The Effect of Work on Reproductive Performance of Bali Cattle Under the Oil Palm Plantation in Bengkulu

Abstract

The integration of cattle rearing under the oil palm plantation would beneficially support both livestock and plantation sector. Farmer would benefit the integration of livestock-oil palm plantation through its better income, optimum land use, labor efficiency, and better environment. In Bengkulu, the use of Bali cattle as Draught Animal Power (DAP) for carrying fresh fruit bunch (FFB) has proven to benefit both to the plant and livestock. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of work on reproductive performance in Bali cow. A total of 40 Bali cows within the range of body condition scored (BCS) 6-7 are divided into two groups, namely Working animals and No-Working. The Working group was subjected to three kinds of day-to-day work; these were Work-1 (pulling cart from home to oil plantation), Work-2 (pulling cart with FFB from plantation to collection site) and Work-3 (pulling cart from plantation to home). Parameters measured were working regime (distance, speed, duration, and load) and reproductive performance (S/C, length of gestation, days open, birth weight and calving interval). Results showed that the average of distance, speed and load of Work-1 and Work-3 were significantly lower (P<0.05) than those of Work-2. For the respective Work-1, Work- 2 and Work-3, it was known that the distance measured were 1.287, 0.407, and 1.287 km; the load were 138.75, 582.5 and 89.09 kg; and the speed were 2.082, 0.856, and 2.055 km/hr respectively. Result also showed that there was no significant difference on reproductive performance between Working and No-Working animals, as presented by S/C (1.50 vs. 1.41), gestation length (284.2 vs. 281.6 d), days open (82.5 vs. 80.53 d), calf birth weight (14.6 vs. 16.25 kg), and calving interval (375.9 vs. 370.9 d). In conclusion, there was no working effect on reproductive performance for Bali cows.