Comparison of nutritional status of domestic and nomadic goats in the suburbs of Djibouti City

Abstract

In recent years, the settlement of nomads has been promoted in the Republic of Djibouti, and the number of farmer who settle and run livestock is increasing. However, many livestock feeds that can be obtained in the suburbs of cities where humans settle are closer to human diets than those that natural plants. Therefore, this survey was conducted with the aim of comparing the nutritional status of goats owned by nomads in the Djibouti with those owned by settled farmers and collecting insights into the nutritional supply of natural forage plants in the Djibouti.

The survey was conducted on dairy farmers in Ambuli near the capital and nomads grazing around Ali Sabieh in the second city. Dairy farmers raise around 50 dairy cows, 11 camels, 130 goats, and 50 sheep. They own 2-3 ha of pasture, and have shallow wells and 1000 L water storage tanks as water sources. Nomad was a breeding scale of 30 goats, 6 sheep, 3 donkeys, and 1 camel. The moving distance is 10 km square. In this survey, among the domestic animals, the survey items conducted on breeding female goats were age, body length, chest circumference, body height, body weight, blood glucose level, and blood β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA).

As a result of this survey, the goats raised by Nomad had a small body size and a light weight for their age. However, the ratio of waist circumference to body weight is high, and it is inferred that the lumen is well developed for the physique. In addition, there is not much difference in blood glucose level between Nomad and dairy farmers, and it is presumed that the nutritional status of Nomad goats is not bad. Furthermore, for BHBA, the value of nomad goats was high, suggesting that the organic acid produced in the lumen efficiently supplies energy. From the above points, it was considered that the goats bred by Nomad were less produced but not in poor nutritional status than the goats bred by dairy farmers.