NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 10 (27th November 2022)

By SEKURU

NOTE: Thank you to the readers of these newsletters and those who have discussed or debated some of the issues. This is healthy and what I originally intended. I am by no means an expert but just an ordinary farmer who loves his cattle and I have my own ideas and way of doing things, which will not necessarily be the same as those of others and are not necessarily any better.

Please forgive me if my topics are a bit repetitive at times, some are very important in my mind.

Every one of us has something to learn from others. If these newsletters achieve that, I am happy.

ADAPTATION, MONTHLY WEIGHING AND IDENTIFICATION.

The late Dr Hans van de Pypekamp, renowned Veterinarian and top Nguni breeder from South Africa stated that: “The functional efficiency of an animal may be defined as the successful adaptation to a specific environment in which the animal is achieving a high reproductive rate. A high reproductive rate is the surest indication that a bull has adapted to its environment”.

Of course, he was describing the typical Nguni and our Nkone have shown that they too, fit this description perfectly. Within a month of acquiring and moving our original herd to a very different environment and adjusting from living for many generations in Matabeleland to the hyparrhenia grassland of the Highveld, we realised just how adaptable they are. They just put their heads down, ate what was available and lost no condition. Our imported stud bulls, from Dr van de Pypekamp’s son, Gerrit, came from an even more contrasting environment, also never missed a beat on being translocated. They thrived. Our subsequent excellent calving and weaning rates illustrate just how well adapted they are to many different conditions and environments – truly an extremely functionally efficient breed.

We weigh all cattle monthly and I have mentioned before just how valuable this information is to us in our herd management. Make sure your scale is well calibrated and maintained, and today’s digital scales are accurate. The information you get from your scale gives you the true story and is immensely useful. I find that putting the data into chart form gives one instant graphic easily readable information. We make a separate chart for each class and age covering an 18-month period. This indicates monthly and seasonal weight changes, gain per day and condition score. It also indicates bulling, calving and weaning events. This, with weight and condition information, all helps to fine tune management. Of course, the old adage “the eye of the beholder fattens the beast” still applies, and the scale without hands-on practical management, some dung between the toes, and a lot of eyeballing, would be insufficient. This information on weights and gains confirms, again and again, just how adaptable and functionally efficient our Nkone cattle are.

The accompanying charts for our breeding cows over a few years illustrate very clearly, the vital synchronisation of rainfall, the best grazing, bulling, calving and weaning to achieve optimum production. It is essential to plan your calving and bulling around the best grazing conditions in an average rainfall year. Find the best time for your conditions and management and stick to it! I am of the strong opinion that happy, productive cows in an optimum fixed bulling and calving season at the best times, fall into an annual cyclic rhythm and retain their productivity, even in a sub-standard grazing year.

Weigh date this year has coincided with the half-way mark (21 days) of our calving season. Cows always lose a lot of weight, NOT necessarily body condition, when they calve. Calving time is also often when cows are chasing the new green grass and are not gaining much anyway. I captured data from 24 cows that had calved within the 18 days before weigh date. The 24 cows lost an average of 42,7 kgs due to calving. With 60% of our calves calving in the first 21 days of calving, the effect of the weight loss can be quite dramatic when looking at weight records. Fortunately, this year, and hopefully, most years, our cows are now on good green grazing at maximum protein content and will make rapid weight gains over the next few months. They can regain the lost weight very easily over the next six weeks. What is important is that they have recovered that weight, and more, before the next bulling, and are raising a good calf at the same time.

Measuring and recording of cattle, particularly in a stud herd is important and has to be done. But I feel too much time and input can be put into collecting all sorts of superfluous data and I wonder if sometimes we go over the top on this, collecting a lot of useless information with no particular relevance to meaningful increased production? There has to be a happy medium of only collecting data of the important traits and any other information necessary to produce highly productive cattle, as long as there is also a large dose of practical stockmanship included.

The recent purchase of our new stud bulls shows where measured data is very important in order to choose the bull that excels in important traits which you want to bring into your herd. The pedigree shows the animals ancestry, purity and degree of inbreeding and is very important. The Estimated Breeding Values (EBV) and indexes allow you to choose the strengths and weaknesses in the different traits which you might want from the bull. With sufficient data, EBV’s can give an accurate reflection of what the bull will achieve in your herd, correcting weaknesses and expanding on desirable traits.

Pedigree breeders have to individually identify their cattle using a method of herd identity (HDL) and individual (ID) numbering stipulated by the Zimbabwe Herd Book and Breed Society. This information is also necessary of course, for any performance recording. The following is the system that we use. We do not brand. The best ear tags and ink of these days are very long lasting and as long as supervision is up to scratch and the occasional lost ear tag replaced, the system is good and easy to read. Each animal’s individual number is duplicated on the back of both tags. There is always the question of permanent marking and theft brought up. Stock theft is prevalent these days but the thieves are no longer the unsophisticated people of years gone past, who were often arrested on evidence of brands or earmarks. Today’s stock thieves will destroy every bit of evidence they find or simply take the meat, leaving the skin and head behind so nothing can be proved. Perhaps micro chipping will help? I think most of the stock theft in the more populated areas is for meat only and not live animals, but that still happens in more remote areas. And even there, ear notches will be cut out and brands smudged or mutilated.

A few years back we had 7 cattle stolen from our project herd at Mahenye and tracks led into nearby Mozambique. Our herdsmen, all excellent trackers, got onto tracks early in the morning and it was easier for them when making enquiries from locals as they followed up because the locals had noticed our bright yellow tags in the ears, something that they had never seen before and attracted their attention. After that day and another night our herdsmen caught up with the cattle, held in a makeshift kraal and the thieves ran away, not to be seen again. Here is an unusual case where the tags helped recover the cattle and the thieves did not think to cut the ear tags out or realised that they were being hotly pursued and did not have time.

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

Annual monthly weighing showing weight, ADG and CS and bulling and calving.

Comparing ADG averages with this year.

Our tagging system.

Showing tagging system.

Monthly weighing.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 9 (20th November 2022)

By SEKURU

NOTE: Thank you to the readers of these newsletters and those who have discussed or debated some of the issues. This is healthy and what I originally intended. I am by no means an expert but just an ordinary farmer who loves his cattle and I have my own ideas and way of doing things, which will not necessarily be the same as those of others and are not necessarily any better.

Please forgive me if my topics are a bit repetitive at times, some are very important in my mind.

Every one of us has something to learn from others. If these newsletters achieve that, I am happy.

DUNG BEETLES, OXPECKERS AND BEES.

I was again, one evening recently, fascinated by watching Dung Beetles working on fresh cow dung, breaking it up and making their balls and rolling them away to bury and lay their eggs inside. Their comparative strength and determination are incredible. African Dung Beetles navigate and orientate themselves by the Milky Way at night. Many of us grew up reading that lovely book “Jock of the Bushveld” by Percy Fitzpatrick and the first edition is distinguished by having three of E. Caldwell’s delightful drawings mistakenly depicting a Dung Beetle pushing a dungball with the front legs rather than the back legs!

Now that another rainy season has started the tick and worm burdens in our cattle increase and we have to control these parasites; we have to use some pretty lethal chemicals to varying degrees, depending on our system, to achieve control. Most of us these days are aware of the importance of Dung Beetles, Bees and Oxpeckers to the well-being and health of our environment generally and our farming enterprises in particular. Many of our acaricides were (and some still are), toxic to these important organisms. Some of our anthelmintics that we use for internal parasites are still toxic to Dung Beetles. Obviously, we all strive to minimise the amount of chemicals we use and the frequency of application because of the cost factor. But also, to REDUCE the build-up of resistance to chemicals in both external and internal parasites and to INCREASE the resistance in our cattle to the parasites and the effects of their infestation. Thirdly to BUILD UP numbers of importantly useful animals such as Oxpeckers, Dung Beetles and Bees. This is difficult to always achieve in some areas due to many factors. We should all do our utmost to use only non-toxic, environment-friendly chemicals for our livestock. Check the label and ask your supplier if the product is non-toxic. Always dispose of your chemical containers very carefully, preferably by burning and burying. Most of the acaracides and some of the anthelmintics we use are highly toxic to fish, do not dispose of them in open water, waterways or drainage ditches.

Australia, with its large number of non-indigenous livestock which were imported there, had no indigenous Dung Beetles to break down and disperse more than 80 million tonnes of dung per year produced by millions of introduced livestock. Their native Dung Beetles were adapted to marsupials’ dung and not cattle. They had to import Dung Beetles, some from Africa, to solve what would have become a major problem, leaving vast tracts of grazing land dead and useless. Look carefully at your grazing and it will be very apparent that cattle will not graze a tuft of grass on which a pat of dung has landed and will only do so sometime later. Not only can grazing become unpalatable from a build-up of dung, but grass can also be smothered and die off if there is enough dung build up. The Dung Beetle of course, disperses and buries the dung pat, cleaning up and aerating the soil and taking nutrients deep down into the pasture roots. They also help to control flies and worms which breed in the dung.

I can remember when we used Arsenical and later, Toxaphene dips on our cattle and all oxpeckers were completely wiped out in cattle areas. I remember seeing my first and then, only oxpeckers, on cattle in a Tsetse Fly test herd at the Savé/Runde junction many years ago. It later became commonplace to see oxpeckers on cattle in many of the ranches when oxpecker-friendly dips became available. We have two species of oxpecker in Zimbabwe, the red-billed and yellow-billed.

It is well documented that the decline in bees seriously affects pollination and consequent production in many agricultural crops. I can very well remember huge die-offs of bees after large-scale aerial spraying of cotton crops later on in my life. I can also remember as a child, seeing heaps of dead Dung Beetles around pats of fresh cow dung after cattle had been dewormed with a toxic anthelmintic.

There are many other useful insects and organisms which are beneficial to the well-being of our farming, including termites, a pest but also doing tremendous good, breaking down hard, woody matter and taking it down into the soil fertilizing and aerating it at the same time. And also, bringing up useful trace elements and minerals from deep down in the earth. Nature will always know what is best and everything is there for a reason and to achieve a natural balanced productive environment. In spite of the fact that some of it may seem to be off-balance to us humans, the most off balanced of all of nature’s creatures.

We are fortunate that our indigenous Nkone cattle have, throughout their history, adapted to the harsh African climate and pests and have built up a certain amount of natural resistance to many of our parasites and their effects on the cattle. In more modern times (1830), our Gaza Nguni and (1840), our Nguni cattle came from the south-eastern seaboard of Southern Africa, a hot wet humid area renowned for virulent cattle diseases and huge tick and tick-borne disease challenges, creating some degree of resistance over many years in Nguni/Nkone cattle to many of the internal and external parasites and the diseases that they carry.

For our registered herds, calving is now in full swing and every day is exciting, wondering how many will be born from which cows and what they will look like. As always Nkone colouration is unpredictable. One is always on the lookout for that outstanding calf that might go on to achieve great things, but we find that most of our Nkone calves take some time before showing what they are really going to be! It is interesting for me to look back to the herdsmen’s records of cows mated from the bulling season and comparing that to birth dates. I must say, they have been pretty accurate so far.

The rainy season now seems to have set in, the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone hovering over the southern DRC and Zambia. It appears to be a little dry in northern Central and East Africa which sometimes indicates a dry rainy season for them in La Nina years. Hopefully, predictions for a normal to above normal rainy season for us is correct. Being farmers, the next thing we will be worrying about is too much rain!

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

Termite Mound

Dung beetle and dung ball.

Dung beetles on elephant dung.

Termites.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker.

Yellow-billed Oxpeckers on buffalo

Weighing a new calf

New calf with good pigment.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 8 (13th November 2022)

By SEKURU

NOTE: Thank you to the readers of these newsletters and those who have discussed or debated some of the issues. This is healthy and what I originally intended. I am by no means an expert but just an ordinary farmer who loves his cattle and I have my own ideas and way of doing things, which will not necessarily be the same as those of others and are not necessarily any better.

Please forgive me if my topics are a bit repetitive at times, some are very important in my mind.

Every one of us has something to learn from others. If these newsletters achieve that, I am happy.

CALVING

Our impatience has finally been rewarded and calving has at last started, with a lot more anticipation this year than usual because we will be getting calves from our two new imported stud sires. It is of huge importance that these calves live up to our expectations after much discussion, debate and deliberation before making the final decision to purchase the new bulls, including of course, the cost! I do not believe there is a more exciting and amazing time in our cattle calendar than calving time. Calving time is the culmination of months of planning, hard work and care of your cows. Our PD’s earlier in the year by our Vet showed 87% in calf overall. In a productive herd, your cows too, have worked hard to achieve the expected results – in our case 85% + calves born in a 42-day period in the registered herd, every year. Fortunately, this is achievable with our wonderful, fertile Nkone cows. So far, from results and between nature, the cows and us (and some help from the bulls), we seem to have got it right for our rainfall and conditions. We are hoping that our new sires remedy a few faults that we see in our present herd – a slight lack in pigmentation, we need greater capacity, we need more masculinity in our bulls. The new sires come from one of the most fertile cow herds in South Africa, their herd ICP has averaged 357 days over the last 30 years, so with our already highly fertile cows this can only be good. As we all know, fertility is the very most important trait in any herd.

On the other hand, our project Gaza Nguni cows at Mahenye in the Savé Valley are on year-round bulling, where they choose the right time to be bulled which depends largely on their condition in this very tough environment. They are in a Communal Area and we follow the communal practice of communal grazing and year-round bulling. The more fertile little Gaza Nguni cows still produce a calf every year which is quite incredible in an overgrazed, low rainfall area such as Mahenye, where they live off browse, pods and wild fruits for half the year! We have found that with year-round bulling at Mahenye, the mature bulls also react to periods when the cows are not coming into oestrus – they move away from the herds and lead quiet, solitary lives, often in the thickest bush, away from everything, until they seem to intuitively know when to return to the cow herds and breed. There have been times when I have also felt like doing that! (I mean the solitude of quietness in the thick bush away from everything!)

All new-born animals are beautiful, even humans, but the multicoloured and patterned Nkone calves are very special. The colours and patterns of the new calves are unpredictable despite the colour of the dam or sire. I have seen a black Nkone produce a white calf and everything in between. The complexity of the colour genetics in Nkone is beyond my comprehension. We would like to have a red and white “Nkone” coloured herd and the majority of our cattle are just that, it will be interesting to see what colours our two new stud bulls produce in this calf crop. The new bulls are predominately red with a few white speckles and have red and white and also black and white in their ancestry. In fact, colour is not meant to play any part in our selection process (most of the time!) and we select only for functionally efficient cattle.

When cows are noticed to be close to calving, they are watched carefully through the process, but not interfered with in any way. We weigh new calves within 24 hours of birth using a calf sling and small dial-scale for convenience and also swab the calf’s navel with a disinfectant. Apart from that we very much leave the cow and calf alone and avoid interfering. Cows and calves are carefully monitored without close contact to make sure that the calf is strong and suckling well and the cow is letting down milk. Fortunately, our Nkone cows and heifers have yet to present us with any calving problems since we started in 2019.

The Nkone cow is very protective of her new calf, but her natural docility reflects in her attitude to her herders to which she is accustomed, and who understand her, and she does not see people she knows as a threat, even to a very new calf. She is on the other hand, very aware and wary of strangers.

Our herdsmen are very good, coming from an area with a strong cattle tradition and culture going back for many centuries, in fact their Nguni ancestors introduced the ancestors of our Nkone and Gaza Nguni cattle to Zimbabwe. Our herdsmen know every cow and its progeny and relatives and it is easy for us to ear tag that week’s calves with their ID and other details. This is double checked and there are only very occasional mistakes. Other than ear-tagging the calves do not experience any more drama until they are weaned at seven months using weaner plates which are not invasive or painful. We do not dehorn or brand. You could definitely call them happy calves.

We have just had our first rains of the season, 57mm over two days. I look forward to about 5 weeks’ time and just sitting and watching 60 + beautiful multicoloured and patterned Nkone calves and their mothers with udders full of rich nutritious milk, on lush green grass at its optimum protein content. As Japie Jackson would describe it “At beer can height for optimum protein.” At least we can all have our dreams and the reward is when they sometimes become reality, often with a bit of practical help and common sense from ourselves.

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

Leboa 11 375, Sire of our stud bull 16-18UCP

Siyabuswa FF 00101, Maternal Grandsire of our stud bull 16-18UCP

16-18UCP, one of our stud bulls with calves being born now in this calving season.

08-50 UCP, sire of our stud bull 14-47UCP

14-47 UCP, one of our present stud sires with calves being born now at the start of this calving season.
Sadly we lost 14-47 UCP in a freak accident, but are grateful for this calf crop from him starting now. We also have semen from him. A few 16-18 UCP and 14-47 UCP calves at the start of our new calving season. One older out of season calf with white tag.

A few 16-18 UCP and 14-47 UCP calves at the start of our new calving season. One older out of season calf with white tag.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 7 (6th November 2022)

By SEKURU

NOTE: Thank you to the readers of these newsletters and those who have discussed or debated some of the issues. This is healthy and what I originally intended. I am by no means an expert but just an ordinary farmer who loves his cattle and I have my own ideas and way of doing things, which will not necessarily be the same as those of others and are not necessarily better ideas.

Please forgive me if my topics are a bit repetitive at times, some are very important in my mind.

Every one of us has something to learn from others. If these newsletters achieve that, I am happy.

A BIT OF HISTORY

I get many requests about the origins of our Nkone cattle and why they are named Nkone so here is a brief history of our breed.

It all started with the Aurochs (Bos primiginius) which were the ancestors of all modern cattle breeds, both Bos taurus (Taurine) and Bos indicus (Zebu) types. They originated and lived in Eurasia and Northern Africa from the Pleistocene Age about 2 million years ago to 390 years ago. They began to be domesticated by man between 10 000 and 8 000 years ago. The Aurochs was a large animal, with massive, heavy horns and bulls stood around 1.5 to 1.8m at the shoulder and cows between 1.4 and 1.6m. They weighed between 700 and 1500 Kg. The last wild Aurochs, a cow, died of natural causes in a forest in Poland in 1627.

The three genetic groups that make up the indigenous Sanga cattle breeds in Zimbabwe occurred in North Africa as follows: European Bos Taurus from Europe in two waves, about 6000BC and 2500BC, Bos Indicus from the Indus Valley in Asia also in two waves about 2000BC and 700AD (the latter with the Arab/Somali invasions down the east coast of Africa) and the African Bos Taurus which were domesticated in North Africa around 7 000 to 10 000 years ago.

There is no doubt that the ancestors of the Nkone cattle of today were present in North Africa and Ancient Egypt many thousands of years ago. This is clearly illustrated in paintings and drawings of ancient cattle in these areas as far back as 8000BC which show that many of them were multi-coloured (speckled) and had lyre-shaped horns. These ancient cattle were phenotypically very like present day Nkone cattle, but without the slight Sanga neck hump which probably came later from the small Zebu admixture. The Old Testament tells us of Jacob’s speckled cattle, around 1750 BC.

The migration of people down the African continent brought with them cattle from the Ethiopian and Somali region where all African breeds originated. Sanga cattle came here in this way, firstly with the Kohekohe people 2000 years ago and later with the Bantu migrations in about 300-700AD. The African Zebus originated in the Indus Valley and were brought to Africa by Arabs and Somalis in two waves, firstly to the Ethiopian area 1500 years ago and then later, in about 700AD, down Central Africa and the East Coast of Africa.

The cattle which eventually arrived in Zululand became known as Nguni after their owners, the Nguni (Zulu) people, and have been there ever since. Sanga cattle of a specific ecotype, related to the Nguni, are called Landim in modern Mozambique, occurring mainly in the Gaza Province, southwards to the Limpopo River. Modern Landim of Mozambique and Nkone and Gaza Nguni cattle of Zimbabwe are similar as are the Kashivi, another Sanga Nguni ecotype from the Caprivi Strip and Ovamboland in Northern Namibia. They are all derivatives of the original Nguni. During their passage from the north of the continent over many centuries these ancestors of the Sanga were exposed to harsh extremes of climate and the tropical diseases of Africa. Natural selection favoured those animals genetically suited to survive and produce offspring in this hostile environment.

Frequent migrations and major local movements of people and their cattle took place throughout Southern and Central Africa up to the end of the 19th Century, mostly due to wars and drought. Migrations which resulted in the further establishment of Gaza Nguni cattle in Zimbabwe were those of the Tsonga/Hlengwe around 1750, followed by the Gaza Nguni in 1830 into Eastern Zimbabwe, and finally the Ndebele with their Nguni cattle into Matabeleland in 1840; all were originally from south of the Limpopo River on the Indian Ocean coast and Zululand.

In 1830 groups of Nguni (Zulu) people fled the unrest and inter-tribal warfare then taking place in King Chaka’s Zululand and surrounding areas during the bloody wars of the “Mfecane” of the time. They consisted of factions and tribes of the warlike Nguni, some of whom eventually arrived and settled in Zimbabwe. One group (the Gaza Nguni of Soshangana Nxumalo, which later became known as the Machangana) moved northwards up the Eastern seaboard and inland up the Savé River to the Chipinge highlands near Mount Chirinda in Zimbabwe. They subjugated the people over a large part of the surrounding area including Chief Mahenye’s area and the Savé Valley below their capitol in the mountains. Soshangana Nxumalo created the Gaza Empire, eventually controlling a large area of land between the Limpopo and the Zambezi Rivers in the central and eastern part of present-day Zimbabwe and East to the Mozambique coastline. The Gaza Nguni grazed their large herds of Nguni cattle throughout the middle and lower Savé Valley where they mixed with local cattle and with cattle captured and bartered from the conquered tribes of the area.

The same disturbances in Zululand and environs; the “Mfecane” that drove away King Soshangana and his Machangana, also affected another sector of the Nguni Zulu, the Ndebele tribe under their leader Mzilikazi Khumalo. After many years of warfare and migration King Mzilikazi and his Ndebele nation finally settled at Bulawayo in Matabeleland in what is now Zimbabwe. The Ndebele nation under King Mzilikazi and later his son, King Lobengula, consolidated and created a militarist system of regimental kraals throughout the conquered area, in typical Nguni fashion. Central to the regimental kraal system were the Ndebele “Matabele Cattle” under the protection and management of Queens (some of the Kings wives and sisters) and regimental commanders responsible to the King. Living huts were placed in a large defensive circle surrounding the cattle kraal protected by a strong thorn tree fence. Each regimental kraal in favoured grazing areas cared for a number of what were known as the King’s Cattle. Each Ndebele regiment was identified by the colours and patterns of their cow-hide shields and the different coloured cattle were kept and bred in separate herds, cared for by a particular regiment. There still are many Ndebele names for specific colours, patterns and horn shapes.

Although theoretically, all cattle belonged to the king, King Mzilikazi had his personal herds which were all of the “Nkone” colour and pattern. These were basically red and white coloured with solid red side panels and white top and bottom lines interspersed with red speckling. This colour pattern later became very popular with the first Commercial Farmers and eventually became a requirement in order to register cattle at the highest level with The Nkone Cattle Club. So, the name of the colour pattern became the name of the cattle with Commercial Farmers. At a later date, the name was changed to Nguni, after the original breed in South Africa and the Nguni Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe was formed. Most of the herds and the Society became redundant in the early twenty twenties, but the Society has now been resuscitated. Now the Nkone Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe, new members have been recruited and new herds registered since 2020. The cattle are once again called Nkone, as they were before, because the new Society and members wanted an exclusive name for what is very much a Zimbabwean Indigenous Breed although we still recognise its relationship to the South African Nguni and other Nguni ecotypes, and the importance of that for future breeding.

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

Ancient Egyptian cattle, the ancestors of our Nkone, showing speckled patterns and colours and lyre shaped horns.

Multi coloured hides and lyre shaped horns of cattle in ancient Egypt.

Present day Zimbabwean Nkone calves.

Zimbabwean Nkone bull showing typical “Nkone” colouration.

Mahenye Gaza Nguni cow and calf, Southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 6 (2nd. November 2022)

By SEKURU

NOTE: Thank you to the readers of these newsletters and those who have discussed or debated some of the issues. This is healthy and what I originally intended. I am by no means an expert but just an ordinary farmer who loves his cattle and I have my own ideas and way of doing things, which will not necessarily be the same as those of others and are not necessarily better ideas.

Please forgive me if my topics are a bit repetitive at times, some are very important in my mind.

Every one of us has something to learn from others. If these newsletters achieve that, I am happy.

Foot and Mouth, Bulling and Grazing.

Foot and Mouth disease has reared its ugly head with a new outbreak in our area, resulting in quarantine and movement restrictions for us in the immediate future. The Veterinary authorities have reacted quickly to the outbreak and hopefully they will be able to contain the disease and issue movement permits once more.

Many older Lowveld ranchers will remember the battles we had with F&M. Outbreaks were very much part of our cattle ranching in the early Lowveld days, F&M was endemic in that area and regular outbreaks occurred. Red Zones and Buffer Zones, veterinary brands, regular inspections, strict movement regulations, mouthing of all cattle leaving the ranch, vaccinations and quarantine, for almost a whole year in one instance, were all part of our normal ranching calendar and kept our lives interesting to say the least, never mind the large financial losses and grazing shortages because we couldn’t sell or move cattle. I can remember a major outbreak when the Veterinary Department put in hundreds of kilometres of new fencing in a few days to create a patrolled Buffer Zone boundary and also vaccinated the tens of thousands of cattle within the Zone at the same time. An almost unbelievable feat by very dedicated personnel.

One thing that was very obvious in those days was that indigenous Sanga cattle were much less seriously affected by Foot and Mouth disease as the exotic cattle which suffered fairly badly. Indigenous Communal cattle and improved Mashona, Tuli and Nkone on the ranches showed fewer symptoms and lesions in comparison to the exotics and recovered quickly without losing too much condition.

As we patiently (or impatiently) wait for the start of the rains and calving to begin, in the next week, I realise again just how important it is to plan the breeding season to coincide with nature’s seasons. Our calving will start in a weeks’ time. If good rains come before or around then, the new grass will get well away to help the cows to produce maximum milk by the time the calves are grown enough to make full use of it. In our case this timing has been decided by a bit of luck and some common sense. Bulling and calving must also fit in with nature, rainfall, and the best grazing as well as optimum condition of your cows. We have now established a fixed 42-day bulling from 27th January to 10th March, and from our production results these dates seem to suit our environment, management and Nkone cattle. The problem can be that should your present breeding programme be badly out of sync with nature’s best timing, and you are on a closed bulling season, it is very difficult to change without losing considerable production for a few years. If your timing of bulling and calving is so much out of kilter that you are only achieving very poor production, it might be best to bite the bullet, take the bulls out and start again at the optimum time or change to an open bulling season to achieve the best production for your conditions, type of cattle and management. Happy cows are productive cows.

The timing of bulling, calving and weaning is supremely important and should correspond to optimum natural conditions to ensure the breeding herd achieves maximum success and profitability. A short bulling season means only your most fertile cows get in calf, in our case, 85% average so far, (just over 60% of our cows fall pregnant in the first 30 days of bulling), and our calves are born within 42 days, making a nice even-same-age-sized group for the rest of their lives. As long as one does not try to excessively force or artificially manipulate the natural seasons and management of your cows, including the grazing, and instead work with nature, you will achieve maximum production with naturally hardy and fertile cattle like the Nkone.

Most of us are forced to herd our cattle on minimal grazing these days and we, with our Nkone herd, have adopted a very simple basic system, letting the cattle choose the grazing that they want. And so, we go around the available grazing continuously but not over-restrictively. We try to graze new growth only when it has reached beer can height, (Dr Japie Jacksons very practical grazing philosophy) and to get as much use out of our Hyparrhenia grass top-land during early summer before it becomes too coarse, burning certain areas at the first rains. Vley land and the dam-shoreline of Panicum repens are grazed mostly in winter, but very importantly everything is flexible and the cattle usually make the decisions. But NOT when they want to graze the landowners maize crop!

There are many different grazing systems from purely selective grazing to purely non-selective grazing and everything in between and just as many arguments for every system, some very heated! Whatever the system, sticking to the optimum stocking rate for your grazing must be the first consideration. There are too many overstocked and degraded areas with consequent lack of production in our country. Animal welfare and productivity come a close second and naturally follow and the farmer must find the best practical grazing plan for his particular conditions and management style. I have researched most of the popular grazing systems, many suggesting double the stocking rate, and also seen many in practice. Most importantly, common sense and flexibility should be adopted to find the system that suits you and your cattle. This is probably a combination of many of the more sensible parts of many different systems. Dr Japie Jackson’s grazing philosophies make the most sense to me and one can’t go wrong adopting his principles. Keep your cattle contented and everything falls into place.

The Nkone breed, after thousands of years of adapting to different conditions, will always make the best of whatever grazing is available.

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

Summer Panicum repens on dam floodplain.

Burnt Hyparhennia grassland at maximum palatability and protein content after rain. See old grass beyond and thick unpalatable ligneous stalks of what was totally unusable grass left by fire.

Dry season panicum repens

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 5 (30th OCTOBER 2022)

By SEKURU

Ticks and Dipping

Tim Savory and I discussed tick challenges and dipping intervals the other day. I think Tim was a little surprised when I said that we regularly dipped every week throughout the year, particularly as we have what is considered a “tick and disease resistant breed”. Tim used to farm Nkone cattle at Rhodesdale in the Midlands in times gone by and was on the Society Committee.

Research has shown that the Nkone is resistant to tick infestation compared to exotic breeds. The smooth sleek, non-hairy coats and tick-repellent oily secretions in the skin of the Nkone discourage ticks and their attachment. The Nkone is able to “shiver” its skin on different parts of the body when it feels a tick or fly moving about, possibly helping to prevent attachment. I have seen this ability in wild animals, which also groom themselves and each other (allopreening). I have also seen allopreening to some extent in the Nkone, particularly amongst related animals and between bulls and cows. The long bushy-ended tails of the Nkone can reach many parts of the body, and as well as deterring flies, probably flick off unattached ticks.

So, we have a situation where the Nkone carries a lot fewer ticks than less resistant breeds, and this would also reduce the incidence of tick-borne disease in Nkone. Importantly, I do believe that our Nkone have some resistance to tick-borne disease BUT grazing our herd in a highly prevalent disease area, we are not prepared to take the chance to prove our Nkone are disease resistant and lose large numbers of valuable cattle. I agree there is some resistance to certain diseases in the Nkone and other indigenous breeds and this resistance can be built up, but with the wide-spread prevalence of serious tick-borne disease in all areas of the country at present, this could be at great cost in deaths and reduction in numbers.

I have no proof of this, but during the Rinderpest outbreak of 1896 when 80-90% of Zimbabwean cattle died and then later many more died from East Coast Fever in 1901-1903, infected by cattle introduced to rebuild the Zimbabwean herd. One wonders if our few surviving indigenous cattle then had some resistance to these diseases and therefore survived? Surely that specific resistance then could no longer apply? In the last few years, East Coast Fever has returned, and it is still a deadly killer.

Theileriosis, East Coast Fever, Gallsickness, Redwater and Heartwater are serious tick-borne diseases that occur countrywide and are now very common specifically in our area. Neighbours in the area have had outbreaks of disease and lost large numbers of valuable cattle. We have had three deaths since March 2019 due to suspected tick-borne disease and two calves with sweating sickness in the same period. In our herd sweating sickness seems to occasionally occur in late-born calves in very wet seasons. We are happy to keep tick-borne mortality down to, or below this level, whether it is the Nkone resistance to disease or our dipping programme, we will stay with the status quo.

We do not generally dip calves from birth until after weaning at seven months to build up some resistance to diseases, occasionally using spot-dipping between the ears and on the tail head with a pour on if necessary. Our system of tick and disease control seems to be working and we will stick to it unless it breaks down and we have to change.

We dip in the race, using two motorised knapsack sprayers, one down each side of the race. We insist that particular attention is paid to the head and neck and the underline. When the tick challenge is high, particularly the Brown ear tick, we dip each animals tail brush in a cut off 5 litre plastic container of dip fluid. We also occasionally use tick grease in the ears if there is a build-up of Brown ear tick. Close supervision of dipping is absolutely necessary.

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 4 (23rd OCTOBER 2022)

By SEKURU

Size does matter!

A few days ago, I posted a photo of a Nguni cow suckling a massive 7-month-old Senepol X bull calf. This created a lot of favourable interest and comments and achieved what I intended it to. It showed what an incredible mother the Nguni or Nkone can be, and I have seen the same with little Mashona cows and their crossbred Sussex calves on Waterloo Farm, Macheke when Pips Peech had his Mashona there.

As a hardy, environmentally adapted maternal breed and Alpha mother cow, the Nkone is hard to beat as long as we keep selecting and breeding for the characteristics which made it a superior mother cow. One of the most important characteristics of the Nkone is moderate size which is sustainable in hard conditions on natural grazing.

In my view, the ideal mature weight for our Nkone cows is around 380 kg, producing a calf weighing at 45-50% of the cow’s weight at weaning at 7 months, (170 to 190kg). These weights mean you can carry 1,3 Nkone on your grazing in place of every cow of a large breed.

Our first-calving Nkone heifer 19-0002MH which calved at 28 months, must have a large amount of milk to raise her outstanding bull calf 21-0032MH seen in the accompanying photo, sucking at 4,5 months of age. 21-0032MH had a birth weight of 35kg, weaned at 220 days weighing 213kg. His ADG from birth to weaning was 800 grams per day and his weaning ratio was 128,3.

Our overall averages at weaning for 2020 and 2021 calf crops compared to results from Tsholotsho Breeding Station (the home of the breed) in 1973 is as follows –

HHN and MH Nkone Tsholotsho 1973

Heifers

Birth Weight Average 29,85 kg 22,7 kg

Age at Weaning 211 days 210 days

Average Weight 144 kg 150 kg

Daily Gain Birth to Wean 558 grams 606 grams

Weaner/Cow Ratio 37% 35,7%

Average Calves Weaned 83,5% (42 Days) 88% (90 Days)

Bulls

Birth Weight Average 31,4 kg 27,2 kg

Age at Weaning 211 days 210 days

Average Weight 150 kg 170 kg

Daily Gain Birth to Wean 573 grams 680 grams

Weaner/Cow Ratio 41% 40%

The above figures are very interesting and I would NOT like to see our birth weights increase from where they are now. Increased birth weights equate to increased mature weights. Our weaner weights are a bit low and could go up 20 kg. This would also increase the Weaner/Cow ratio. Tsholotsho chose their replacements based on Average Daily Gain from birth to weaning. They started off at a minimum of 600 grams/day and then increased that to 700 grams/day. This resulted in cows that gave more milk and produced heavier weaners with better Average Daily Gains.

So, we have a very good idea what the average registered Nkone CAN and SHOULD do to enable us to maintain the breed characteristics as was naturally designed, while maintaining its ability to produce a good calf every year in tough environments with minimum purchased inputs. Tsholotsho maintained an average 88% calving rate in a ninety-day calving period for many years.

What about the Nkone in a Terminal Crossbreeding programme? To my mind this is one of the great strengths of the breed and will make its future. We have all seen the pictures of a little 350 kg cow with a very large calf well over 200 kgs and still suckling. The Nkone cow, as long as it has the milk can increase your production dramatically when crossed with a suitable exotic breed that “clicks”.

Your Nkone cow remains the same size and eats the same amount but gives you a considerable increase (as much as 30% -40%) in weaner mass and production with a crossbred calf and this is where Terminal Crossbreeding ensures that you keep the very best and most efficient Alpha Mother Cow and get rid of all crossbred progeny. Your F1 cows are going to be fantastic and inherit a lot of the excellent Nkone traits but their large size will detract from their efficiency and hardiness and reduce the number of cows you can carry. In a Terminal Crossbreeding programme the ideal herd ratio would be 60% purebred Nkone cows with Nkone bulls breeding Nkone replacements for both herds and 40% purebred Nkone cows put to Exotic bulls and all progeny are sold.

“The conservation of indigenous cattle is appropriate because the most rapid and effective livestock improvement can probably best be achieved by the maximum use of animals already adapted to the widely differing local environments, most of which are unsuited to breeds produced in the far less harsh surroundings of the temperate countries. Also, timely, because unless steps are quickly taken to assess the potentialities of the local stock and to ensure not only their conservation but their full use in the future agricultural development of the region, a priceless and irreplaceable asset will almost certainly be lost……”

Norman C. Wright in his foreword to: “The Indigenous Livestock of Eastern and Southern Africa.” (L. Mason and J.P. Maule 1960)

“NKONE, THE ORIGINAL ALPHA MOTHER COW”.

18-8021 fast becoming one of our better cows with her bull calves 20-0014HHN and 21-0049HHN.

19-0002Mh at 33 months and weighing 336kg with bull calf 21-0032MH here at 4,5 months and 158 kg.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 3 (16th OCTOBER 2022)

By SEKURU

Hot days and strong, hot winds continue and some very bad fires have occurred round the country including one at Esigodini where 10 people lost their lives. Our sympathies are with their families. Another bad fire swept through parts of Macheke/Marondera causing total loss of grazing on some farms, and I have heard of another serious fire which has devastated valuable grazing over a large area on the Bulawayo Road just beyond Norton. Apparently, the fierce winds caused it to jump the dual highway to Bulawayo. Once a fire gets going in tall dry grassland with the heat and wind, there is very little that can stop it and most fireguards are superfluous. Some fires are, I suppose accidental and very few can occur naturally, but too many are deliberately started due to ignorance or just plain defiance of the law and normal, thoughtful decent behaviour.

Our calving season is just a few weeks away now and we have already had a preview of a few new early calves sired by our imported sires from when one of them got into the cows’ night paddock. We found the culprit in the morning, so recording integrity remains intact. Sadly, we lost UCP 14-47, Ngungunyana, the older of our two imported bulls. It was one of those bizarre happenings that just leaves one helpless, depressed and furious and very angry at the same time. Much of our cattle grazing-time is spent along the considerable area of floodplain covered in Panicum repens on the edge of the dam and they have learnt to wade out to graze on the succulent grasses on higher areas such as anthills, emerging from the receding water level. Ngungunyana was doing just that when he got tangled up in a poachers fishing net below water level. He tried to get back to shore but became more entangled and fell over, his head under water. One of the herdsmen noticed what was happening and got into the water, trying to raise the bulls head above water. An impossible task, even if there had been more people, because of the massive weight of the bull’s head and neck and the violent struggling. Ngungunyana drowned.

Very sad, but we do have a calf crop of 26+ coming from him in the near future from very good cows and there will be some special calves and hopefully a top young bull to carry on his bloodline. In addition, we took semen from both imported bulls when they were in quarantine so we also have that insurance. This leaves us with UCP 16-18 for next bulling season at the beginning of February and about 75 cows and heifers to get in calf in our 42-day bulling season!! We are still working things out but might AI for 21 days before bulling starts using UCP 14-47 semen and catching those cows that come on heat very soon after calving, thereby reducing the number to be bulled normally in 42 days by UCP 16-18. We could achieve the same by using a very good home-bred young bull, 19-8139ANG, 21 days before the main bulling. Whatever happens, we do not want to bull any later than our present last bulling day, 10th March. We can then easily get back to our standard 42-day annual bulling dates, 27th January to 10th March, which have become sort of set-in-stone.

Today while I watched the cow herd grazing along the dam edge, the most relaxing and pleasant occupation I can think of, I realised once again, that one should always look at cattle out on grazing to really assess their condition and well-being. They never look as good as they really are when in the dip kraal on dip day.

I also realised the huge value of the perennial green bite we get along the dam edge from the well-established natural pasture of Panicum repens. This grass survives flooding and then emerges vigorously as the water level recedes and is constantly fertilized by our cattle dung and nutrients brought down river during the floods. The Panicum thrives on the annual cycle of flooding and renewed nutrients. I Google Mapped and measured it and the Repens pasture is about 130Ha in extent. This is more than 1/3 of the total grazing we have available on this 400Ha tobacco farm. When we first leased this grazing, the dam seemed a huge disadvantage to us because of Liver Fluke and Roundworm dangers. We take regular dung samples and the cattle have never tested to have any meaningful infestation of either, but despite this, we still routinely dose calves for both at three and seven months. We could do with another 150 hectares of this Panicum flood plain! Nkone are so very adaptable they will make the very best of whatever grazing that you have. They do well on average grazing but achieve very high performance on good grazing.

I am including a table of results after our last PD’s (2022 bulling season) which show some useful information on monitoring mating’s and importantly, the percentage of cows mated in the first 21 days of bulling. The table also shows the excellent fertility of the Nkone, considering this is only our second 42-day bulling season with relatively new herds and we are still building numbers, so we have not been as harsh on selection as we could have been.

As my Senior Herdsman said on monitoring of the mating and the discrepancy between recorded mating’s and PD’s. –

“Some of them fall in love in the afternoon, and when it gets dark they all go to bed and we don’t know what happens then!”

UPB 14-47 Ngungunyana

UPB 16-18 Soshangana

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 2 (9th OCTOBER 2022)

By SEKURU

Higher temperatures and the hot, gusty September/October winds are here again and hopefully our first rains are about 6 weeks away now. This is veld fire time and we should all have made preparations such as strategically placed fire guards and created a general awareness amongst everyone involved of the dangers and need to be careful, watchful and know what to do in the event of a fire. Every year, hundreds of thousands of hectares of valuable grazing is burnt by wilful, carelessly started and unnecessary fires. Stockowners can lose all their grazing in a matter of a few hours, to be left with nothing, having to find grazing elsewhere (very difficult at this time of the year) or purchase food at great cost or sell off cattle.

Driving out to the cattle earlier this week, there are still a few small patches of Msasa woodland left amongst the ever-increasing mass of housing development taking place, some new and smart and others squalid shacks. Most of the Msasa trees are now different shades of soft, lovely greens. They have just ended that glorious new-leaf stage of reds, oranges, browns and yellows with many beautiful colours in between. I was fortunate to travel along the Mutare road twice in the last six weeks when they were at the height of their awesome beauty, making me stop and just absorb and enjoy it all. And of course, not forgetting the amazing Jacaranda flowers!

We have just completed renovating our very old handling facilities which had become almost non functional and not a pleasure to work in. It cost us a few young sale bulls but has made things much easier and less stressful for herdsmen, cattle and ourselves. Operations are now carried out in half the time and quiet, calm cattle can get back to grazing in good time. We incorporated a Bud Box at the entrance to the race on recommendations from two of the many first-class cattlewomen we know, Mandy Langton and Maree Osborne. The Bud Box has complemented our overall design for “easy flow” of the cattle, no more bunching and bottlenecks at the race entrance, just a quiet and easy flow of cattle until the race is full. Just Google “Bud Box for cattle” and you will find designs and dimensions, don’t go larger than the recommended size. Ours is 6,8m x 3,4m and rectangular. It is an essential part of any cattle handling facility if used correctly.

With the new facilities, it has become necessary to get together with the herdsmen and review our cattle handling, which had become slack and not conducive to stress-free working conditions, both for the cattle, the herdsmen and ourselves! Noise, shouting, frenzied waving of sticks or arms, and unnecessary rushing around has been banned. We now take it slow and easy and work with the new design, this had reduced stress and saves a lot of time. It is also important for those handling cattle to know the basics of positioning oneself in relation to the animals, encouraging them to take, and not refuse, the direction in which you want them to move. For example, when cattle are in a race and you want them to move forward, start from the front and walk past the animals, down the race towards the rear and they will immediately move forward, followed by others as you continue to go down the line.

Move cattle around the pens in smaller groups, say 12 to 15 head, they are easier to control and won’t bunch up and mill around blocking forward progress. We find it is useful to keep cattle in groups of 15-18 which is race full in our system. Once a group has been moved to the next stage it is easy to return and collect another similar sized group which will immediately follow on.

Our Nkone are naturally very docile and easy to handle from thousands of years of herding and living in close proximity to people, but it is still well worth having good facilities and well-trained handlers to keep them relaxed, when they will do better. Contented cattle are productive cattle.

In these days of having to herd and night-kraal our commercial breeding cattle, the Nkone are well adapted to the system. They naturally fill their bellies in a short time when on grazing even on sour coarse grasses, and their high natural internal urea levels enable them to digest the poor grazing more efficiently. Common sense and efficient herding methods are essential to make the most of the grazing time and the best grazing. The importance of this cannot be overstressed, your cows’ production depends entirely on the level of nutrition and their wellbeing, and this is important every day of the year. Our herdsman must be highly efficient, adequately paid, well trained people who understand the basic principles of nutrition and cattle management and are able to care for your cattle’s daily needs accordingly, to achieve maximum production.

Inherent Body Condition + Hormonal Balance = Fertility

Adaptability +Functional Efficiency + Fertility = Profit – P.J. Budler.

NEWSLETTER FROM HHN and MH NKONE STUDS

No 1 (2ND OCTOBER 2022)

By SEKURU

We were fortunate to purchase a nucleus of Nkone breeding cows, heifers and 2 bulls from Ian Patullo of Anglesea, Matopos at the end of 2018. These genetics go right back to the original Nkone herd at Tsholotsho, established in 1946. We run the two studs as one herd and they are on leased grazing about an hour northwest of Harare. In an effort to promote interest in our Society and Nkone Breed I have decided to write a periodic newsletter on farm and livestock matters concerning our herd and also general and specific observations regarding cattle breeding to create discussion.

Every Thursday is dipping day and every fourth Thursday is monthly weighing day. I really look forward to weigh day. We keep comprehensive weight records from which we gain valuable management information. Experienced eyeballing picks up a lot but a well-maintained and calibrated scale will pick up gains, losses and trends much more precisely, long before your visual appraisal does.

A combination of higher temperatures, dosing for roundworm and fluke 6 weeks ago, salt urea lick, panicum repens coming away nicely green on the edge of the dam as the water level recedes, and proximity to the start of calving (in a months’ time) have all contributed to our females showing positive weight gains in September. They will be going into calving at a condition score of just under 3 on average.

We are excited by the upcoming calving season. PDs indicated an overall pregnancy of 87% overall from our two imported stud bulls in a 42-day bulling season last February/March. This is our second year of a 42 -day bulling and we hope that we can keep it up in the future – if anything can do it, the Nkone can. The imported bulls should have a very positive effect on our progeny and will hopefully help offset some of the shortcomings in our cow herd. We are looking at bringing down size to a more functionally efficient mature weight. In our case this seems to be a mature cow of 400 kg average weight. We need to increase capacity, maintain good pigmentation and early maturity. Make no mistake our cows are pretty good and well adapted but we must strive to keep improving the positive traits while maintaining a hardy, fertile cow herd adapted to our tough natural grazing conditions.

Bulling of heifers is always a problem. They are often either too young or too old to fit into the main bulling. They have a tendency to get into calf when you don’t want them to. Heifers calving at the wrong time of the year mean having to strategically feed them supplement or forgo the second calf the following year. I think that we have decided to leave all yearling heifers with the main breeding herd at bulling when 12-14 months old, and a small percentage of quick maturing heifers will get into calf. These should be selected to become our more efficient breeding cows in the future. The remainder will be bulled as 24-month heifers 21 days before and then through the main bulling of 42 days. They will thereafter fall into line with the 42-day bulling the following year.

There are still many questions – Can our heifers breed at 12-14 months, calve at 24 months, still raise a reasonable calf without needing extra feed and produce a second calf the next year? Will they grow out to our expected mature weight? Nkone are known for their longevity so alternatively, should we not bull them at 2 years old to have their first calf at 3 years old? They will be well grown out, should produce a calf every year and make up for the missed first calf and keep producing up to at least 10 years old. Yes, we know about early maturing, early age at first calving and fertility, but all of this needs some serious consideration.

The Nkone Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe are delighted and privileged to have the opportunity to make Dr Japie Jackson and Mr. Ian Patullo, Honorary Life Members of our Society. Dr Jackson has spent a lifetime farming, promoting, researching and attending to the health of Zimbabwean Nkone and other Indigenous cattle as a veterinarian. He is an authority on their history.

Ian Pattullo is well known and respected for his Anglesea Nkone and Jersey Studs at Matopos. Ian has farmed his Nkone at Anglesea for more than 60 years and many of the Nkone herds in Zimbabwe are founded on Anglesea bloodlines.

“An adapted animal requires fewer inputs to fulfil its production function – reproduction and growth”. Thanks to Sentrale Nguni, SA.