PET CARE From page 42
along? Is there fighting? Are certain pets intimidating others? Is each pet comfortable enough to have a good quality of life? ❑ How do the pets look? Are they clean, groomed and healthy looking? Are they able to move around comfortably? Do they get adequate exercise? Are they fed a good quality diet? Is everyone spayed or neutered and protected against disease? Are they all getting wellness check-ups at least annually, and more often for those with health conditions, and senior pets? ❑ How are things in the sanitation department? Are they properly house trained? Does the home smell of urine or faeces? ❑ How clean is the home overall? Is the pet hair being removed from furniture and floors routinely? ❑ How about the outside of the home – is it in decent
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condition? Weeds pulled, grass mowed, dog faeces picked up and disposed of? ❑ Is the yard fenced for the dogs? Finances, time, and space are probably the prime factors in deciding on how many pets you should have and that varies greatly from one family to another. You have to be really dedicated to cleaning, feeding and playing with a large number of pets. Many people have pets which don ' t cost much annually to vet but aren ' t prepared for the emergencies or accidents that inevitable arise. In the case of dogs it is preferable to train all of them, as this will help in dealing with conflicts among them. We also need to be aware of the possible health risks of keeping cats and dogs. Dogs that are not regularly dewormed can excrete tapeworm in their faeces. If ingested by sheep, and sometimes cattle, the |
tapeworm cysts can lodge in the animal ' s brain causing a condition called Gid( Coerurus cerebralis). As the cysts develop, they press on the brain cells and cause nervous symptoms such as blindness, staggering and circling. Cats can be carriers of the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, which is a disease of man and most warm-blooded animals. In cats, the infection is often sub-clinical, which means the
POULTRY From page 42
they drank water 22-45 times a day. As age increases, the number of feeding times dropped but total feed eaten increased. Temperature needs to be carefully regulated if you are keeping chicks in a brooder. The chick ' s first response after hatching is to seek warmth and cover. They are very vulnerable to draughts. Body temperature at birth is
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38.6 C rising to 40 C by Day 9. If heating is inadequate, chicks huddle together in a semicircle facing outwards
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symptoms are not easy to see, so you won ' t know that your cat has it. Many humans, especially vets and cat-owners, carry the antibodies to toxoplasma in their blood and have never been ill with the disease. The main danger to humans of toxoplasmosis is to pregnant women and those with suppressed immune systems. Concerning for smallholders who keep sheep is that the disease is a major cause of abortion in ewes.
and can easily smother in corners away from draughts or in sunny spots. When too hot they disperse away from the heat source. Chicks will not move out into colder temperatures for food before five to seven days. Low rearing temperatures( eg, 19.5 ° C) will slow growth, cause earlier feathering but increase the size of organs such as the heart, thyroid and adrenal glands compared to chicks reared at 30 ° C. Chicks with their mother of course have a built in source of heat and protection from draughts.
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