Survey of Reproductive Indices in Dairy Farms of Kabul City, Afghanistan

Abstract

Dairy cows are the key source of milk production in Afghanistan, and milk is the main source of income for a dairy farm. Dairy cows are the production units in a dairy herd and dairy herds mostly consist of lactating cows. Reproductive efficiency in a dairy herd is an essential component of dairy cattle productivity around the globe and reproductive efficiency is measured by using reproductive indices. The current study was carried out in order to determine reproduction condition of dairy farms in Kabul city. Reproduction data included services per conception (SP), calving to first heat interval (CFHI), calving to first service interval (CFSI), calving to conception (CC), lactation length (LL), dry period (DP) and calving interval (CI). Data were collected by completing a questionnaire from the record book of 11 dairy farms, through interviews with principles of farms in Kabul city and analyzed by using SPSS.26. The overall mean ± SE for SC, CFHI, CFSI, CC, LL, DP and CI were 2.08 ± 0.02 times, 54.82 ± 2.06, 89.64 ± 1.22, 115.96 ± 3.18, 317.04 ± 5.11, 80.2 ± 4.14 and 398.55 ± 4.61 days, respectively.