From page 31
K A sound immunisation
programme should be
followed.
K Clean, healthful surroundings should be provided.
K Rations must be nutritionally adequate.
K Visitors and new animals
should not be allowed in the
livestock area.
K Diseases should be
accurately and quickly
diagnosed.
K A competent veterinarian
should be consulted when a
health problem arises.
K Livestock should be
handled properly. For
example, canvas slappers,
rather than clubs and whips,
should be used.
K Protruding nails and
broken boards should be
eliminated from stabling,
fencing etc.
K Machinery and equipment
should be removed from
grazing fields.
K Horned cattle should be
dehorned.
ANIMAL HEALTH
Stress, for example when moving or
handling livestock, is a major contributor
to disease
removing the host. The
ultraviolet rays of sunlight kill
pathogens when the pasture
does not have livestock in it
to reinfest it.
Use disinfectants. Chemicals
that restrict the growth of
pathogens should be used
regularly. Soap and boiling
water are two inexpensive
disinfectants available to
livestock producers.
K Barns should be bedded
good drainage - floors and
properly.
pens must be kept dry and
K When moving animals
clean. Bedding must be kept
they should be loaded slowly fresh, and manure should be
and carefully, into vehicles
disposed of often.
specifically designed for their Systematic pasture rotation is
transportation.
a practical method of disease
K Partitions should be used
and parasite control. It breaks
to separate different classes of the life cycle of pathogens by
livestock.
K Livestock should be
protected from inclement
weather.
Take care in the animals' living
quarters. Make sure that there
is sufficient space for all
animals. Crowded conditions
tend to promote the incidence of disease. Municipal
health regulations in force
throughout Gauteng stipulate
the amount of space required
in the housing of various types
of livestock.
There must always be fresh air
and temperature control
Overcrowding and dirty living conditions are sure-fire ways to promote
through ventilation. Ensure
diseases among livestock.
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