Health Management in Livestock Production

Good animal husbandry starts with proper health care and management. Livestock production is greatly affected by diseases. Having a knowledge of these diseases is important in planning and organizing effective animal health-care programmes. So, every livestock farmer should note the following precautions to maintain the good health of their animals.

• Prevent contact with infected livestock
• Avoid overcrowding in the house
• Keep the young animals separate from the adults
• Isolate sick animals
• Avoid equipment for sick animals being brought into goat house
• Prevent unhygienic people around the pen
• Get accurate and early disease diagnosis by a qualified veterinarian
• Avoid unnecessary medication
• Eliminate ticks, lice, mites and control predatory animals.
• Consider droppings as potential source of diseases
• Keep the pen clean and dry
• Keep the feed and water uncontaminated
• Ensure periodic vaccination
• Maintain record of incidence of diseases and treatment given

Since it has been known that diseases are one of the major factors that negatively influence the performance of farm animals; the following measures must be put in place to control diseases in farm animals:

• Quarantine (separate) new stock of animals coming into the farm for some days before introducing them into old stock
• Cull (remove) chronically infected animals
• Isolate animals that are sick from the main flock
• Dispose pen litter material properly
• Maintain personnel hygiene and sanitation
• Use of footbath
• Practice approved method of sanitation
• Change animal pastures periodically
• Vaccination of healthy animals (don’t ever vaccinate sick animals)
• Disinfect shed where sick animals was kept
• Use anti-serum in affected animals
• Slaughter, burn or bury 6ft deep with lime underground animals affected by a very serious disease
• Treat timely animal stock and regularly check them for signs of diseases
• Give immediate report of disease outbreak to the necessary Diseases Control authorities

Farmers have to take the health of their animals very important. These animals need to have good health, for them to be productive and profitable on the farm.