30 Nov 2022

Farmers have been vaccinate their livestock before the rainy season to avoid high mortalities of their livestock.

This was revealed by Kanye Veterinary Officer, Dr Benjamin Sebonego in an interview  recently. Dr Sebonego said farmers should take precaution because as the rainy season brought about about different livestock diseases.

“Vaccination that is not done on time can result in high mortalities because clostridia diseases are very hard to cure and are deadly,” he added.

Dr Sebonego said the right kind of medication had to be used for each disease, adding that there were several vaccinations against pasturella and clostridia diseases.

“All medications have to be used at the right dosages,” he said.

He said deworming was also vital as worm burdens increase during the rainy season period, advising only deworm after observation of clinical signs, such as bottle jaw, green and watery diarrhoea without any blood.

“Hatching of the worm eggs are dormant over winter,” he said.

Dr Sebonego said ticks and flies multiplied at an alarming rate during the wet season, hence the need for dipping, to fight them.

“Vector borne diseases such as heart water, tick borne fever and lumpy skin disease also increase in incidence during this season,” he said.

Dr Sebonego explained that due to wet conditions, especially in kraals, there was build-up of coccidiosis that affected mostly lambs, kids and calves.

Due to the change in weather conditions, especially temperature and diet, animals tend to get stressed out resulting in them getting pneumonia, he said, adding that as fresh green grass that had more energy increased during this season, it created a conducive environment for harmful bacteria to increase in the rumen of livestock.

“As this happens, toxins that are produced by these bacteria enter the animal’s body and cause damage in the kidneys and pulpy kidney in small stock as well as black quarter in sheep and cattle,” he added.

Dr Sebonego therefore advised farmers to visit veterinary offices  for advice regarding the right medication, dosages as well as the right time of vaccination.

He also advised farmers to use mineral licks, especially di-calcium phosphate, as most young ones required calcium for development.

He said the supplementation of animals with di-calcium phosphate also allowed them to have the right amount of milk for their offspring to grow optimally, adding “mineral blocks are also very important as they help with restoring micro and macro minerals”.

Dr Sebonego stressed the need for farmers to follow good livestock management practices by keeping records of all activities in their operations. ENDS