminating information about pre-purchase examination of bulls, disease status and spot treatment of genital areas with an appropriate acaracides, to prevent tick damage to the scrotum and prepuce. bs2026 Animal and Wildlife Sciences MSc Unrestricted SDG-01: No poverty SDG-02: Zero hunger SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth 2016-07-01T10:33:14Z 2016-07-01T10:33:14Z 2016-04-15 2015 Dissertation Maime, MJ 2016, Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa, MSc Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53514> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53514 en © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Calving percentage Fertility Infectious diseases Semen Ixodid ticks Breeding soundness examination Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title | Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title_full | Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title_short | Evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in Moretele district Northwest Province in South Africa |
| title_sort | evaluation of the fertility of communal bulls in moretele district northwest province in south africa |
| topic | UCTD Calving percentage Fertility Infectious diseases Semen Ixodid ticks Breeding soundness examination Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02 Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53514 |