About

Rainbow Ranchers started in 1992 as a privately operated cattle breeding and dairy centre and an active promoter of the Ankole culture of cattle-keeping.  We have since set up different ranches across the country with the main objective of producing quality cattle breeds, high quality beef and high milk yields.

We have three ranches; located in Sembabule, Rwandorwera and Kashongi Byanamira. Until recently, all these ranches were used to breed Ankole long-horned cattle. Now, this breed is only reared at the ranch in Sembabule, which also has a section specifically for Boran cattle.

Best practices

In ranching, there are three areas that require our attention: pasture, water, and tick control.

To adequately feed the animals, the pasture must be kept free of shrubs and water must be in constant supply. Moreover, in Africa, most of the diseases that affect livestock are tick related so regular treatment is essential.

We keep our herds at a maximum of two hundred (200) animals, because any group of animals larger than this will not look healthy as they will be struggling for pasture and water.

Breading

Good breeding practices make sure that our herds double annually;

We use a process called cold branding to brand each animal on the thigh. In this process, refrigerated nitrogen is used to make a mark on the skin of the animal. This acts like a signature, so everyone knows a Rainbow Ranches animal both at the farmer’s markets as well as if the animal wanders outside the ranch.