The red and black coated Arado cattle are small and hardy. They are the most common cattle variety in the north

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n highlands. The Arado breed is part of the Zenga breed group. It is essentially reared for draught power, particularly tillage. The breed feeds mainly on crop residues; it is adapted to seasonal feed shortages. This breed is often cross-bred through bull and

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

services.

Physical characteristics

The Arado cattle have red and black coats. Bulls and oxen have thick and short horns and a cervicothoracic

hump Hump, The Hump, or humping may refer to: Biological * Hump, the fleshy mass on the back of a camel containing its fat reservoir ** For other examples, see the list of animals with humps * Humping, slang for sexual intercourse ** Dry humping, a fo ...

; cows have medium, thin horns. Oxen weigh 254 kg and cows 201 kg on average. The average height at withers of 120 and 115 cm.

Closely related types

* Abergele cattle * Begayt cattle * Fogera cattle

Origin of the cattle breed

Ethiopia has been at a crossroads for cattle immigration to Africa due to * proximity to the geographical entry of Indian and Arabian

zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus''), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of Bos taurus, domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differs from taurine cattle by a fatty hump ...

* proximity to Near-Eastern and European

taurine Taurine (), or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is a naturally occurring amino sulfonic acid that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine. It is named after Latin (cogna ...

* introgression with West African taurine due to

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anim ...

Furthermore, the diverse agro-ecology led to diverse farming systems which, in turn, made Ethiopia a centre of secondary diversification for livestock : * The

Sanga cattle Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of some regions in Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name ''Bos taurus africanus''. Their history of domestication and their origins in relation to ...

originated in Ethiopia. They are a major bovine group in Africa – a cross-breeding of local long-horned taurines and Arabian zebus * The Arado cattle are part of the Zenga (Zebu-Sanga) breeds, which resulted from a second introduction and crossing with Indian zebu

Breeding and genetic resource management

Mating takes place on the grazing grounds, or the cow is brought to a bull in the neighbourhood. Farmers try essentially to improve the Arado breed through

crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

with other indigenous breeds. This favours selection for fitness, and the adaptation to broader farming system and environmental conditions.

Stresses on the cattle breed

* socio-political: urbanisation, and civil wars * panzootic: cattle plague * environmental: destruction of ecosystems and droughts

References

{{Reflist Cattle breeds originating in Ethiopia