Beef cattle production and management
Practical Action
Chapter Five - Animal Health Management
Introduction
Good animal health management is important to improve beef production. As a result, there is
need to control and prevent the spread of diseases. Tickborne diseases, for example, pose a
major challenge to beef production and management to smallholder farmers, particularly those
in the communal areas - through lack of adequate tick control.
Objective:
By the end of this session, the participants will be familiar with:
Internal and external parasite control measures
Identifying a diseased animal and be able to come up with the recommended treatment for
the specific disease
A vaccination programme for prevention of certain common diseases
Materials:
Flip chart, magic markers, pictures of common diseases
Method:
Group discussions, facilitator notes, brainstorming
Duration:
2 hrs
1. Internal Parasite Control
The main signs of worm infestation in cattle are diarrhoea, emaciation, rough coat, swollen
abdomen and bottle jaw (swelling under the jaws). Worms cause heavy economic losses hence
the need to control them. There are three main methods of controlling internal parasites
in cattle, namely:
a) Dosing
Cattle should be dosed at
stipulated intervals using a
broad-spectrum dewormer. It
is best to use a different type
of worm remedy than the one
used last time each time
cattle are dewormed. The
most important group of
animals to be dewormed are
young animals, animals being
kept for fattening and
pregnanat animals. A
strategic dosing programme
has been in use in the past
whereby cattle are dosed
Beef cattle need proper health management
twice a year – that is at the
beginning of the dry season
(when cattle are being fed on
maize stover soon after
harvesting) and at the onset
of the first rains.
However, cattle can be dosed when they are showing signs of worm infestation. Also, all
new brought in animals should be dewormed before they are introduced to the rest of the
herd.
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