Some characteristics of appearance and reproductivity of Thanh Chuong buffalo, Nghe An
Thanh Chuong buffalo is a swamp type and valuable livestock genetic resource of Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province. The survey was conducted to determine on the current situation of Thanh Chuong buffalo from May 2021 to May 2022 in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province and in Mountainous Animal Husbandry Research and Development Center, Thai Nguyen province, in order to evaluate the appearance and some reproductive characteristics of Thanh Chuong buffaloes. The appearance characteristics of 400 adult buffaloes are directly observed and recorded. Reproductive characteristics of 200 female reproductive female buffaloes are collected through investigation and interviewing the owner of buffalo farming. Some characteristics of buffalo semen are directly studied on 5 male buffaloes raised in Thai Nguyen in the fall, winter and spring. The results show that Thanh Chuong buffaloes mainly have ash-gray hair and black skin. The Thanh Chuong buffalo has quite characteristic features such as white hair color around the eyes, white hair color forming a semicircle at the breast and neck, white hair on the legs, the proportion of buffalo with this characteristic accounts for 85-99%. Buffalo horns are mainly semicircular in shape. Thanh Chuong buffalo has the age of first estrus at 28.5 months, the age of first mating at 30.4 months, the average age of first calving at 41.4 months. In the lituratures, the indicators of reproductive characteristics are quite low compared to buffaloes in some other locations. First estrus weight was 312.5 kg, first mating weight was 341.9 kg, first calving weight of Thanh Chuong buffalo was 408.7 kg/head. Calving interval 16.8 months. The semen quality of 5 male buffaloes was tested and evaluated in 3 seasons (Autumn, Winter and Spring). The results did not find any statistically significant difference for the indicators of abnormality ratio and pH of the sperm of buffalo. However, the highest volume of ejaculate in spring (3.42 ml), the amount of ejaculation in autumn and winter did not differ significantly (3.08 ml and 3.29 ml, respectively). Sperm motility was highest in spring (80.82%), between autumn and winter, there was no difference. Similarly, sperm concentration was also highest in spring (974 million/ml), while in autumn and winter there was no difference in sperm concentration (916 and 907.8 million/ml, respectively).
