Short-Term Fattening and Supplemental Feeding

Fast Feed, Fast Fatten, Fast Fortune: The Future of Livestock Farming!

The technology is an intensive feeding method implemented within feedlots to efficiently bring animals to slaughter weight with optimal fat deposits. These facilities are strategically located near livestock markets and slaughterhouses, aiming for three rounds of fattening per year. The timing is often synchronized with festive seasons, capitalizing on peak demand and market prices. This approach not only ensures rapid and profitable turnover but also aligns with market dynamics, making goat and sheep fattening a lucrative and market-responsive agricultural practice.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

80 USD

cost of a young animal

ROI: $$$ 50 %

Net return in few months

70 USD

cost to finish a young animal in four months

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

Space Constraints: Livestock farming often requires extensive space, which may not be available for all farmers.
Risk Management: Livestock farming can be a risky venture, and farmers often seek methods that minimize these risks.
Time Constraints: Traditional livestock farming methods can take a long time to yield returns, which may not be suitable for farmers seeking quick results.
Acquisition of Suitable Animals: Finding and acquiring suitable young adult goats and sheep for fattening can be challenging.
Movement Restrictions: Implementing movement restrictions for intensive feeding in livestock can be difficult to manage.

Solution

Intensive Feedlot Farming: Utilizes less space by implementing intensive feeding methods within feedlots.
Rapid and Profitable Turnover: Minimizes risks by aiming for three rounds of fattening per year.
Quick Returns: Ensures returns within a short timeframe of three months.
Strategic Animal Selection: Recommends selecting animals of at least 20 kg in weight and avoiding older animals for fattening.
Effective Movement Restrictions: Provides solutions for implementing movement restrictions for intensive feeding.

Key points to design your business plan

Implementing the “Short-Term Fattening and Supplemental Feeding” technology in a business context involves key steps:

Initial Selection: Opt for healthy animals with large skeletal frames for maximum gain.
Castration: Consider this for males as it impacts fattening and meat quality.
Breed Selection: Choose breeds with quick growth potential and adaptability to fattening regimes.
Age and Weight Criteria: Select animals at least 20 kg in weight and avoid those beyond four years old.
Dietary Composition: Start with a diet including grass and hay, gradually reducing over two weeks.
Sorting and Group Rearing: Efficiently manage animals by sorting based on weight and gender, and rearing in groups.
Identification and Culling: Promptly cull animals not adjusting to intensive feeding.
Shelter Maintenance: Regular cleaning minimizes pest and disease threats.

The cost structure for implementing this technology can vary. For instance, fattening a young ram may cost about US $150, including the animal cost (around US $80) and fattening process cost (about US $70). Costs may encompass animal purchase, feed, necessary supplies, and operational costs like labor and transportation. These are general estimates; actual costs can vary based on project scale and local conditions.

These steps should be carefully planned and executed for successful implementation. The specific activities and their sequence may vary depending on the business context. A thorough feasibility study is always recommended before implementation.

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Burkina Faso	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Niger	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Somalia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Sudan	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Critical Initial Selection: The technology begins with a crucial step of selecting healthy animals without physical defects, emphasizing those with large skeletal frames for greater potential gain.
Castration Influence: For males, castration is highlighted as a practice that influences both fattening and the tastiness of meat.
Breed Consideration: Certain breeds are identified as having better potential for growth and quicker adjustment to fattening regimes.
Age and Weight Criteria: Animals beyond four years old are deemed unsuitable for fattening, and a minimum weight requirement of at least 20 kg is recommended.
Dietary Composition: The first two weeks involve including grass and hay in the diet, with a gradual reduction over time.
Sorting and Group Rearing: Where possible, sorting animals based on weight and gender is suggested, and raising them in groups for efficiency.
Identification and Culling: Animals not adjusting to intensive feeding should be identified and culled promptly from the fattening stock.
Feed Access Requirement: Each animal should have 15 to 20 linear centimeters of feed access.
Shelter Maintenance: Shelters should be cleaned regularly to minimize the threats of pests and diseases.
Animal Management Practices: All animals should be ear-tagged for identification, undergo deworming, and be weighed weekly for monitoring and management purposes.