At only two-and-a-half years old, it weighs 600kg. It is a pure Ayrshire and everything about its bodily features, ranging from stature, limbs, and head, is twice, if not thrice, that of a bull of an indigenous breed.
Fifty-four-year-old Fred Wanambwa, from Bunamubi Bukigai sub-county in Bududa district, its owner, says bull-fattening is a common enterprise in this hilly border area that dates back to the pre-colonial era.
Indeed, it is a common find that homesteads in the area have at least three pure exotic bulls of either Friesian or Ayrshire breeds.
“Keeping exotic bulls here is a pride, but most importantly, it is done basically for economic reasons,” Wanambwa observes.
Joshua Wegoye, 60, in Bulucheke, Bulucheke sub-county, another farmer who owns a well-nourished friesian bull, says the community seems to favour the Ayrshire breed of late.
The bulls are fattened for two to three years, where an animal would gain a carcass weight of 500kg-800kg, before they are sold.
“On average, a fattened bull goes for sh7m-sh10m,” he says.
Dr Suzan Kibone, the Bududa district veterinary officer, says bull fattening is widespread, with about 35,000 households in the district involved in the enterprise.
“On average, 300-400 bulls are sold per month,” she says.
Benefits
On the benefits of the trade, Wanambwa and Wegoye give various gains.
For Wanambwa, nurturing exotic bulls has been his trade for the last 20 years.
“I have secured land through this trade,” he says.
He has also constructed a decent permanent house and set up other businesses.
Wegoye has educated his nine children in good schools and adds: “I have also bought a couple of trucks.”
How the community acquire exotic bulls
Bududa district is on the Uganda-Kenya border. Both Wanambwa and Wegoye, who are role models in the bull fattening enterprise, explain that the livestock industry in neighbouring Kenya has evolved over the years, with farmers importing pure exotic dairy animals from overseas.
However, one challenge the Kenyan farmers have to contend with is inadequate fodder/pasture, owing to the aridity of their fields.
“Male calves are heavy browsers. Thus, owing to a shortage in feeds, farmers in Kenya consider male calves born by exotic cows as a liability, which explains why they are sold as soon as they are weaned,” Walimbwa observes.
According to Wegoye, farmers acquire exotic male calves from farms in Kenya when they are five-eight months old.
Usually, the farm gate price is sh200,000- sh600,000. To ensure good returns from the bulls, the Ugandan farmers employ the services of vets as soon as they bring the calves to their farms.
“The calves procured from Kenya usually have tiny, deadly tick species called Rhipicephalus. If they are not treated, the parasites kill the bulls,” Dr Kibone stresses.
In addition to treating parasites, the bulls are put on a special fattening diet. The calves are fed using open troughs in their sheds.
“We acquire these animals when they are thin and put them on a high protein and energy balanced diet, for 50-90 in confinement,” Wanambwa says.
At a formative age, the calves are fed on maize bran, mixed with molasses, a by-product of sugarcane. Other ingredients in their feed include calliandra, soy bean, sunflower cake, mineral salt and adequate watering, explains Wanambwa.
When the animal is of age, it’s gradually introduced to fresh forage, ranging from hay, elephant grass, Napier grass and potato vines, among others.
The grass is chopped into small pieces and mixed with maize bran before it is given to the calves.
Bull exhibition
The community holds local bull exhibitions and fights.
“At the bull exhibition, farmers with well-nourished animals bring them for display at Bulucheke sub-county grounds, as well as share tips with one another on the best diet to fatten the bulls.”
It is an old social norm here among this community with an open ground at Namacho, Bulucheke sub-county, dedicated to the event.
A concrete monument of bulls locking horns stands out imposingly at an elevation on the pitch.
“Having your bull participate in the bull fighting event is therapeutic, as it is intended to strengthen the bones of a bull that feeds well, but does not dispense its energy,” Wanambwa explains.
Setbacks
Neither of these two smallholder livestock farmers has been immune to tragedy.
“Four years ago, Wanambwa woke up to find one of his well-nourished bulls, then weighing about 500kg, dead. He traced the cause of death to a bite from a cobra, which he found in a nearby anthill and killed, but this could not compensate for the loss of his bull. Wegoye also lost a two-year-old bull.
“My undoing was not getting treatment for the deadly tick,” recalls a father of seven.
Why exotic bulls thrive in Bududa
According Dr Suzan Kibone, the Bududa district veterinary officer, communities native to cattle corridors across the country practice bull fattening.
Considering the principal factor, which is easy access to pure livestock varieties, Bududa district could be in the lead.
“Easy accessibility to affordable good livestock breeds by the community in Bududa makes the work of bull fattening easier here, compared to other districts in the cattle corridor. Although farmers elsewhere may decide to buy pure variety calves from Bududa, a vet advises against this.
“Pure calves thrive in Bududa district partly because of its altitude; it is 1800- 3500 metres above sea level. This part of the country can be considerably cold, a suitable condition for the pure variety calves. It should be noted that pure-bred calves are particularly vulnerable in largely humid areas. Unless a farmer is willing to construct a specially designed cow shed to shield the cow from humidity, the option could be far-fetched,” Dr Kibone says.
