dyton mupawaenda
Obert Chifamba
IT’S time cattle farmers in January disease hotspots revive the 5-5-4 dipping schedule to suppress the brown tick that causes Theileriosis (January disease), which has killed in excess of a million cattle in recent years and also vaccinate their herds against diseases like anthrax, botulism and Blackleg to name a few, the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has said.
DVS chief director Dr Josphat Nyika yesterday told this publication that a host of diseases usually surfaced during the transitional period from winter to summer, hence the need for farmers to be proactive and take preventive measures to ensure they do not lose stock to diseases.
“Diseases like Theileriosis are transmitted by ticks and with the approaching rainy season, tick activity is usually high so the risk is also high. Farmers will need to make sure animals are vaccinated against anthrax, as its spores are usually picked up together with fresh grass by cattle as they graze. There is also the threat of blackleg that is caused by a bacterium, which is soil borne.
“Farmers must also not forget the danger posed by Botulism, which can be successfully contained using the three-in-one vaccine while foot rot becomes a problem as soon as there is mud in kraals after heavy rains. One other thing farmers must remember is to deworm their cattle against internal parasites to ensure they are healthy going into the rainy season,” explained Dr Nyika.
Dipping cattle religiously during the rainy season is important for getting get rid of external parasites (ticks), which transmit diseases such as Theileriosis, bovine babesiosis, Anaplasmosis and Erlichiosis. External parasites, or ectoparasites cause blood loss, open sores and cuts and affected animals lose appetite and are stressed.
Meanwhile, DVS director Dr Jairus Machakwa also echoed Dr Nyika’s calls to value the health of livestock urging farmers to adopt urea treatment to increase the bioavailability of protein that helps keep cattle in good condition throughout the dry season when there is mainly dry stover left after harvest in fields.
“Healthy weights are maintained and high quality beef and milk are produced throughout the year. There is also reduced risk of protein deficiency diseases. This improves the general health of the animals during the dry season. It also helps improve fertility of breeding animals since they will be in good condition.
“Urea treatment is a technology developed to improve the nutritive value of high fibrous crop residues for the efficient utilisation of available feed resources. Urea is included as a source of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in feed during the dry season,” said Dr Machakwa.
Upon consumption, urea converts to ammonia in the rumen, where it is used by rumen microflora (bacteria and protozoa) to synthesise protein. This protein then becomes available to the animal through the normal processes of digestion and absorption.
For 10kg stover, 0, 5 kg of urea fertiliser is dissolved in 10 litres of water, which is then sprinkled on stover and kept in an air tight environment for eight days.
Low quality herbage, for example from maize after harvesting, has a crude protein percentage of 0, 5 to 2, 5 percent. But after urea treatment, the crude protein in the herbage increases to between 12 and 15 percent. Urea ids therefore an excellent source of protein for ruminants. Dr Machakwa encouraged farmers to appreciate the fact that it was cheaper to prevent diseases through vaccinations and dipping than to control an outbreak, in the same way it is cheaper to supplement cattle with urea treated stover in a drought situation than to purchase commercially available feeds.
He added that the presence of external parasites like ticks on cattle aggravated the effects of drought and further worsened the condition of livestock, as ticks sucked blood causing weakness due to loss of blood, stress, secondary infection on wounds and spread of tick-borne diseases like January disease.
Online Reporter