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Zimbabwe Herd Book Page

Please note ZHB launched its own new website in May 2022, packed with information for livestock breeders. Click HERE or on the ZHB logo at left to visit...

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ZHB Breeder Requirement Courses - next course dates TBA - email trace@lit.co.zw for more info

For pictures of the first six courses and stud visits in Gweru, Esigodini, Chinhoyi, Macheke, Beatrice and Harare, click HERE.

These ZHB Courses are designed to inform breeders of their requirements and formats for data submissions to the Herd Book and cover:

  • ZHB Data Registry function of maintaining relevant Herd Books for Societies
  • System of Animal Identification
  • Birth Notifications
  • Request for Information (RFI)
  • Fates (departures) – transfers, culls, death
  • Performance Records
  • DNA Sample
  • Inspection List
  • Levy List
  • Herd List – on request
  • Breed Runs
  • Calendar Year vs Calving Year
  • Timetable of events
  • Introduction to Genomics
Click HERE to download ZHB Breeder's Requirements Course Notes in PowerPoint

Click HERE to download the relevant ZHB Templates

For the January 2022 Issue of Livestock Registering Foundation's Newsletter, follow this link : LRF-TF News

Download the latest Breed Society Reports Feb 2022 HERE

ZHB logo About The Zimbabwe Herd Book

Pedigree livestock - also known as stud animals - are the seed stock of the livestock industry and is the basis of stud breeding.

The Zimbabwe Herd Book was established by an Act of Parliament in 1980 to oversee the registration of pedigree livestock.

Stud breeding involves the controlled mating of livestock and detailed birth notifications of progeny with parents are recorded with the Herd Book. In addition, stud breeders record the fertility, survival and growth performance.

Livestock production depends on three pillars: genetics, health and husbandry. Stud Breeding - genetics - is the cornerstone of commercial livestock production. A strong commercial industry is dependent on a healthy and vibrant stud industry to offer stud/breeding stock that meet requirements in a range of production environments and market scenarios.

At its annual National Sales, all animals on offer have undergone veterinary examination and inspection so that the livestock industry is offered a wide range of top quality genetics.

Stud breeding is a long-term passion where breeders strive to breed the ‘best’ animal. Breeders apply modern breeding technologies to carefully select animals to be parents of the next generation and in so doing, improve the genetic merit of future generations.

Breeders also select parent material from outside the country in the form of live imports, semen and embryos. Stud breeding also requires the meticulous recording of parentage (pedigree) as well as specific performance data that measures reproduction, survival and growth.

These performance figures, together with the parentage information, are used to select the best animals to be parents of the next generation. Genetic improvement is therefore passed on from generation to generation and from the stud herd to the commercial herd.

ZHB has implemented BreedPlan, the leading performance evaluation software from Australia. The industry can now avail itself of the latest technologies that provide both breeders and commercial producers with accurate genetic assessment of animals that are selected for breeding purposes.

A wide range of genetic material is also available for commercial producers who want to select the best breeds and breed combinations to meet their particular production environments.

It is more economical to select the right breed for a particular production environment than adapt the environment to meet the requirements of the breed.

Beef cattle breeds can be grouped into six sub-groups:

Group Sub-Group Breeds General Characteristics
Bos Taurus British Hereford, Sussex, Angus Medium to large, fast growth
European Simmental, Limousin, Blonde d'Aquitaine Large to very large, very fast growth
African Mashona, Nguni, Tuli Small to medium, excellent reproduction and survival
Bos Indicus African Boran Small to medium, excellent reproduction and survival
Indian Brahman Medium to large, adapted to the tropics
Synthetics Beefmaster, Bonsmara, Charbray, Drought Master, Santa Gertrudis, Senepol and Simbra

Setting Up Calving Year in BreedPlan

In the instance where a breeder has not defined a ‘Calving Year’ in BreedPlan, animals are treated as distinct groups within a Calendar Year, e.g. 2021 born calves, and ident of all calves starts with year of birth, i.e. ‘21’. This typically applies to year-round calving.

For breeders with a calving season that extends over the calendar year, for example, calving from September to March, provision can be made in BreedPlan to identify these animals as being in the same calving contemporary group.

This will avoid splitting the contemporary group in genetic analyses according to calendar year.

To cater for this, we firstly require you to confirm your Calving Year. For example, with a calving season extending from September to March, then a Calving Year can be defined as April to March.

Then all calves born from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022 will be given the same Year of Birth in their Ident, that is 21-NNNNHDL.

Kindly advise your Calving Year so that we can make necessary edits to BreedPlan to cater for your calving seasons. To do so, email:

trace@lit.co.zw

Click here to download the CEO of the Livestock Registering Federation's end of year message 2021

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Click below to visit Boran Breeders Society of Zimbabwe website

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Click logo below to visit the Brahman Breeders Society website

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Click below to visit Mashona Cattle Society of Zimbabwe website

Click logo below to visit Tuli Cattle Society 0f Zimbabwe website

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Click banner below to visit the
Tuli Cattle Federation of Southern Africa's website

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Beef School 2021
Links to Papers and Presentations

ZHB Awards Beef School 2021

Bob Weaber - Ideal Cow Size

Doug Bruce -
A New Calf Killer on the Horizon

Doug Follwell -
Practical Cattle and Veld Experiences

Japie Jackson and Jesse Steele -
Wabai Poisoning

John Lawrence - Theilerias and their control

Josphat Nyika - Current status of cattle diseases and their control in Zimbabwe

ZHB Beef School 2021 Sponsors and Exhibitors

Beef School 2019
Links to Papers and Presentations

Charles Waghorn - Zimbabwe a Veterinary History

Steve Miller -
Improved Productivity through Genomics

Ajs Kirk - Bush Dairy

Doug Bruce - Senkobo Disease

Ferdi Jordaan - Bush Control

Hugh Nivison - The Australian Experience

Izaan du Plooy - Beef Genomics Project

Johan Mouton - Heifer Rearing

Johan Mouton - Veld Management Principals

John Lawrence - Theileriosis Today

Kim Matthews - Beef Breeding Developments

Kim Matthews - The European Experience

Steve Miller - The USA Angus Experience

Wilmot Chikurunhe - Compartmentalisation

Beef School 2018 - Links to Papers and Presentations

ZHB and LMAC Update at Beef School 2018

Cliff Lamb -
Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle

Brad Crook - Developments in International Genetic Evaluations

Michael McGowan - Building a Fertile Herd

Reuben Mapletoft - Applied Reproductive Strategies in Livestock in Canada

Llewellyn Angus -
Practicalities of Selection for Fertility

Cliff Lamb - Alternative Measures of Fertility

Michael McGowan - Superovulation of Cattle

Reuben Mapletoft -
In-Vitro Embryo Production in Calves

Bobby Lawrence -
Innovations with Forage Preservation

Brad Crook -
Making Use of Genomics in Beef Cattle Breeding

Michael McGowan: Economics of Fixed Time AI

Cliff Lamb - Utilising Reproductive Management

ZHB-logo Contact The Zimbabwe Herd Book at

Old Show Office, Exhibition Park, Samora Machel Ave, Belvedere, Harare

+263 242 756 600, 772 915, 777 391

Email addresses: zimherdbook@gmail.com and trace@lit.co.zw