Résumé: Cette étude a été entreprise dans trois villages de la région de Trarza en Mauritanie, afin de caractériser la poule locale. Dans les trois villages enquêtés tous les éleveurs ont été interviewés suivant un questionnaire rédigé en français et traduit oralement enhassanyaou enpoular(langues nationales) si nécessaire. Au total, 56 ménages ont été enquêtés et 260 oiseaux (69 coqs et 191 poules) ont été pesés et mesurés. Il ressort de l’étude que l'aviculture familiale est une activité sous la responsabilité des femmes. Malgré son importance socio-économique, elle n'est pas considérée comme une activité principale chez les enquêtés. L'alimentation, la santé et la faible productivité des poules ont été déclarées comme les principales préoccupations des éleveurs. L’âge moyen des poules à l'entrée en ponte est de 6 mois. Le poids moyen des mâles est de 1324 ± 249 g. Celui des femelles est de 1028 ± 229 g. Le poids moyen pour les deux sexes confondus est de 1107 ± 268 g. Le poids moyen de l’œuf est de 31 ± 4,81 g. Le poids moyen de poussin d'un jour est de 26 ± 6,03 g. Toutes les mensurations corporelles considérées sont plus élevées significativement (p < 0,05) chez les mâles. La variabilité observée des caractères permet d'envisager des possibilités de sélection de souches répondant aux besoins des éleveurs. Chez la poule locale le plumage est très varié et présente plusieurs colorations.

(1) Background: Milk is an important product in Mauritania both for livelihood and food and nutritional security. (2) Methods: In this study, we examine the economic performance of cattle farms in the Hodh Chargui region using data from a cross-sectional survey of 50 farms conducted in 2023. (3) Results: The results showed that the most significant cost item was animal feed (54%), followed by labor (40%) and charges induced by health and watering (3% each). In terms of income, the sale of young males accounted for the largest portion (48%), followed by the sales of dry cows (20%), lactating cows (17%), adult males (8%), and milk (7%). The average gross margin was MRU 131,697.82 ± 509,571.84 (equivalent to USD 3300.69 ± 12,771.22) per breeder per year. Out of the farms surveyed, 46% (23/50) reported a positive gross margin, while 54% reported a negative gross margin. (4) Conclusions: These results indicate a wide range of profitability, from lowest to highest, and suggest the need for improved management of cattle farms in Hodh Chargui in order to enhance their economic efficiency.

Background: Morphometric traits, defined as quantitative and qualitative measures of animal form and structure, are key indicators of goats’ adaptation to ecosystems. They also shed light on the interaction between genetics and the environment. Aim: This study characterizes the morphometric diversity of goats in four ecoregions: the local Arbia breed in 3 regions in Algeria and the Sahel breed in the Sahel region of Mauritania. Methods: Principal Component Analysis and Mahalanobis distances were used to reveal the phenotypic characteristics of 736 adult goats. Results: We identified three groups. Group 1, which includes desert and Sahelian regions, shows the highest divergence between goats (distance = 4.599), reflecting their contrasting adaptations: compact morphology in arid environments (HW = 65.1 cm, BL = 71.7 cm), and elongated necks in the Sahel (NL = 27.3 cm). Conversely, goats in the coastal and pastoral areas are morphologically closer (distance = 1.741), and form two distinct groups: group 2 includes robust goats (HW = 66.6 cm), typical of pastoral steppes, while goats in group 3 (coastal) have a deep chest (CD = 35.0 cm). These results suggest that ecological isolation is more likely to occur in extreme regions (desert/Sahel), whereas in temperate zones (coastal/pastoral), goat populations tend to be more homogeneous. Conclusions: The study advocates conservation strategies to improve goats’ water resilience in arid regions and optimize their productivity in pastoral areas. It also emphasizes the importance of integrating genomic data to further our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the different adaptations.

The dromedary is a species closely linked to the culture of Mauritanian society, essential for food security, livelihood, and socio-economic development. The present study was undertaken to assess the socio-economic aspect of camel breeding in Mauritania, a typical Sahelian country. The specific objectives are to characterize the socio-demographic and zootechnical parameters of camel breeding and to evaluate its economic impact. For this purpose, an individual semi-direct questionnaire was administered to a sample of 359 breeders throughout Mauritania, who collectively keep 26,527 dromedaries. Over 72% of breeders were over 45 years old, and 70% had never received formal education. 80% of breeders had been breeding camels for over 25 years. The zootechnical performances were 2.82 L per day, 12.04 months, 11.73 months, and 23.13 months respectively for milk production, age at weaning, lactation duration, and calving-to-calving interval. Average selling prices were 13,544.24 MRU (equivalent to 342.89 $USD), 42,023.88 MRU (1,063.89 $USD), and 44,174.22 MRU (1,118.33 $USD) for young, adult females and adult males respectively. The selling age of young animals varies from 6 to 48 months, with an average of 16.17 ± 7.08 months. Pertinent indicators of economic importance were calculated, such as animal sales volume per breeder per year, job creation, annual total income per breeder, and annual total income per adult female, clearly showing the encouraging impact of camel breeding. A multifactor analysis based on productivity variables allowed us to identify 4 types of breeders, including two with a focus on dairy production and two whose primary focus is the production of live animals “Meat production”. The four types identified were “Dairy production in accessible pastoral areas”, “Dairy production around peri-urban areas”, “Meat production in remote pastoral areas” and “Meat production around peri-urban areas”. The first group consists of 164 (43.21%) farms with an average herd size of 69.90 ± 55.86 heads, generating the annual total income of 941,572.96 MRU/breeder (equivalent 23,837.22 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 14,790.11 MRU (375 $USD). The second group includes 73 (20.33%) farms. They have an average herd size of 74.53 ± 54.69 heads, and generate the annual total income of 976,336.15 MRU/breeder (24,717.37 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 15,818.68 MRU (625.50 $USD). The third group consists of 78 (21.72%) farms with an average herd size of 88.39 ± 103.8 heads. They generate the annual total income of 1,116,282.45 MRU/breeder (28,260.31 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 23,757.47 MRU (601.45 $USD). The tetrad group consists of 44 (12.25%) farms with an average herd size of 67.26 ± 58.93 heads, generating the annual total income of 825,592.58 MRU/breeder (20,5901.07 $USD), and the highest annual total income per adult female of 40,176.11 MRU (1,017.11 $USD). These results demonstrate the positive impact of camel breeding and can be used as a basis for any future development scenario for Mauritanian dromedaries.

The Moorish zebu supports pastoral livelihoods in Mauritania, but regional morphometric variation has not been quantified using a common field protocol. To describe phenotypic variation among adult lactating cows from three Mauritanian regions and explore whether the sample contained distinct morphometric groups. A purposive cross-sectional sample included 352 cows from 158 herds in Hodh Chargui, Brakna, and Trarza. Sixteen direct measurements, estimated body weight, 16 zoometric indices, and six qualitative traits were recorded. Regional comparisons used one-way analysis of variance; LDA, PCA, and K-means explored multivariable structure. Associations with recorded milk yield were examined in 349 cows. LDA classification was validated by leave-one-herd-out cross-validation across the 158 sampled herds. Nominal regional differences were most evident for thoracic dimensions, estimated weight, and udder traits. Herd-grouped LDA classified 59.5% of cows to their region of origin, 2.9 points lower than non-grouped cow-level validation (62.4%). Three principal components explained 50.3% of variance. A three-group partition had weak separation (silhouette = 0.281, versus 0.298 for two groups). Teat length showed the largest unadjusted correlation with daily milk yield (r = 0.381). The exploratory three-trait model had non-nested cross-validated R ² = 0.162 and RMSE = 1.19 L/d. Sampled cows displayed overlapping regional morphometric variation rather than discrete regional types. This study nonetheless provides the first multi-region, herd-aware morphometric description of Moorish zebu cows in Mauritania, establishing provisional descriptive references while showing why current evidence does not yet support a breed standard, regional genetic subdivision, or phenotypic selection criterion; the proposed clusters and milk model require independent, herd-aware validation.