LIVESTOCK HEALTH I ( INTRODUCTION )

Introduction

• Health is the state of the body in which all the organs and systems are normal and functioning normally.
• Disease is any deviation from the normal health of the animal.

 Importance of Keeping Livestock Healthy:

• Healthy animals give high income due to low treatment
• The productive life span of a healthy animal is longer.
• High production.
• Healthy animals can multiply regularly.
• Healthy animals give high quality products for example eggs.
• Safety of consumers of livestock products.

Predisposing Factors to Livestock Diseases

• These are conditions within or around the animal that make it easy for an animal to contract a disease.

 They include:

Animal factors such as;

• species,
• breed,
• age,
• sex
• colour of the animal.

Environmental factors such as;

• chilling,
• being rained on,
• exposure to hot sun
• dampne

Management factors such as;

• poor feeding,
• housing,
• handling
• hygiene,
• overcrowding .

 Signs of ILL-Health in Livestock

• Abnormal behaviour for example separation from the rest of the herd and restle
• Abnormal posture for example limping and lameness.

• Alimentary canal disfunction such as blood stained faeces and abnormal defecation, diarrhoea and dysentery.
• Urination: high frequency or too low and having strange colour.

• Skin: rough with scaly skin, blisters on the skin and hair loss.

Causes of Diseases

Pathogenic causes ;

• viruses,
• rickettsia,
• bacteria,
• protozoa
• fungi.

Physical causes;

• fractures,
• dislocation,
• sprains .

• Nutritional disorders for example milk fever.
• Chemical causes for example poisoning by agrochemicals.

Categories of Diseases

• Notifiable diseases ;

• These are diseases which cause high economic losses.
• Any case should be reported to the Chiefs, D.O.s, veterinary officers or the police.

• Tick-borne diseases – Transmitted by ticks.
• Breeding diseases – Transmitted through mating.
• Nutritional diseases for example milk fever and bloat.
• Parasitic diseases for example ascariosis.

General Methods of Disease Control

• Quarantine.
• Vaccination.
• Control of vectors by use of acaricides and rotational grazing.
• Disinfecting the equipment and buildings.
• Use of preventive drugs.
• Proper feeding of livestock.
• Culling of the animals which are carriers/slaughtering the affected animals.
• Use of artificial insemination to control breeding diseases.
• Proper selection and breeding of animals.
• Proper housing and hygiene,
• Isolating sick animals.

 Appropriate Methods of Handling Livestock

    Animals are handled for the following reasons:

• When inspecting the animal to ascertain any abnormality or signs of diseases.

• When administering any form of treatment such as drenching, injection and mastitis control.
• When spraying or hand dressing the animal with chemicals to control external parasites.

• When milking the animal.

• When performing some of the management practices such as dehorning, disbudding, castration, hoof trimming .

When carrying out these activities animals should be restrained in a crush.

Other methods of restraining animals include the use of;

• halters,
• ropes,
• bull ring
• lead stick.