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Livestock Farming
This is an open discussion forum on various topics concerning livestock keeping.
Goat pen for our recently imported goats almost done. Tomorrow, we shall be working on the finishings.
Location: Mugi Farm, Ngobit, Laikipia County
Size:30m by 10m
Capacity: 300 goats
The first investment of goat farming is spent on pen or shelter for goats. It is a very important...
Despite considerable research, nothing definite is known as to the actual origin of the cattle first brought to Jersey Island. Most research agrees that the Jersey probably originated from the adjacent coast of France, where in Normaaling Jerseys are found.
Purpose: Milk production.
Average...
Cultivation of green grass within the dairy farm area is extremely important for a successful business and is also considered economical. Generally, dairy farm owners do not pay much attention to the cultivation of fodder and focus mainly on feeding the cattle with concentrated feed, which...
Salmonella pullorum infection is an infectious, egg-transmitted disease affecting chicks and turkey poults. This disease is often associated with white diarrhea and high mortality in young birds, whereas adults are non-symptomatic carriers of infection. This disease has also been known as...
Fowl pox is a viral disease of chickens and turkeys that is characterized by eruptions and scab-like lesions on the combs, wattles and around the mouth, as well as diphteritic or plaque-like lesions in the mouth, esophagus, and the upper part of the trachea. The causative agent is a poxvirus...
Infestation of sheep and goats with larvae of the nasal bot fly (Oestrus ovis) has a serious effect on the productivity and welfare of both sheep and goats. Adult fly activity induces stress responses and significant behavioral change while larval infestation induces moderate to severe pathology...
Rupture of the gastrocnemius muscle or tendon is relatively rare. It is most likely to be associated with deficiencies of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Prolonged recumbency, with resulting myositis and struggling to rise, occasionally precipitates rupture of these muscles.
Clinical Signs...
This is a parasitic nematode worm that infects the tracheas of certain birds. The resulting disease, known as "gape" or "the gapes", occurs when the worms clog and obstruct the airway.
Many people mistake the difficulty a bird has with breathing as some kind of respiratory infection and may...
This condition has nothing to do with fever, but rather with an improper calcium-to-phosphorous ratio in the diet.
Grain is usually the culprit here, because it is high in phosphorous but low in calcium.
The condition occurs toward the end of pregnancy, when the babies need calcium for bone...
What causes this?
It is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although the exact etiology is unknown, many management conditions and genetics can predispose a flock to an outbreak. Some of these are:
Insufficient access to resources, including feed, water, perch or...
Vent pasting is as a result of so many factors as discussed below.
1. Water availability in the brooder:
Chickens that are unable to have easy access to water when they have eaten will get a pasted vent.
It simply means the feed will not be easily digested, so in the same way the bird will...
a) Production traits
This mainly refers to milk volume and its contents i.e. percentage of butterfat level, protein and other non-fat solids. Milk volume should be considered relative to amount of feeds consumed since more produce from relatively lesser fodder is proof of a high feed conversion...
Drugs for Livestock Care
Drugs are allowed in organic farming as per veterinary recommendations but alternative medicine is preferred. Preventive use of drugs is forbidden and antibiotics can be used a limited times, with a double withdrawal time. Animal health care is still not sufficiently...
Inheritance of Characteristics
Genes determine the way animals look - the observable trait. Thus the length of ear in sheep is the expression of the genes that regulate ear length. The breeder can only plan according to the trait observed. Repeatability and heritability are two kinds of...
Purpose: Meat production
Average body size: Large (average live-weight 550 kg)
Description: Body color reddish brown body with white head and feet
Advantages:
1. Good beef conformation for the discerning consumer.
Disadvantages:
1. High forage requirement
2. As all exotic breeds Hereford is...
Purpose: Milk and meat production
Average body size: small (average live-weight 250-300 kg)
Description: Body colour is variable, the breed has a prominent hump
Advantages:
1. Very hardy and disease resistant animal
Disadvantages:
1. Milk production potential is low (5 liters/day)
2. Late...
This Zebu breed originates from India and Pakistan. National study was established in 1963 in Naivasha with the purpose of improving the breed for milk and beef i.e. as dual purpose breed. For a long time the breed was confined to government farms where the focus was conservation...
By careful selection and application of the strict standards of excellence of the Boran Cattle breeders Society, the Boran breed has been developed into an ideal beef animal suitable for the arid range areas to be found in many parts of the world.
The original strains of the breed came from...
Fleckvieh has usually a white head and tail and red (brown) coat.
Purpose: Meat and milk production
Average body size: Large (average live-weight 750 kg)
Description: Body color brown and white or black and white
Advantages:
1. High production potential with good management and good feeding...
The Guernsey originated on the small Isle of Guernsey, situated in the English Channel just off the coast of France. There is no concrete evidence as to the development of the Guernsey before the 19th Century but there may be some truth in the theory that the Isigny cattle of Normandy and the...