Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der betriebswirtschaftlichen Betrachtung und der systemtheoretischen Analyse der muttergebundenen Kälberaufzucht in der ökologischen Milchviehhaltung.

In many regions of the world, traditional and local ecological knowledge is still important today for coping with environmental challenges. This study explored the relevance of such knowledge for predicting and coping with harsh winter conditions (dzud) in a remote area of western Mongolia, where government support to disaster-affected herders is restricted by weak infrastructure. Structured face-to-face interviews were held in 50 households (HHs), addressing aspects of livestock possession and management as well as ...

Muttergebundene Kälberaufzucht stößt sowohl in der Öffentlichkeit als auch bei milchviehhaltenden (Öko-)Betrieben auf zunehmenden Zuspruch. Gleichzeitig steigt die Zahl der installierten AMS auf den Milchviehbetrieben. Diese Entwicklungen weisen darauf hin, dass in Zukunft mehr Betriebe die muttergebundene Kälberaufzucht mit den AMS kombinieren werden. Bei der Kombination besteht die Herausforderung darin, den Kühen das individuelle Melken im AMS zu gewähren und gleichzeitig die Kälber an diesen Kühen aufzuziehen. ...

In this study, we try to capture the degree of specialization or integration, and of intensification or extensification, of (peri-) urban livestock production, along with the factors that influence such decisions and their impact on natural resource uses. A total of 181 and 187 structured questionnaires were completed in livestock-keeping households in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Tamale (Ghana). Categorical principal component and two-step cluster analysis were used to identify homogenous groups of livestock-keeping ...

The (peri-) urban demand for food of animal origin is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the rapidly growing population and urbanisation. Livestock production in the vicinity of West African cities is well established but currently undergoes changes triggered by key transforming factors such as access to resources, production management related to famers' knowledge or know-how, increasing demand for livestock and/or animal products, policies and the legal framework in which livestock production systems ...

Background: Intensified selection of polled individuals has recently gained importance in predominantly horned dairy cattle breeds as an alternative to routine dehorning. The status quo of the current polled breeding pool of genetically-closely related artificial insemination sires with lower breeding values for performance traits raises questions regarding the effects of intensified selection based on this founder pool. Methods: We developed a stochastic simulation framework that combines the stochastic simulation ...

Feather pecking (FP) and keel bone damage (KBD) are important animal welfare problems in laying hen housing, in both organic and conventional systems. This PhD project aimed (1) to give an overview over results from scientific studies regarding factors with preventive effects on FP, and on the extent practice recommendations are based on this scientific evidence; (2) to identify further influencing factors on FP and to test the significance of the extent of compliance with recommendations; and finally (3) to discover ...

Sustainable rangeland management is crucial for maintaining forage resources in pastoral systems, globally. However, pastoral regions are often remote and therefore data poor when it comes to resource monitoring. We tested participatory mapping as a means to rapidly assess rangeland use to identify areas with high grazing pressure. Participatory geographic information system data and herbaceous biomass production data were collected and georeferenced to establish a grazing pressure index for a summer pasture in the ...

Ecologically sound natural resources management is still the backbone of rural livelihoods in many regions of the world. The Altai-Dzungarian region between China and Mongolia constitutes an ideal site to study how political, economic, infrastructural, and cultural differences affect rural livelihoods. Structured semi-quantitative interviews were conducted with 483 households on both sides to characterise their current livelihood strategies and assess the importance of the various activities for the households’ current ...

Objective: Our study provides information on phenotypes of local chickens and guinea fowl and their body measures as well as on major genes in local chickens in northern Ghana. Methods: Qualitative and morphometric traits were recorded on 788 local chickens and 394 guinea fowl in urban households in Tamale, Ghana. Results: The results showed considerable variation of color traits and numerous major genes in local chickens, while color variations and related genotypes in guinea fowl were limited. In local chickens, ...