Ankole Longhorn cattle

Socio-cultural uses

Our status is rated by the number and beauty of the cattle we possess. The Longhorn cattle function as dowry, are used to strengthen friendship and resolve conflicts and for cleansing sins. Their hides are used for making clothes, mats and bedding, their horns are used for making beads, trumpets and violins. Their urine is used for cleaning containers for churning milk and keeping yogurt. Their tasty milk has a high fat content and the tender meat is low in cholesterol. Ghee is served as a special sauce and the Bahima used to make bread and gravy from its blood.

Economic uses

Our cattle live long lives and rarely fall ill. They are resistant to hunger and drought and are a source of income as they produce good dung for biogas. Their maintenance costs us little: they survive on only grass and water under any conditions and can be owned and managed even by poor herders. Income from selling cattle allows us to pay for our children’s school fees.

Agricultural uses

Dung is used as manure for grass and plantations.

Medicinal uses

A mixture of Ankole Longhorn milk and urine is used to treat stomach pains, fever and coughs. Dung is used for making casts for broken bones, for treating measles and stopping the lactation of women who have lost a baby. The horns are used to make a medicine for reducing pain and for giving enemas. The boiled hooves are a source of calcium and can be used to reduce joint pains.

Boran

Kenyan ranchers developed the Boran from the cattle of the Borana people of southern Ethiopia. The breed was found in southern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and southwestern Somalia. The Boran belongs to the East African Shorthorned Zebu type and is raised primarily for meat production.

The Boran is a medium-size Bos indicus breed that shows high resistance to heat, ticks, and eye diseases. It can endure scarcity of water and can live on low quality feed.

Borans are highly fertile and mature earlier than most other Bos indicus breeds, and are noted for their docility.

They are usually white or grey but are also found in red or pied. Bulls often displaying black points.

Fresian

The modern Friesian is pre-eminently a grazing animal, well able to sustain itself over many lactations, on both low lying and upland grassland, being developed by selective breeding over the last 100 years. As the Friesian is mainly a dairy breed, surplus male animals are highly regarded, as they are producers of high quality lean meat, whether crossed with a beef breed or not. Beef cross heifers have long been sought after as the ideal suckler dam replacement.

Characteristics

The Friesian can be one of two coat colour types, white with black patches (the common colour) or white with red patches. They are very similar in size and confirmation to the Holstein. The Friesian is a renowned dairy breed with some outstanding examples of the breed having 12 to 15 lactations to their credit, emphasising their inherent natural fecundity. In response to demand, protein percentages have been raised across the breed and herd protein levels of 3.4% to 3.5% are not uncommon.

One of the great strengths of the British Friesian is the ability of the male calf to finish and grade satisfactorily, either in intensive systems, or as steers, extensively.

They are also known for their:

• Versatility
• Quality milk
• High lifetime yields
• High quality lean meat