TULI CATTLE

An Extract From the Tuli Cattle Society of Zimbabwe Publication by Rilla Nørslund Igusi(Imp Zim) ET (PA) - Semen code: VBIGUS (photo courtesy of Genetics Australia)

Contents

The Cattle	Tuli Performances in Cross-breeding Trials
Docile Nature	Assessing the Tuli in Botswana
Unique Genotype	Tuli's in Australia
Mothering	Getting them there: The Embryo Project
Early Maturity	Filling a Niche
Conformation and Meat	Research Results from Belmont, Australia
High Fertility	Fertility Research Work at Belmont
Heat Tolerance	Weight Gain Work At Belmont
Instinctive Walkers	The Tuli Association of Australia Inc.
Bos Taurus or Bos Indicus	Tremere Pastoral home page

Tables

• Relative Productivity of Various Pure Bred Cow Genotypes Evaluated at Matopos Research Station
• Calving Percentage of Five Breeds in Botswana Trials
• Reconception Rates of Cows with Calves at Foot
• Production from Weaning to 18 Months of Five Breeds in Botswana Trials
• Productivity Index
• Semen Quality Scores for Tuli Crossbred Bulls at Belmont, Australia
• Percentage of Heifers Cycling at 15 Months of age in Belmont Trials
• Comparison of Tuli Liveweights from Different Dam Breeds at 12 Months

The Secretary, Tuli Association of Australia Inc., P.O. Box 6454, Rockhampton Mail Centre Q.4702

Ph. 079 283164, Fax 079 280260, International Fax 61 79 280260

The Tuli is a medium-sized, pure African Sanga Breed, which, in its neat, compact frame in-corporates high fertility, hardiness, adaptability and excellent beef qualities. Its sleek and glossy short-haired coat varies in colour from silver, through golden brown to rich red. The name, Tuli, stems from the Ndebele word "utulili", meaning dust, and vividly conjures up pictures of the arid environment the Tuli stems from.

Docile Nature

A docile nature is something which has been bred into the Tuli for thousands of years, not only were the cattle of the native herds-people of Africa herded on a daily basis by the young men and boys of the various tribes, but the cows were also milked to supply the requirements of their owners, and the oxen used for draught power. This close daily contact led, naturally, to a tendency to select strongly for docile animals.

The Tuli is an easy breed to work with, and is particularly ideal for situations where manpower is limited or where handling is difficult. Where poor temperament is a problem a Tuli bull will be one of the fastest ways to make progress in this area.

Unique Genotype

Having developed over 5 000 years, in almost total isolation from todays widely used beef breeds the Tuli offers a unique genotype. It is interesting to consider how easily the exceptional genetics qualities of the Tuli could have been overlooked in the early days of the colonisation of Africa, when most cattlemen considered indigenous stock of inferior quality, and generally progressive farmers were importing genetics from Europe to upgrade the locally available stock. No doubt vast genetic resources have been lost forever in this way, not only in Africa, but right across the globe. Fortunately the Tuli, once singled out from the mass of indigenous stock has gone from strength to strength with the unique and useful genetics contained in the breed being enhanced rather than diluted.

Because of their unique genotype the Tuli's offer the maximum hybrid vigour in a cross breeding programme. The more remote the relationship between two breeds the greater the potential advantages from heterosis, and this is where a breed like the Tuli, so long developed in isolation, has the potential to improve productivity in a wide range of environments and management systems. Having developed in the tropics the Tuli is particularly well suited for use in cross breeding programmes in hard environments where the high resistance to ticks and heat, passed on to Tuli cross animals, will be invaluable. The Tuli's various features make it a useful contributor in developing new derivative breeds.

Mothering

The Tuli calf has an easy start in life, being small it is born without the trauma of a drawn out and difficult birthing process. Its mother has a well-balanced, compact neat udder and small, well-spaced teats, easy for the calf to find and latch on to. Milk production is plentiful, but not so high as to give scours of management problems with cows that have to be milked out. The Tuli cow, who is normally a docile and placid animal, is protective of her calf ensuring no harm can come its way and provides plenty of milk for a growing calf, though not so much that she milks herself into a poor state. Although small, Tuli calves are alert and vigorous right from the start.

Tuli cows have excellent teat and udder conformation, with teat and udder defects being so rare that to all intents and purposes they are non-existent.

Early Maturity

Tuli heifers and bulls reach sexual maturity at a relatively early age. This is an important economical consideration as the early sexual maturity gives the Tuli advantages in the area of life-time production over later maturing breeds, and helps to keep the cost of rearing replacements to a minimum.

Conformation and Meat

In conformation the Tuli is large-framed, rounded, well-balanced, with emphasis on a strong back and well-fleshed hindquarter.

The meat of the Tuli has relatively low levels of fat, and is tender, juicy, palatable meat with just sufficient fat to give a good marbling , with a minimum of bone in the cut. Tuli cattle have well developed muscle in the loin and hindquarter, from where the most expensive cuts of meat are obtained. It is generally a high yield of high price cuts.

High Fertility

The Tuli's legendary fertility is the quality which first raised interest in the breed and continues to be, economically, its most important asset. High fertility means more calves on the ground, whether the Tuli is bred straight or crossed, and , at the end of the day that is what really matters. Using a highly fertile breed then number of animals which have to be fed and maintained through periods of stress, while producing nothing is kept to a minimum.

Heat Tolerance

The smooth coated, light coloured, but full pigmented Tuli is well fitted out to survive and prosper in the hottest environment, The skin, which has brown pigmentation throughout is lightly mottled an unusual feature which indicates high blood circulation in the skin and is of exceptional importance in tropical animals. The light colour helps to keep the animal cool, which full pigmentation means the cattle are protected from harmful ultra-violet rays.

From the early days of the Tuli it was decided that progress in breeding would be slowed down if too many factors were selected for and it would be better to confine selection to a few economically important points. While the Tuli was bred for uniformity of conformation, uniformity of colour was felt to be desirable only if it could be achieved without loss of production. As a result the modern Tuli can be found in various shades of red, golden and creamy white. The Tuli is basically a red animal, and as red is a recessive factor, other factors are present in the Tuli that modify the red to yellow. The yellow may be further modified to become paler until eventually it is almost white. In a closed herd the colour intensity will shift to the light side. Smooth coated animals like the Tuli have better developed sweat and subacious glands than furry coated animals and are free from the curly hair which forms a mat on the animal's body preventing evaporation from the skin. The fact contributes to the Tuli's ability to withstand intense heat without showing signs of stress.

Instinctive Walkers

The Tuli has strong, clean, functional legs with hard, compact hooves. They are of necessity good walkers. Having developed in an environment plagued by periodic droughts, the Tuli developed the ability to search for food and water. Animals which were not good walkers would have had difficulty obtaining their maintenance requirements, and natural selection favoured strong animals who moved easily. As a result the modern Tuli is well adapted to semi arid conditions and can walk long distances for food and water.

Bos Taurus or Bos Indicus

There has, through the years, been some debate on which of the two main cattle divisions the Tuli falls into, Bos Taurus or Bos Indicus. Initially, due to its general appearance, particularly the male's well developed muscular cervico-thoraic hump, it was considered to fall into the Bos Indicus family. However this theory was upset recently when the Australians tested the Tuli using new genetic banding techniques and found the breed to be a derivative on the Bos Taurus genotype which was adapted to southern African conditions over 5 000 years. Recent work in the USA on Tuli beef quality also indicates that meat from Tuli crosses resembles that of Bos Taurus crosses, more than Bos Indicus.

Zimbabwean Tuli enthusiasts, having debated the subject at great length, tend now to treat the Tuli, so remotely related to any of the modern breeds, be they Bos Taurus of Bos Indicus, as a breed apart, calling it simply a pure African Sanga breed.

The most important and wide ranging trial in which the Tuli breed have been involved in Zimbabwe in recent years, has been the 'Breed Evaluation' studies at Matopos Research Station in the southern part of Zimbabwe, where the 'Mother Herd' was moved after leaving the Tuli Breeding Station. These trials have examined and compared a number of important characteristics of cattle breeds widely used for commercial beef production in Zimbabwe.

In the second phase of this wide ranging study, carried out at Matopos from 1979 to 1988, cow breed types were chosen to represent a wide variety of the cattle types and breeds used in Zimbabwe, these included: the three indigenous Sanga breeds of Zimbabwe, the Mashona, the Nkone and the Tuli; one exotic Sanga; the Afrikaner; two exotic Bos Taurus; Sussex and Charolais; and one exotic Bos Indicus; Brahman.

In the trial females were mated to a range of terminal sires; Africander, Tuli, Brahman, Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Simmental and Holstein/Friesian, and the females were assessed for fertility,progeny survival and growth, and based on these factors given an index for overall productivity.

Comments in the report of Siboniso Moyo who carried out the trials were, "the Tuli is a medium sized breed, being lighter than the Charolais, Brahman and Sussex, similar to Afrikaner and heavier than Nkone and Mashona"

"The fertility of the Tuli, expressed as calving rate, was excellent, surpassed only be the Mashona. Calves born to Tuli females had the highest survival rate to 90 days. Growth of progeny from Tuli females was intermediate, similar to progeny from Afrikaner, Nkone and Charolais, with growth from Brahman being greatest, while those from Mashona were least"

"However, for weight of calf at weaning and at 18 months of age per unit metabolic weight of cow exposed to the bull, the Tuli female was only surpassed by the Mashona and was similar to that of the Nkone. The productivity of the indigenous Sanga breeds is credited in part to their high fertility and calf survival rates within a harsh environment. The Tuli female. together with other indigenous Sanga breeds, was found to be highly productive and suitable as a dam line in crossbreeding programmes."

Further trials are being carried out on the Tuli, Brahman, Hereford and Simmental as purebreds, in addition to their crosses, for maternal characteristics. Different systems of finishing the progeny for beef will also be evaluated at Matopos.

Botswana, Zimbabwe's western neighbour, was one of the first countries to import Tuli's and breed soon became established there. The Botswana Animal Production research carried out trials on five widely used Sanga and Bos Indicus breeds over a ten year period from 1970 - 1980. These trials aimed to assess the merits of the five breeds in a number of economically important traits. Interestingly, this is one trial where the Tuli has been compared to the Tswana breed, the Zimbabwean branch of which today's Tuli stems from.

This work indicates a very strong link between calving percentage and productivity. This together with a low calf mortality appears to be far more important to overall productivity than simply the average weight of the calf crop.

When research at Australia's National Cattle Breeding Station, Belmont, led by Dr. John Frisch, identified the need for the introduction of tropically adapted breeds that were unrelated to Brahman, and that would complement that breed's attributes, Africa was scoured for suitable cattle breeds. After careful evaluation the most suitable candidates were found to be the Boran from Kenya and the Tuli from Zimbabwe. The most important factors in their favour were productivity, high fertility and adaptability to hotter regions, Both breeds have long histories as beef producers in a harsh environment and this fact along with their extreme genetic differences from previously introduced breeds has lent weight to the project. The radical difference in genetic make-up between the Tuli and all the breeds presently found in Australia is the key to Australian's enthusiasm for the breed.

The hybrid vigour of Bos indicus - Bos taurus crosses has been well documented, Offspring have the combined benefits on high growth rate and fertility of the Bos taurus and the stress resistance of the Bos indicus. However research indicates that following generations don't have the performance potential of the first cross. To maintain hybrid vigour after this initial cross a third genetically unrelated breed must be introduced ideally with the stress resistance and production potential of the first cross. The Australians believe the Tuli offers cattlemen greater scope to use crossbreeding to produce animals suited to their environment, management practices and target markets.

Getting them there: The Embryo Project

The Tuli was introduced to Australia in 1990 by CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and the Boran and Tuli Consortium (a group of 23 beef producers who had responded to a public advertisement), through the use of embryo transfer. Embryos were collected from purebred registered Tuli donors in Zimbabwe, washed and frozen and implanted into Australian bred recipients, on Cocos (Keeling) island. Embryo transfer began in August 1988 and continued for 5 months.

All health tests on the recipients and calves for African and Australian diseases were negative and the 74 calves which resulted from the project, once cleared for transportation to Australia, were loaded on board a giant Russian "Antonov" aircraft and were off loaded at Tullamarine Airport on March 2, 1990.

Tuli's are now being multiplied and are undergoing comprehensive evaluation for productive and adaptive attributes at Belmont, on the properties of Consortium members and elsewhere. The breed is being evaluated for growth, fertility, carcass composition and meat quality, resistance to ticks, intestinal worms, heat, drought,susceptibility to parasitic disease and bacterial infections and suitability to Australian conditions.

The research information so far available has encouraged the Joint Venture partners (CSIRO and the Consortium) to release the Tuli to other beef producers.

Filling a Niche

The Queensland and Northern Australia cattle industries are dominated by the Brahman breed which thrives in the hard environment, but does not always fulfil the rancher's requirements for fertility and good temperament. This is one of the niches where the Tuli can play invaluable role in improving the efficiency of beef production by maximising hybrid vigour and improving fertility in crossbred offspring. According to Dr. John Frisch, the CSIRO principle research scientist, about 30% of the cattle in Northern Australia are high grade Brahman with an additional 50% having some Brahman content. The simplest and quickest way to increase the efficiency of beef produced in many of these herds is to maximise hybrid vigour.

"The less the degree of relationship, the greater the hybrid vigour. Because the genes of the Boran and Tuli are unrelated to existing cattle here the degree of enhanced productivity from hybrid vigour is expected to be high, from 5% - 25%," says Dr. Frisch. "Their potential to boost production across Northern Australia is enormous and could easily be in the order of A$100 million a year."

It seems the Tuli has already captured the imagination of the ranchers in this area and demand for Tuli genetics is strong.

The profitability of beef production in Northern Australia is highly dependant on the use of productive "easy-care" cattle that satisfy the needs of range of markets. The Tuli is seen to fill these requirements, some of which are: that the cattle should be productive - growing and finishing at such a rate that they reach market specifications at the desired age without the need for extra management inputs; high reproductive rates even under tough conditions; cows should calve without difficulty; rear their calves without assistance; be free from physical defects and have a desirable temperament. They should have high resistance to the stresses of that region, particularly ticks, heat worms, eye disease and poor nutrition.

Research Results from Belmont, Australia

Research in Australia has found that when used in cross breeding programmes Tuli's can enhance productivity by contributing to an increase in growth rate, reproductive rate and "easy-care" characteristics. As part of an evaluation programme carried out at the National Cattle Breeding Station, Belmont, Boran and Tuli bulls have been crossed to cows from a wide range of breed types including Brahman, British, Belmont, Droughtmaster and Charbray. Some information is available from the first two calf crops born on Belmont since introduction of the Borans and Tuli's into Australia in March 1990.

Boran and Tuli crossbred calves from any tropically adapted cow breeds have been found to be relatively small at birth and are born without difficulty. They are vigorous and have high survival rates. Tuli crossbred calves from British cows are also relatively small and vigorous.

Growth of the Tuli crossbreds from each of the cow breeds used in the evaluation study has shown that the more distantly related the parent breeds the greater is the growth advantage of the resulting offspring. The greatest advantage in growth rate have been achieved without having to cross a breed of large mature size and without having to resort to dipping

and drenching. Tuli crossbreds were found to have high resistance to ticks.

Heifer crossbred calves from each of the cow breeds reach sexual maturity at a younger age than do the corresponding straightbreds from the same cow breeds. Tuli crossbred bulls have high testosterone levels (the sex-drive hormone), larger testes and higher sperm production, all indicators of high reproductive capacity.

Fertility Research Work at Belmont

Semen was collected from the bulls at an average age of 15 months and its quality assessed by analysing sperm motility, sperm concentration and the ration of live to dead sperm in the ejaculate. A point score ranging from 0 - 100 was used and the higher the score the more fertile the semen. Semen quality were derived from 133 bulls born at Belmont at the end of 1991. All the bulls were reared together and treated alike from birth.

Data from 145 heifers showed that for each genotype more Tuli cross heifers were cycling (i.e had reached sexual maturity) at about 15 months of age. The proportion of heifers cycling represents the proportion capable of becoming pregnant at that age.

In the Belmont Red and the Brahman dam group, Tuli and Boran crossbreds cycled at lower liveweight than the respective straightbreds. None of the straightbred, interbred Hereford x Shorthorns or interbred Brahmans was cycling, preventing comparison of liveweights at sexual maturity within these dam groups.

Weight Gain Work At Belmont

Straightbred progeny (Interbred Hereford x Shorthorn, Belmont Red, Brahman cross and Brahman) sired by straightbred bulls were compared to the progeny of Boran or Tuli resulted in and increase in liveweight.

The straightbred bulls were selected mainly for high growth characteristics, while the Boran and Tuli crossbred progeny were selected without regard to any characteristic. Growth records from 256 animals used.

Low liveweights of all groups are reflection of the severity of the environment in which they were reared. Despite the severe drought in Queensland, the Boran and Tuli crossbreds out performed the respective straightbreds.

All animals were reared together and treated alike. None were treated for internal or external parasites or were offered any supplementary feed.

The Tuli Association of Australia Inc.

Founded in 1990 , the Tuli Association has set in place Tuli Group Breedplan through the Australian Business Research Institute (ABRI), Armidale and this is available for members within an integrated system of performance and pedigree recording. Grade up herds with sufficient numbers are already on the system and have within herd EBV's.

The original pure bred herd of imported cattle and their progeny were dispersed throughout the industry in 1995 and breeders are accepting the challenge to increase numbers. There are cattle available from the breeding up process.

Contact the Secretary for information on the breed and the availability of cattle.

The Secretary

Tuli Association of Australia Inc.

P.O. Box 18

Jambin Q.4702

Ph. 07 4996 5245

Fax 07 4996 5362

International 61 7 4996 5245