Morphometric characteristics of Arado cattle breed and livestock keeper perceptions on the breed’s performance were studied in 279 smallholder farms and on 110 adult male and female animals in three districts, namely “Asgede-Tsimbla”, “Tahatay-Koraro” and “Medebay-Zana”. The districts were/are known to be the main tract of “Arado” cattle breed in Northern Ethiopia. Data were collected by way of questionnaire survey, farm visit and measurements of morphometric characteristics.

All the smallholder farms were practicing mixed crop-livestock production and their primary reason of keeping “Arado” cattle was for draught purpose. Cows give an average milk yield of 1 to 2 l per day for an average lactation period of 7.3 months. The breed is also said to have appreciable resistance to disease and drought conditions. A total of 17 qualitative traits were assessed by visual examination. The “Arado” cattle have a uniform red coat color. Almost all animals were horned and have small to medium sized humps, located predominantly in cervico-thoracic position. They have, predominantly, straight facial and back profile, and medium to long tail length. Cows have small udder and teats. From a total of 15 body measurements taken, average heart girth values were 144.6±1.6cm and 138.0±0.8 cm, respectively, in male and in female animals. The height at wither was 115.6±0.8cm in males and 107.0±0.8cm in females, while body length was measuring 108.1±1.1cm in males and 103.5±1.3cm in females. In all quantitative traits, male animals had higher values than females (P<0.05). There was, however, no effect of spatial location (sampling district) on morphometric measurements. The breeding method practiced by almost all respondents was, however, uncontrolled natural mating. The “Arado” breed of today is found to be smaller than what was reported for the same breed some four decades back. Farmers also perceived that the “Arado” breed population has decreased over the years. Therefore, as a priority, suitable breeding strategies and conservation models should be devised for the overall improvement of the breed.