EVALUATION OF AVERAGE MILK YIELD OF BUNAJI COWS IN RAINY AND DRY SEASONS IN IGBOORA, OYO STATE.

Abstract

The objective Of this study is to evaluate the average milk yield of bunaji cows in both rainy and dry seasons in Igboora, Oyo state. A total of twelve (12) lactating cows kept under traditional management system were involved. Milk yield was measured in litres per cow for three times at four weeks' interval in rainy and dry seasons. Milk yield was influenced by both seasons. The average milk yield of the cow per day was I .38±0.45 in rainy season and 1.02±0.24 in the dry season.Cows that calved in the major rainy season had the best milk yield followed by those lactated in the minor rainy season and those during dry season had the least milk yield. Lactation length (month) was 7.92±1.01 during rainy season while that of dry season was 7.32±1 .04. Total milk yield (litres) throughout the study was 6.29±0.79 in rainy season while 2.61±0.31 was recorded during the dry season. It was observed in the study 40% of collected milk were consumed by the household while 60% was sold at the market by the women. The local cheese commonly called "wara" in the local dialect iS the only dairy product sold in this area. It could be concluded that lactating cows should be provided with supplementary feed in the rainy and mostly in dry seasons to increase milk yield.