Animal Production S.5-6

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL -MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT 2019
LIVESTOCK KEEPING IN EAST AFRICA
Livestock refers to all domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, etc.
USES OF LIVESTOCK.
-A source of food e.g. beef, milk and eggs.
-Serve as work animals i.e. provide farm power e.g. oxen used for ploughing and pulling carts.
-Serve as park animals e.g. National parks.
-Provide products such as skins and hides, and shelter in some communities e.g. nomadic
communities.
-Provide raw materials for industries e.g. milk and leather industries.
-Used as a sign of wealth and prestige and Masai and Turkana.
-Bulls fight and cork fights are a source of recreation and entertainment.
-Serve social roles in many communities e.g. in East Africa e.g. Marriage transactions and
deviation (sacrifices).
-Used for domestic and industrial security e.g. dogs.
-Provide manure which improves soil fertility and crop production.
-Animal wastes e.g. urine, are used to control pests in crops e.g. banana weevils (cosmopolites
sodidus).
-Are used as pets e.g. cats, dogs, etc.
-Livestock waste products such as dung and urine can be used to provide cheap source of energy
e.g. biogas.
-It is a reserve of family wealth.
-It is a source of employment to the farmers.
-It is a source of income to the farmers.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT LIVESTOCK DISTRIBUTION IN EAST AFRICA.

-Presence of pests and disease causing organisms.
-Prevalence of livestock diseases that cause death.
-Ethnic biases to livestock e.g. some tribes that do not keep sheep.
-Availability of land since it requires more land.
-Topography of the land i.e. not ideal on steep hills.
-Availability of feeds and pastures for livestock.
-Social factors e.g. keeping it for prestige.
-Religious beliefs e.g. Adventists and Moslems who do not keep pigs.
-Climate e.g. rainfall and temperature.
-Cultural practices e.g. cattle restling in teso by karamajong.
MAJOR PROBLEMS OF LIVESTOCK IN EAST AFRICA:

-Diseases and parasites (pests)
-Inadequate capital for buying good quality animals.
-Poor yielding breeds of livestock.
-Inadequate availability of veterinary services.
-Inadequate processing plants for livestock products.
-Unavailability of extensive land for livestock production.
-Poor transport network to take the perishable products quickly to the markets.
-Expensive inputs such as drugs.
-Inputs are not adequately available.
HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

TYPES OF LIVESTOCK
The types of livestock refers to the purpose for which the animals is kept e.g. for beef, broiler for
meat and layers for eggs
A breed of livestock refers to the genetic kind of the animal.eg ability to produce milk, ability to
grow rapidly, etc.E.g friezians, Boran, Sanga, etc.
Within each type of animals, there are many breeds e.g. Dairy animals (type), there are breeds
such as Friezians, Jersey, Guansey, etc.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOCAL AND EXOTIC ANIMALS.
Local or Indigenous animals are the ones that have been bred in our local environment for many
years e.g. Local chicken, E.African Zebu, etc.
Exotic animals are those that have been introduced to our local environment from foreign
environment especially in terms of climate.
IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS LIVESTOCK IN E. AFRICA:

- Indigenous livestock are well adapted to the tropical conditions in E. Africa and for
long, therefore, they have been the main source of human food in E. Africa.
- They are hardy and can walk long distances, hence they are used to perform lobs
cheaply e.g. ploughing and transportation.
- They are a source of income especially to the rural communities, hence help in poverty
Alleviation.
- They are a source of livelihood and employment to many people due to their resistance
to diseases and ability to withstand adverse climatic conditions.
- They act as a store of wealth and for prestige in some communities especially nomads.
- It is a source of fibre for the clothing industry e.g. hides and skins.
- Provide raw materials for the industries hence contributing to industrial and economic
Development.
LOCAL SYSTEMS OF LIVESTOCK KEEPING:

Despite the presence of many modern methods of livestock keeping in E. Africa and the increased
number of livestock farmers, majority of animals are still kept under traditional methods such as
tethering, free range, etc.
However, there are two major local systems:
1. NOMADIC SYSTEM:
This is a system where farmers keep large numbers of livestock and move with them seasonally in
search for pasture and water for them. E.g. Masai, Bahima, and Karamojong. These people depend
entirely on their animals for their livelihood.
2. EXTENSIVE MIXED FARMING:

This is a system where farmers grow some crops and keep animals in some form of settled
families. Animals may be grazed on large communal areas but at the end of the day brought back
to be kept in safer places near the homes.
PROBLEMS OF LOCAL LIVESTOCK KEEPING METHODS:

1. Lack of integration of crops and animal production. I.e. Communal grazing areas may be far
from cultivation areas, thus reducing the beneficial effect of manure on soil fertility
2. Communal ownership of grazing areas gives less attention to pasture and land improvement.
3. Overstocking often leads to overgrazing and soil deterioration.
4. There is no controlled breeding i.e. mating between animals is random, which reduces quality.
5. Since animals are grazed by day alone, the grazing time is reduced which lowers production.
6. Water supply points are often far, which makes animals to walk long distances thus reducing
grazing time and being in poor conditions especially in poor and dry season.
7. Disease control and the standard of animal management are generally low due to low level of
education.
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT:
1. Introduction of settled ranches i.e. areas where people have pastures, water and other facilities.
Since nomads look for pasture and water, this will encourage settlement and reduce nomadism.
2. Introduction of paddock system in areas where extensive mixed farming is practiced. This helps
to integrate animal and crop husbandry where animals provide manure for maintaining fertility of
soil as well as utilizing the would be waste lands.
3. Selecting suitable animals which are normally local animals that are well adapted to the
environment.
4. Encouraging land tenure reforms that encourage individual ownership, hence leading to land
improvement.
5. Carrying out controlled breeding and cross breeding to improve on the animal productivity.
6. Creating facilities for marketing of animals so as to encourage off-take from producing areas.
This helps to maintain animal numbers at optimum levels and reduces overstocking.
7. Providing effective extension services that would advise farmers on forage production and
utilization, animal management and hygiene so as to improve efficiency in animal production.
8. Establishing proper abattoirs to enable utilization of all animal products.
9. Providing farmers with loans to enable them purchase improved breeds, inputs and constructing
farm structures.
BREEDS OF CATTLE:
A breed is a group of animals within a species with identifiable, permanent and inheritable
characteristics.
A species on the other hand is a group of organisms that can freely interbreed to produce fertile
offsprings. Cattle breeds are either indigenous or exotic.
1. INDIGENOUS / LOCAL BREEDS OF CATTLE (BOS INDICUS):

These are cattle breeds that have existed in the local environment and adapted for a long time.
They include small E. African zebu, sanga / Ankole cattle, Nganda / Intermediate cattle, and
Boran.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIGENOUS CATTLE:

- Have prominent hump which is bigger in male than females;
- Have a large surface area per unit body weight because of their well developed dewlap,
umbilical fold, hump and ears.
- Are well adapted to high ambient temperatures;
- They are resistant to intense solar radiation;
- Most of them are resistant to many diseases apart from Boran;
- They are late maturing animals / take long to attain reproductive age;
- They have low fertility levels / long calving intervals;
- They are dual purpose animals;
- They have a pigmented skin.
- They have few reproductive problems.
- They have a marked similarity in body conformation (body shape) e.g. coffin-shaped
head, which is long from the eyes downwards.

FACTORS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF
INDIGENOUS CATTLE IN E. AFRICA:
- They can tolerate high temperatures due to the presence of more and bigger sweat
glands that permit more heat loss than exotic cattle. E.g. each sweat gland is 2½ times
as large as that of exotic cattle.
- They have long legs which adapt them to walking long distances in search for pasture
and water without getting tied and losing condition.
- They can easily convert roughage / grass into useful products like milk and meat.
- They are relatively tolerant to tick-borne diseases such as East coast fever, Red water
(Babesiosis), Heart water, etc.
- They have less reproductive problems and can breed up to 15 years of age. Ie Have
prolonged longevity.
- They are adapted to tropical conditions over a long period of time.
- They have a prominent hump, well developed dewlap and umbilical fold which
facilitate heat loss.
- They have short hair and pigmented skin which reduce the effect of solar radiation.
ADVANTAGES OF INDIGENOUS CATTLE:

- They are heat tolerant;
- They can walk long distances in search for water and pastures;
- They are better converters of roughages into useful products;
- They are relatively tolerant to tick-borne diseases;
- They have relatively fewer reproductive problems;
- They have prolonged longevity i.e. can breed for a long time;
- They are hardy and can withstand harsh conditions;
- They have tough muscles which make them good for draught purposes;
- They produce high quality milk with high butter fat content;
- They are usually cheaper to buy and maintain.
DISADVANTAGES / PROBLEMS OF BOS NDICUS:

- Have low birth rates;
- Have low live weights i.e. are relatively small;
- Are generally less productive compared to exotic cattle;
- Have long calving intervals / periods;
- Take long to mature / reach productivity
- Have poor dairy temperature.
Note: A Breed is a group of animals with in a species with identifiable, permanent and inheritable
characteristics.
- A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offsprings.
- A type is a group of animals whose characteristics make them suitable for a particular
purpose.
Therefore, cattle breeds can be indigenous (Bos indicus) or exotic (Bos taurus).
2. EUROPEAN/ TEMPERATURE BREEDS (BOS TAURUS)

These are animals from temperate regions which have been breed for either milk or meat
production
Originally in East Africa, they were limited to highland areas whose climate [temperature] was
nearer to their origin. This is because high temperatures tend to make these breeds uncomfortable
with the result that they eat less and produce less milk and meat; reproductive ability is also
lowered. Thus cattle need more repeated insemination and bulls are also less fertile. They are also
not resistant to tick – borne diseases.

A DVANTAGES OF EXOTIC CATTLE
- They have high birth weight;
- They have high live weight;
- They mature quickly;
- They have a high calving rate; and
- They are generally more productive and profitable than local breeds.
DISADVANTAGES OR PROMBLEMS OF EXOTIC CATTLE

- They are highly susceptible to diseases attack especially ticks – borne diseases;
- They are not tolerant to heat stress ie suffer heat stress.;
- They require high levels of management;
- They have many reproductive problems;
- They have a shorter reproductive span (short longevity); and
- They are highly expensive to buy and maintain.
3. CROSS BREEDS
Crosses and back crosses of Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle have been developed in East Africa
for milk production. This is aimed at up grading milk production and developing heat tolerant
dairy cattle capable of high production in areas where it is difficult to maintain pure breed exotic
stock.
TYPES OF CATTLE.
A type is a group of animals whose characteristics make them suitable for a particular purpose.
There are different types of cattle namely:
1. Dairy type
2. Beef type
3. Dual purpose type
4. Work / Draught type.
DAIRY TYPE:
These are animals that are suitable for milk production in quantities of economic importance. E.g.
Friesian, Sahiwal, Jamaican hope, Ayshire, Jersey and Guernsey.
MAJOR CHARATERISTICS OF DAIRY CATTLE

They should be able to produce a lot of milk;
They should have low temperature (docile);
They should have the ability to reproduce fast (high fecundity);
They should have the ability to live for a long productive period (longevity);
They should be willing to give their milk;
Should have long lactation periods;
Should have wedge shaped (triangular) body;
Have big and well suspended udder;
Have long and well spaced teats;
Have prominent milk vein on the belly;
Should be resistant to high temperature, pasts and diseases.
Should be tolerant to drought i.e. should be able to produce realistically even in water
stress periods.
Should be able to produce high quality milk with high butter fat and protein content. xiv) Have
long hind legs to support and suspend the udder.
Examples include FRIESIANS, AYRSHIRE, JERSEY, GUENSEY, BROWN SWISS,
SAHIWAL:

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN INTRODUCING A DAIRY HERD:

Type of breed to be introduced; High yielding breeds should be introduced
depending on the desired level of production.
Size of the herd to be established; this depends on availability of capital.
Health of the animals to be introduced; only healthy animals should be introduced.
Condition of the animal; the animal condition should be normal i.e. not lame / blind.
Age of the animals; the animals to be introduces be young enough to allow for
prolonged longevity.
Reproductivity and fertility of the animal; the animal should have regular and
reasonable calving interval.
Tolerance to pests and diseases; the animal should be able to tolerate pests and
diseases in order to reduce costs and losses due to deaths.
Adaptability to the prevailing environment; the animal should be able to adapt to the
prevailing environmental conditions.
Availability of labour; there should be enough labour with the desired skills to manage
the animals.
Available capital; which determines the size of the herd and breed of animals.
Availability of market; there should be ready market for the dairy products as they are
highly perishable e.g. milk.
Availability of good pastures; there should be good and enough pastures for feeding
the animals to ensure high production.
Availability of farm structures; these should be available for handling animals and
storage.
Presence of enough land; land should available for growing pastures and for farm
structures.
2. BEEF TYPE:
These are animals bred to produce large amounts of meat.
CHARACTERISTICS OF BEEF CATTLE:
- They are early maturing i.e. reach slaughter weight early.
- They have efficient feed conversion to muscles or beef hence have a high rate of weight gain.
- They have short strong legs to support the heavy body weight.
- They have a blocky or square appearance and well fleshed.
- They breed regularly.
- They are hardly i.e. can survive on rough grazing.
- They should be able to survive long droughts without loss of condition
- They be able to tolerate high climatic conditions
- They are resistant to diseases
- They should have high meat quality (marbled)
EXAMPLES OF BEEF BREEDS
- Boran - Aberdeen Angus
- Hereford - Galloway
- American Braham.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE ESTABLISHING A BEEF HERD:

- Availability of water as it is required for growth.
- Pasture availability for feeding the animals.
- Availability of extension services to ensure animal health and maintenance.
- Availability of market for animal products.
- Availability of complements to feed the animals.
- Prevalence of pests and diseases.
- Government policy.
- Availability of good quality breeds.
- Availability of land for extensive grazing
- Availability of capital for the farm structures and other requirements.
- Size of the herd should be large to sustain production
- Animals should have high reproductive rate to cope with slaughter rate
- Adaptability of the animals to the environment
- Resistance of animals to pests and diseases
- Physical condition of the animals i.e. should not be lame, sick.
- Age of the animals i.e. too old animals should be avoided.
DUAL PURPOSE TYPE:

These are breeds of cattie that can produce good quality milk and beef. They are the best animals
since they share characteristics of both dairy and beef animals.
Examples include:
- Dexter - Redpoll
- Welsh black - Milking short
WORK / DRAUGHT TYPE:

These are animals that are suitable for work. They are tough and muscular.
CHARACTERISTICS:
- Have free moving limbs
- Have sound feet
- Easily trained and disciplined.
- Have quiet temperament i.e. easy to handle due to castration
- Should have sharp / high hearing ability to take instructions.
FEEDS AND FEEDING IN ANIMALS:
FEED:
This is any material or product of natural or artificial origin which has been prepared with
nutritional value when included in the diet.
FEEDING:
Is an act of providing a feed / feed stuff to animals to maintain their body, growth and fulfil
production.
USES OF FEEDS:
i) Maintenance of the body:
Maintenance processes go on as long as life continues e.g. heart, respiration, circulation, nervous
transmission.
Basal metabolism is the metabolism that takes place in a resting animal, when it uses just enough
energy to maintain vital processes such as respiration, cellular activities and others.
It is measured under the following conditions.
ii) The animal must be in the resting condition where by energy is only produced for the vital
processes.
iii] The animal must be in a thermal neutral environment so that the body doesn’t use energy to
generate or despite heat.
- It also involves repair of worm out tissues
Basal metabolism rate is measured within 2 hours -period and represents the no. of cal ones needed
to maintain the body of an animal with in 24 hrs period.
2) GROWTH:
This is the permanent increase in the size of an organism. It occurs in 3 stages.
i) Stage of rapid gain of weight up to until puberty.

ii) Stage of decline in food conversion which is characterised by less rapid gain in weight
iii) Stage of fattening when surplus food is converted into fats and stored.
3
2
Weight
Time
3. PRODUCTION
Feeds are also used to promote synthesizing processes during the production of product such as
meat, milk, eggs, wool and work.
In order to fulfil the above processes, animals are fed differently according to:
a) Age i.e. young animals feed differently from old animals e.g. young layers are fed on chick and
chick mash while growers are fed on growers’ mash, and layers fed on layers’ mash.
Piglets are given iron because it is lacking in the sows’ milk to avoid piglet anaemia.
b) Purpose of the animal e.g. Animal such as broilers are given broilers mash, while layers are
given layers’ mash.
c). Type of activity: Eg Draught animals feed much more on feeds containing energy /
carbohydrates than non-draught animals.
d). Physiological state of the animal

Pregnant animals are feed on good quality pastures and feeds for better production of milk and
growth of the foetus.
4. - To build resistance to diseases
5. - For reproduction
COMPONENTS OF FEEDS:
1. WATER: This is important for:
- Cell turgidity / rigidity;
- Cooling of the body during sweating;
- Dissolving substances as it is a universal solvent;
- A transport medium;
- A component of body fluids
- A medium of excretion of waste products;
- A medium for enzymatic reactions in the body.
SOURCES OF WATER:
- Through drinking;
- Through food;
- From chemical reactions in the body, eg Glucocidic bonds (glucose + fructose =
sucrose + water), etc.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WATER INTAKE BY ANIMALS:
- Age of the animal;
- Physiological state of the animal e.g. lactation;
- Health of the animal;
- Weather condition / Temperature of the surrounding environment;
- Type of work done by the animal;
- Type of food eaten by the animal / dry matter content of the feed;
- Temperature of water ie Cold and Hot water is disliked;
- Taste of water / Salinity of water;
- Availability of water / accessibility of water;
- Size of the animal ie big animals take more water than small ones;
- Type of animal eg cattle take more water than goats;
- Condition of water ie Dirty / contaminated water is less preferred.
2. CARBOHYDRATES:
These are energy sources for the animals. They include:
a) Monosaccharides: These are made up of one unit of simple sugars. Eg glucose,
fructose and galactose.
b) Disaccharides: These are made up of two units of simple sugars.
Eg Maltose = Glucose + Glucose; Sucrose = Glucose + Fructose;
Lactose = Glucose + Galactose.
c) Polysaccharides: These are made up of many units of simple sugars. Eg Cellulose,
Starch and lignin.
IMPORTANCE OF CARBOHYDRATES:
- Main source of energy in the body;
- Prevent formation of toxins during fat metabolism to yield energy;
- Excess are stored as fats that keep heat in the body;
- Have a sparing effect on proteins because their absence leads to protein metabolism for
energy;
- Facilitates mineral absorption e.g. Ca and P which combine with fructose before being
absorbed;
- Are components of body structures e.g. Cartilage and connective tissues.
3. PROTEINS:
These contain N, C, H and O, and sometimes S and Fe. They are made up of amino acids
which are either essential (body cannot make them), or non-essential (body can make them).
**Examples of essential amino acids include:
**Example of non essential amino acids include:
FUNCTIONS OF PROTEINS:
- Maintain body Ph due to being amphoteric;
- Act as mineral carriers during mineral absorption;
- Make antibodies that prevent diseases in animals;
- Detoxify the body by combining with toxins to form non toxic compounds. E.g. Benzoic
Acid (toxic) + glycine (protein) = Benzolglycolic acid (non toxic) in urine;
- Body building and repair;
- Form enzymes hence have catalytic properties;
- Can be oxidized to produce energy.
TERM RELATING TO PROTEINS:

i) Crude proteins: This is a rough measure of the proportion of proteins in the feed.
ii) Digestibility of proteins: This is a measure of the proportion of proteins digested and
absorbed into the body. Ie Digestible protein = Protein intake - Faecal protein.
iii) Biological value: This is the proportion of the protein which is absorbed and retained
in the body.
iv) Protein efficiency ratio: This is the ratio of weight gain to protein intake.
4. LIPIDS: Are organic materials that are insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents. They
contain Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and Phosphorus. They are made up of fatty acids
and glycerol. Some are essential fatty acids while others are non-essential. Essential fatty acids
include Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid and Arachidonic acid.
FUNCTIONS OF LIPIDS:
- Source of energy;
- Source of phosphorus eg Phosphoric acid;
- Formation of plasma membrane;
- Carriers of fat-soluble vitamins eg ADEK;
- Help in excretion of toxic wastes;
- Fats under skin reduce heat loss.
NB: Fats exposed to moist air, heat and light undergo oxidation, leading to bad odour and loss of
palatability. This is known as rancidity. This auto oxidation may be reduced by addition of
synthetic anti oxidants such as Butyrated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT) and Butyrated Hydroxy
Anisole (BHA).
5. MINEERAL SALTS:
These are substances which are vital in animal feeding and contribute to 3-5% of the animal’s
body.
FUNCTIONS OF MINERAL:
- Formation of bones and teeth, e.g. Calcium and Phosphorus;
- Components of blood and other body fluids, e.g. Fe and Cu;
- Regulate osmotic pressure of body fluids, e.g. Na, K and Cl;
- Formation of some hormones e.g. Thyroxin from thyroid gland e.g. Iodine;
- Components of enzymes e.g. Manganese and Molybdenum;
- Formation of amino acids and proteins, e.g. Sulphur;
- Promoting proper functioning of muscles, e.g. Na and K;
- Components of animal products, e.g. Ca in milk and eggs;
- Responsible for blood clotting, e.g. Ca;
- Control permeability of cell membranes, e.g. Ca.

a) CALCIIUM:
This is the most abundant mineral element in the body, where 99% occurs in bones and
teeth.
USES:
- Transfer of nerve impulses or irritability;
- Blood clotting;
- Enzyme activator;
- Formation of bones and teeth.
Sources include: Fish meal, bone meal, limestone and legumes.
Deficiency of Ca:
- Rickets in growing animals;
- Milk fever in mature lactating animals;
- Soft shelled and shell less eggs in laying birds;
- Osteosmalicia (softening of bones) in birds.
b) PHOSPHORUS:
USES:
- Associated with calcium and vitamin D;
- Formation of bones and teeth;
- Formation of phospholipids in cell membranes;
- Formation of milk protein (Casein).
Sources include: Milk, fish meal, bone meal, mature seeds and other products such as
wheat bran.
Deficiency of phosphorus:
- Loss of appetite;
- Deprived appetite (Pica).
c) Magnesium:
USES:
- Occurs in bones (70%);
- Occurs in fluids and soft tissues;
- Associated with phosphorus and calcium metabolism;
Sources include: Meat, green vegetables and others.
Deficiency of Mg:
- Grass tetany which causes disturbance in neural-muscular function. It is also called grass
staggers.
d) IRON:
USES:
- Synthesis of red blood cells;
- Component of haemoglobin;
- Responsible for oxygen carriage / transportation;
- Occurs in enzymes.
NB: It is stored in the liver and spleen.
Deficiency of Iron:
- Anaemia;

- Piglet anaemia, which can be corrected by applying Iron sulphate on the teats of the sow;
smearing red soil on the teats of the sow; and injecting Iron solution.
e) COPPER:
USES:
- Synthesis of haemoglobin;
- An enzyme activator;
- A component of the pigment of hair (melanin).
Deficiency of copper:
- Anaemia;
- De-pigmentation of hair (hair becomes brown).
f) IODINE:
USES:
- A component of thyroxin hormone;
- Important in body metabolism.
Deficiency of Iodine:
- Goitre i.e. enlargement of the thyroid gland;
- Piglets may be born hairless.
g) MANGANESE:
USES:
- Enzyme activator.
Deficiency of manganese:
- Reduced reproductive processes, e.g. spermatogenesis and oogenesis;
- Reduced sex libido (reduced sex urge);
- Split tendons in chicks.
6. VITAMINS:
These are a group of un related organic compounds needed only in minute quantities in the
diet, but essential for specific metabolic reactions within the cell and necessary for normal
growth and maintenance of health.
Many act as coenzymes or prosphetic groups of enzymes responsible for promoting
essential chemical reactions.
Vitamins vary widely in chemical structure and in their functions. For man, they regulate
metabolism; help convert fat and carbohydrate into energy; assist in forming bones and
tissues; and impart resistance to infections, e.g. vitamin C.
CLASSIFICATION:
Vitamins are divided into 2 groups on the basis of solubility:
i) Fat-soluble vitamins e.g. ADEK which are found in foods associated with lipids.
ii) Water-soluble vitamins, which include vitamin B-complex and vitamin C.
The fat-soluble vitamins are fairly stable to ordinary cooking methods and are not lost in cooking
water as compared to water-solubles which may be destroyed by over cooking, and are easily
dissolved in cooking water.
The potency of vitamins is directly related to their length of storage time.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE FOOD INTAKE BY ANIMALS:
- Appetite level of the animal ie high appetite encourages more feed intake and vice versa;
- Health of the animal ie healthy animals take in more feeds than sick ones;
- Quality of the feed; ie good quality encourages more feed intake than poor quality;
- Availability of the feed; ie more feed will be taken when available adlibly;
- Environmental temperatures ie extreme temperatures discourage feed intake;
- Palatability of the feed ie palatable feeds will be taken in more than non palatable feeds;
- Type of animal eg broilers versus layers, and beef versus dairy animals;
- Age of the animal ie young animals take in less feeds than older animals;
- Production level of the animal eg lactation, work animals;
- Form of the feed eg pellets, marsh, etc eg pellets encourage more intake than mashed form;
- Size of the animal ie feed intake is proportional to the size of the animal;
- Flavour of the feed ie attractive flavour encourages more feed intake;
- Moisture level / succulence of the feed ie more succulent feeds will be taken more than dry
feeds.
THE FOUR CARDINAL RIGHTS OF FEEDING:

- The right food;
- In the right amounts / quantities;
- To the right animal;
- At the right time.
MAJOR TYPES / CLASSES OF LIVESTOCK FEEDS:
Feeds are classified in the following ways:
i) Basal / Energy feeds;
ii) Concentrates / Protein concentrates;
iii) Bulk feeds;
iv) Mineral supplements;
v) Additives
vi) Non conventional feeds;
vii) Succulents.
BASAL FEEDS:
Are feeds containing high amounts of energy because of being rich in starch and sugars.
They have much less protein and minerals especially Calcium and Phosphorus. Their Crude
Protein content is between 8 – 14%. In some cases, they are referred to as energy concentrates.
Examples include:
a) Maize; which can be fed inform of silage, grains as ears (snap maize), cob meal, zero grazed or
pastured.
b) Brewer’s grains; which are by-products of the brewing industry after fermenting the grains for
beer. It contains 20% crude protein but low carbohydrates due to fermentation and can easily make
animals drunk.
a) Sugarcane and its products; which can be fed on in form of tops, bagasse and molasses.
Molasses has high energy and potassium content, but should be fed together with roughages
such as hay. It has low protein content (2-3%), hence should be fed together with Non protein
Nitrogen e.g. urea to be able to produce proteins. Unfortunately, in this case urea yields some
ammonia which may not be used by microbes due to lack of enough energy as molasses takes
long to yield energy. Therefore, it is advisable to feed molasses + urea + some maize.
b) Milling bi-products; which include brans of rice, maize and wheat.
CONCENTRATES:
These are feedstuffs which are rich in either carbohydrates or proteins. They are feeds used to
improve the nutritive content / balance of the total feed.
Characteristics of concentrates:
- Low fibre and water content;
- High protein and energy content;
- Fairly constant feeding value;
- Mainly derived from grains and their by-products, oil seeds and leguminous plants;
- Highly digestible;
- Highly palatable and acceptable to animals.
Types of concentrates:
i) Energy concentrates: These basal feeds which contain high carbohydrates as seen above.
ii) Protein concentrates: These contain high protein content. They are of two types:
a) Vegetable protein concentrates; which are of plant origin and are mainly by-products of oil
manufacture from oil seeds such as sun flower meal / cake, ground nut meal /cake, bean meal /
cake, rubber seed meal / cake, coconut meal / cake and palm kernel meal / cake.
The quality of the above concentrates depends on:
- The amount and quality of the product’s protein;
- The amount of fibre and other inedible materials retained in the cake after processing the original
plant material;
- Whether they contain any toxic materials after processing such as gossypol in cotton seed cake
which is resistant to heating; and Aflatoxins in poorly stored ground nuts.
ii) Animal protein concentrates:

These are either by-products of the meat and fish industry, or of poor quality meat and fish. They
include: meat meal, fish meal and blood meal.
BULK FEEDS:
These are feeds which contain limited amounts of nutrients in a given unit of the feed. They have
high fibre content (over 18%). They are also called roughages, and are of plant origin.
ROUGHAGES:
These are feeds of plant origin and with high crude fibre content.
Functions of roughages:
- Enable the efficient working of the alimentary canal;
- It gives bulk to materials in the intestines;
- It stimulates peristalsis;
- It keeps the digestive system open; and
- Prevents constipation and other intestinal diseases.
Types of roughages:
i) Dry roughages: These have low moisture content and very high fibre content. They include
dried harvested hay and standing hay, straws of rice, maize, sorghum and millet, legume straws
e.g. ground nuts, simsim, cotton and others such as pineapple and cocoa pods.
ii) Succulent roughages: These are from green plants with high moisture content e.g. green stems,
forages, root crops, peelings, etc.
NB: Browsing is the feeding on leaves and tree backs by animals e.g. sheep and goats; while
Grazing refers to the feeding on leaves of grasses by animals e.g. cattle.
iv) MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS:

These are mineral preparations that are commercially prepared and meant to be mixed with feeds
to supply some essential minerals. E.g. Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, and trace elements.
They may be given to animals in form of powder, mineral licks / blocks. E.g. bone meal, oyster
shells and mineral blocks.

v) VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS:
These are vitamin preparations that are commercially prepared and mixed with feeds to supply
essential vitamins. They are also called premixes.
vi) ADDITIVES / NON NUTRIENT ADDITIVES:

These are substances that do not contain nutrients but are added to feeds (where it is legal) for
specific functions. They include:
a) Antibiotics; which are chemical substances produced by some microbes, when in minute
quantities inhibit the growth of other micro organisms or even destroy them.
Low levels intake of antibiotics may improve productivity in animals e.g. poultry and calves,
although the response to antibiotics generally varies with the standards of health and management.
The disadvantage of using antibiotics continuously in feeds is that resistant strains of mocro-
organisms may develop which will again affect livestock.
b) Hormones:
These have the following uses:
- They improve food efficiency but this is not allowed in some countries;
- Some hormones possess growth promoting properties e.g. stilboesterols;
- Some hormones e.g. thyroxin are added to feeds to stimulate milk and wool production;
- Some hormones increase fats especially in caponized cockerels;
- Progesterone can be used to synchronize heat periods in female animals. I.e. Ovulation is
arrested so that the females later come on heat at the same time and are bred together; and
- To produce carcasses of greater muscles.
c) Arsenicals; these are compounds containing arsenic acid and act as growth promoters.
d) Tranquilizers; are used to improve the live weight gain of animals.
e) Detergents; which are growth promoters.
f) Copper sulphate; which leads to higher growth in pigs.
g) Nitrorine; which promotes growth by increasing the growth rate.
h) Coccidiostats; which control coccidiosis.
NB: The use of the above additives must first be legalized in a particular country, because some
countries reject them. E.g. the use of hormones in the long run results into cancer to the consumers
of livestock.
vii) Non conventional feeds:

These are materials that are used to feed livestock on rare occasions. These include: Coffee pulp,
citrus molasses, leaf protein and juice, edible yeast grown or cultured on coconut water and
hydrolysis of wood materials to break down cellulose and lignin into food products.
RATION:
This is the amount of food given to an animal on a daily basis in order to maintain its body and
sometimes to enable it to be in production.
TYPES OF RATIONS:
a) Maintenance ration:
This is the amount of food which helps only to maintain the life of an animal eg non
pregnant (dry) cow, mature steers, etc.
b) Production ration:
This is the amount of food in excess of the maintenance requirements of the animal to enable it to
be in production. Eg lactation, work, etc
RATIONING:
This is the practice of allocating various feed stuffs to the animals that will supply nutrients needed
for both maintenance and for production on a daily basis.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN MAKING A RATION:
1. The nutrient requirement of the animals for which the ration is being made; which are found in
feeding standards / tables. However, an allowance of 10% of the feed must be added over the
minimum requirement indicated in the tables to cater for:
- Over weight animals;
-Variations in the nutrient content which may be due to soil conditions or agronomic practices;
- Inadequate mixing;
- Un stable nutrients during long storage;
- Some feed that contain anti metabolites that reduce their benefit / cause loss of nutrients
- Ensuring quality of the feed by the mixer.
2. The amount of nutrients contained in the feed stuffs available; some feeds contain more
amount of nutrients than others;
3. The nutrient composition / type of nutrients contained in the available feeds;
4. The palatability / acceptability of the feed to the animal; the feed should be acceptable
and attractive to the animals;
5. The wholesomeness of the mixture; where by the feed should not cause harm to the
animals or spoil palatability;
6. The physical nature of the final mixture; the form of the final feed mixture should be
acceptable to the animals. Eg pellets, mash, cubes, etc.
7. The cost of the available feed ingredients and the final mixture; Always use the
cheapest ingredients to reduce production costs. Eg proteins can be from different feeds
at different prices such as cotton seed cake and sunflower cake, bean meal and soya
beans which cost differently. So use the cheapest source.
8. Desired level of production of the animal; different production level demand for
different levels of nutrients in the feeds;
9. The appetite of the animal; the feed mixed should match with how much the animal can
consume to avoid wastage;
10. Digestibility of the feed; some feeds have low digestibility while others high, so
consider how much of the feed can be digested and digested in the animal;
11. Age of the animals; young animals need more proteins compared to old ones;
12. Purpose of the animal; animals with different purposes need different feed mixtures.
Eg broilers and layers, beef and dairy animals.
RATION COMPUTATION:
When computing rations, proteins are used as a criterion for formulation. This is because:
- Proteins are the most expensive of all the macronutrients;
- Proteins cannot be replaced unlike other nutrients eg carbohydrates can be replaced with
fats;
- Just enough proteins are required by the animal as excess has no value when it is moreover
expensive.
There are many methods that can be used in computing rations. These include:
- Trial and error method;
- Pearson square method;
- Algebraic equations method;
- Linear programming method; and
- Graphical method.
FEED MIXING:
This can be done using mechanical mixers for large scale mixing, but for small scale, on farm
mixing can be done.
How to mix feeds on the farm:
- Clean the area where the mixing is to be done from;
- Put a conical heap of basal feeds first;
- On top of the cone, add protein feeds;
- Still on top add mineral supplements and premixes;
- Shovel the heap back and forth but maintaining the conical shape until properly mixed.
Factors that may encourage the farmer to carry out on farm feed mixing:
- Availability of good quality ingredient feeds / materials on the farm;
- Having the knowledge of feed mixing;
- The high cost of already mixed feeds which may be uneconomic to the farmer;
- The poor performance of his animals with already mixed feeds due to its poor quality;
- The high transport costs of the feeds to his farm;
- The unavailability of already mixed industrial feeds in the area;
- Disease outbreak resulting from using the already mixed feeds;
- The desire to learn how feeds are mixed;
- Availability of tools and equipments on the farm that are used for mixing feeds; and
- The low cost of ingredients feeds.
Advantages of on farm feed mixing:
- It is relatively cheap to mix feeds on the farm;
- The farmer can ensure that there is no contamination;
- The farmer acquires more skills for livestock management;
- It provides assurance of the nutritional value of the ration.
Disadvantages of on farm feed mixing:
- It is time wasting;
- Feeds can easily be wasted;
- It requires technical skills which may be lacking;
SOME COMMONLY MIXED RATIONS ON THE FARM

a) Dairy meal
This is a mixture of Maize bran with Cotton seed meal and Common Salt in the ratio of 7 : 2 : 1
respectively. I.e., in every 100 kgs of Dairy Meal, there is 70 kgs of Maize bran, 20 kgs of Cotton
seed meal and 10 kgs of common salt.
Qualities of a good dairy meal
- It should be pleasant to taste
- It should have no offensive smell that can taint the milk
- It should be non dusty to avoid contamination of the milk
- It should be well mixed for uniformity of taste
b) Creep feeds
This is mixed for young piglets to enable them grow well and encourage early weaning.
c) Chick and duck mash

This is formulated to feed young poultry from one day old up to leaving the brooder. It has high
proportions of proteins to encourage faster growth.
d) Growers mash
This is formulated to feed young poultry after leaving the brooder. Its composition should have
relatively high protein content to boost faster growth.
e) Layers mash
This is designed to feed laying birds. It has relatively low protein content but high mineral content
especially calcium and phosphorus for egg shell formation.
f) Broilers mash
This is formulated to feed broiler birds. It has relatively high protein content to encourage faster
growth and maturity as well as increasing the killing out percentage after slaughter.
DIGESTION IN ANIMALS:
This is the process through which ingested food is broken down into simple soluble substances that
can be absorbed into blood. The process is both physical (ie mastication by teeth, churning by the
stomach and intestinal walls) and chemical by enzymes.
Digestion is of two types namely; ruminant and non ruminant digestion.
a) DIGESTION IN RUMINANTS:
Ruminants are animals which are characterised by chewing cud. They have complex digestive
system due to possession of four stomach chambers.
Parts of the digestive system of the ruminant animal:
Oesophagus
Rumen
Reticulum
Omasum
Abomasum
Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Colon
Caecum
HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019 Rectum
Anus
i) Mouth: (Oral cavity):
This is made up of the soft palate, hard palate, teeth, tongue, salivary glands and pharynx. The
incisors on the upper jaw and canines are missing.
Functions:
- Chewing / masticating food into a fine consistence;
- Mixing food with saliva;
- Carrying out rumination.
NB: Saliva in ruminants contains no ptyalin but contains lipase enzyme.
ii) Oesophagus:
This is a muscular tube extending along the trachea and opens into the rumen by the sphincter
muscles.
Functions:
- Allows easy passage of food and water into the stomach;
- Allows deglutination and regurgitation of food during chewing cud.
The food moves through the oesophagus by peristaltic waves (peristalsis).
iii) Stomach:
This is made up of four (4) compartments namely:
a) Rumen:
This is a towel-like structure and the largest component of the four stomach chambers. It is also
called the pouch and occupies the left half of the abdominal cavity. Its towel/finger – like
projections are called ruminal papillae.
Functions of the rumen:
-Temporal storage of food before regurgitation (the returning of small portions of ingested food
mixed with ruminal contents (bolus or cud) into the mouth;
- Fermentation of food to give off gas as such carbondioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen
sulphide which must be expelled periodically by belching. Accumulation of these gases leads to
bloat.
- Synthesis of vitamin B-complex e.g. B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin), B6 (Pyridoxine) and
production of vitamin K (Phylloquionone);
- Breakdown of proteins to peptides, amino acids and ammonia;
- Synthesis of amino acids from ammonia gas;
- Breakdown of carbohydrates and cellulose to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) e.g. acetic acid,
propionic acid, butyric acid and formic acid;
- Absorption of VFAs through the rumen walls;
- Churning and physical breakdown of food by ruminal wall movement;
- Sorting fine food particles from non fine ones which are regurgitated for re-chewing; and
- Mixing food with ruminal fluids.
NB: Most of the synthetic processes in the rumen are carried out by rumen are carried out by
rumen bacteria (e.g. streptococci, lactobacilli and cellulotic bacteria), fungi (yeast) and protozoa.
These organisms break down proteins into ammonia, organic acids and amino acids. The amino
acids are used to synthesise their own proteins which they pass on to the animal when they die.
Therefore, they downgrade high quality proteins and upgrade low quality proteins in the feeds.
b) Reticulum:
This is the second stomach compartment which has a honey comb structure. It lies directly infront
of the rumen.
Functions:
- Sieving and separating fine from coarse food materials;
- Retaining foreign materials like stones, hard pieces of wood and metals and keeping
them. Therefore, it is sometimes called the hardware stomach;
- Brings about protein breakdown into amino acids by microbes;
- Fermentation of food by microorganisms continues; and
- Storing fluids that are periodically spilled over food surface in the rumen.
c) Omasum:
This is the third compartment of the ruminant stomach. It is made up of rough parallel muscular
leaves which form a book-like structure. Hence, it is sometimes referred to as many piles. These
present a large surface area for absorption of water. The rough surface is for grinding food.
Functions:
- Absorption of VFAs that are not absorbed by the rumen wall;
- Absorption of water and electrolytes such as Na and K;
- Temporarily storing food materials before being ground; and
- Grinding and sieving food by means of its rough surface and folds respectively to a fine
consistence.
NOTE:
In calves, the milk consumed passes directly from the oesophagus to the abomasum for enzymatic
action. This is because some compartments such as the rumen, reticulum and omasum are under
developed. Therefore, there is an oesophageal groove which enables milk to bypass these
compartments so that milk goes directly to the abomasum.
Oesophogus
Un developed rumen,
reticulum and omasum
Oesophageal
groove
Abomasum
d) Abomasum: (True stomach):

This is the fourth and last compartment of the ruminant stomach. It has a smooth and mucoid
lining. It contains many folds to increase the surface area. The walls secrete gastric juice which
contains enzymes renin (that coagulates milk protein casein in calves) and pepsin (which break
down bacterial / microbial proteins and from feeds into smaller peptides).
The juice also contains hydrochloric acid which makes the environment acidic for the action of
pepsin (ph of 2.5).
iv) Small intestine:
This is made up of three parts namely: duodenum, jejunum and ileum.
a) The Duodenum:
This is the part at the beginning of the small intestine where bile juice from the gallbladder is
emptied. Bile contains salts such as sodium bicarbonate which neutralises the acidity in the food.
The bicarbonate salt also helps to re-solidify the food.

Pancreatic juice from the pancreas is also emptied here, which contains amylase, lipase and trypsin
enzymes. Amylase acts on starch, changing it to maltose; Lipase acts on fats (lipids), changing
them to fatty acids and glycerol; while Trypsin acts on proteins, changing them to peptides and
peptones.
b) The Jejunum:
This is the second section of the small intestine which contains intestinal glands that secrete /
produce intestinal juice that contains enzymes responsible for completing the process of digestion.
These enzymes are:
Peptidase: This acts on peptones and peptides to form amino acids;
Sucrase: This acts on sucrose to produce fructose and glucose;
Maltase: This acts on maltose to form glucose and glucose;
Lactase: Which acts on lactose (milk sugar) to produce glucose and galactose; and
Lipase: This acts on undigested lipids / fats to form fatty acids and glycerol.
c) The ileum:
This is the smallest part of the small intestine which contains numerous finger-like projections
called villi which increase the surface area for the absorption of digested food. Ie It is the site for
absorption of digested food.
v) Colon:
This is the large intestine whose major function is to absorb water from the food / chime.
vi) Caecum:
This joins the small intestines and colon. It contains bacteria that help in restricted digestion of
cellulose in the food. It is bigger and more functional in non-ruminants than ruminants.
vii) Rectum:
This is a temporary store of feacal materials which are expelled out at intervals by the relaxation of
anal sphincter muscles.
viii) Anus:
This is the external opening where feacal materials are passed out by peristalsis in the process
called egestion / defecation.
DIGESTION IN NON-RUMINANTS:
Non-ruminants are Monogastric animals (animals with one stomach chamber) and do not chew
cud. They do not easily digest cellulose although some use bacteria in the caecum for this purpose.
Parts of the non-ruminant digestive system and their functions:

Oesophagus
Stomach
Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Caecum
m
Colon
Anus
The events in the non-ruminants differ from those of ruminants by having one stomach chamber
and the presence of enzyme amylase in saliva.
All the events from the stomach up to the anus are exactly the same as those in ruminants from the
abomasum to the anus.
However, non-ruminants have a large caecum which contains microbes that secrete enzymes that
digest cellulose in the food.
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN RUMINANTS AND NON-RUMINANTS:

- Both have one / single functional stomach when young;
- In both, the final digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is in the small intestines;
- In both, most water is absorbed in the colon;
- Both have cellulose digestion in the caecum; and
- In both, egestion takes place through the anus.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RUMINANTS AND NON-RUMINANTS:
Ruminants Non-ruminants
- Are Polygastric; - Are Monogastric
- Most digestion and absorption takes place - Most digestion and absorption takes place
in the four stomach chambers; in the small intestine;
- They chew cud; - Do not chew cud;
- Have bacteria that synthesize proteins; - Cannot synthesize proteins;
- Can synthesize vitamins B and K; - Cannot synthesize vitamin B and K;
- Have no ptyalin in saliva; - Have ptyalin in saliva;
- Have a small caecum; - Have a large caecum;
- Water absorption takes place in the - Water absorption only takes place in the
omasum and colon; colon;
- They use volatile fatty acids for energy; - They use glucose for energy;
- Have lipase in saliva; - Have no lipase in saliva;
- They can easily digest cellulose. - Cannot easily digest cellulose except pigs
and rabbits with large caecum.
REPRODUCTION IN FARM ANIMALS:
THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF A MALE ANIMAL (BULL):
FUNCTIONS OF THE PARTS:

i) Testis (testes):
These are oval structures contained in a sac-like structure called the scrotum that hangs in between
the hind legs of the male animal. They produce spermatozoa and the male sex hormone called
testosterone.
ii) Epididymis:
This is a highly coiled tubule in which sperms undergo development and maturation, and their
storage.
iii) Scrotum:
This is a sac-like structure outside the body cavity where the testes descend at birth. It keeps the
testes at a temperature 50c below the body temperature for proper spermatogenesis.
However, sometimes the testes fail to descend into the scrotum, a condition known as
cryptochidism which leads to infertility in males.
iv) Seminal vesicle:

This produces the largest portion of seminal fluid which increases volume and provides a medium
of transport for the sperms.
v) Prostate gland:
This also contributes to seminal fluid by producing electrolytes that balance the ph of the
reproductive tract.
vi) Cowper’s gland (Bulbo-urethral gland):

This produces secretions that clean up the urethra in the first fraction of ejaculation.
vii) Urethra:
This is a tube that connects the bladder to the external part of the penis. It carries urine and also
transports semen to the female reproductive tract.
viii) Sperm ducts (Vasdeferens):

These are tubes that transport / deliver sperms from the epididymis to the urethra.
ix) Penis:
This is a spongy tissue which contains blood vessels that fill it with blood during erection.
It is the corpulatory organ of the male, whose major functions are to eliminate urine and transport
semen to the genital tract of the female.
x) Retractor penis muscle:
This is a muscle which enables the penis to come out during erection and pulling it back after
work.
xi) Sheath (Prepuce):

This is a protective skin for the penis.
STRUCTURE OF THE TESTIS:

The testis consists of seminiferous tubules arranged in bundles, containing and forming millions of
sperms. They are covered by a network of inter connected channels which lead to wider tubes
called Vasdeferens (sperm ducts) which leave the scrotal sac and join the urethra.
SPERMATOGENESIS:
This is the process of sperm formation. It takes place in the following phases:
a) Multiplication phase (Mitosis phase):
This process takes when the testes are still developing in the male embryo itself. The diploid cells
in the embryo are designated to give rise to gametes.
b) Meiotic phase:
This involves halving of chromosome numbers by producing haploid cells called gametes.
c) Maturation phase:

This is the final transformation of spermatids into spermatozoa and takes place in the centre of the
seminiferous tubules. The mature sperms get detached from the seminiferous tubules and move to
the epididymis for storage.
The special cells which secrete the male sex hormones known as androgens are called interstitial
cells located in the testis. The androgens are essential for spermatogenesis.
DIAGRAM SHOWING SEMINIFEROUS TUBULE DURING SPERMATOGENES:
THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF A FEMALE ANIMAL (COW):
PARTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS:

i) Ovary:
This is the organ that produces the ova and the hormone which controls the course of the sex cycle
and pregnancy. E.g. Progesterone.
ii) Fallopian tubes:

These are extensions of the ovary funnel where fertilization takes place before the embryo is
passed on to the uterus.
iii) Uterus:
This is where implantation and embryonic development take place until birth. It also produces the
hormone called progesterone which maintains pregnancy.
iv) Cervix:
This is the opening to the uterus which acts as an entry and exit point of materials in and out of the
uterus. It is always closed during pregnancy.
v) Vagina:
This is a tubular elastic organ that receives the penis during copulation and acts as a birth canal.

vi) Hymen:
This is a thin layer / membrane which closes the vaginal tube in heifers. It is always broken in the
first copulation and contributes to virginity. Failure to break the hymen leads to infertility.
vii) Vulva:
This is an opening of the vagina and contains the sex sensitive parts of the female. Ie Clitoris and
labia that arouse the female animal (cow) during copulation. It also discharges urine from the
bladder.
BREEDING IN ANIMALS:
This is the mating of selected animals in a planned way. It is a measure of livestock improvement
on the farm. It involves selecting animals with desired characteristics and then mating them.
OBJECTIVES OF BREEDING:
- To increase adaptability of animals to the environment;
- To increase resistance of animals to pests and diseases;
- To increase productivity of animals in terms of meat, milk, eggs, etc;
- To improve the feed conversion rate of animals;
- To improve on the growth rate of the animals;
- To improve on the quality of products from the animals;
- To shorten the maturity time of animals, e.g. broilers which mature from 6-8 weeks;
- To improve on the appearance / beauty of the animals
- To obtain animals which are hardy for work; and
- To increase animal numbers on the farm.
BREEDING EFFICIENCY:
This refers to fertility in farm animals. For breeding to be possible, animals must have high
breeding efficiency (must be fertile) in order to produce off-springs.
On the contrary, low breeding efficiency means low fertility or infertility in animals.
NB: Infertility is the temporary inability of an animal to conceive (for females) or to cause
pregnancy (for males), which can be corrected;
Sterility on the other hand is the permanent inability of a female animal to conceive or the male
animal to cause pregnancy, a condition which cannot be corrected.
CAUSES OF LOW BREEDING EFFICIENCY:

The causes of infertility in animals are due to management problems; physiological; diseases; and
environmental. These include:
- Poor nutrition which causes deficiency of some of the most essential requirements in the
reproductive process. E.g. Vitamin E and Zinc;
- Insufficient erection in the bulls due to faulty retractor penis muscles;
- Retained testes in the body cavity, a condition called cryptochidism, which affects
sperm production and fertility in bulls.
Anochidism is the descending of one testis in the scrotum.
- Venereal diseases such as Brucellosis, Vibriosis and Trichomonas reduce fertility in
farm animals.
- Blocked tubes; in males, blocking of the sperm ducts prevents sperms from joining
semen during ejaculation; while in females, blocking of the fallopian tubes prevents
fertilization to occur.
- Free martins; when a heifer is born co-twin with a bull, the male hormones interfere
with the female hormones, thus making the female infertile.
- Twinning: This leads to slow growth and smaller sized animals compared to single
births, hence affecting their maturity and fertility potential.
- Hard hymen; which prevents penetration of the penis and introduction of sperms into the
female vagina, hence making the female infertile.
- High temperatures which cause heat stress to exotic animals leading to lowering of
sperm count of bulls and their motility as well as their ability to fertilize the eggs.
- Excessive condition due to over fattening leads to deposition of fats around the ovary
which prevents egg formation.
- Retained corpus luteum; which leads to continued production and secretion of
progesterone thus prevent the animal from coming on heat.
- Cystic ovary (nymphomonia); where a cyst develops on the ovary which causes short
heat cycles or prolonged heat periods which may lead to failure of the animal to conceive
when served.
- Over working males leads to low sperm count and high proportion of immature sperms.
- Shortage of sex hormones which leads to failure of spermatogenesis and reduced libido.
- Chromosomal abnormalities e.g. XXY or XYY results into semen containing nearly no
sperms.
MAINTAINANCE OF HIGH BREEDING EFFICIENCY:

- Providing adequate resting to animals especially bulls to increase sperm count.
- Allowing the female enough resting time (60 days) after calving to allow the uterus normalise.
- Serving the animal at the right time so as to coincide with ovulation.
- Controlling and treating the reproductive diseases that cause infertility promptly.
- Proper selection of animals to eliminate those with reproductive problems.
- Adequate observation of animals for early detection of animals that have failed to
conceive for re-serving.
- Hormonal treatment of animals to induce fast reproduction. Eg treatment with FSH and
LH to induce ovulation and twinning.
BREEDING PROCESS:
Breeders are interested mainly in the frequency of genes that influence / control the desired
characters in the population.
The changes in the genetics of the population are produced by changes in gene frequency. These
changes can be caused by selection, migration, mutation and chance.
The breeding process involves:
i) Selection of organisms to be parents;
ii) Mating the selected organisms.
i) SELECTION:
This is the process of determining which members of the present generation will be parents of the
next generation. There are two types selection, namely:
a) Natural selection: This is through evolution, where nature selects against those individuals
which are less adapted to the environment.
b) Artificial selection: This is when man selects organisms based on their economic value or their
productivity, and the character selected should have relatively high heritability. Ie It should have a
high degree of being passed on to the off-springs.
METHODS OF SELECTION:
1. TANDEM SELECTION:
This is when a breeder selects for one character at a time. Eg milk yield alone without looking at
body size.
2. INDEPENDENT SELECTION:
This is when a breeder selects animals depending on the performance records of individuals.
3. SELECTION INDEX:
This is when animals are selected basing on the economic importance of the character, its
heritability and the correlation between the characters.
4. PEDIGREE SELECTION:
This is when animals are selected basing on the performance records of the ancestors.
4. PROGENY TESTING:
This is when the animals are selected basing on the performance of their off-springs. It is used
when the character selected only expresses itself in one sex of the animals. Eg milk production.
5. FAMILY SELECTION:
This involves selecting animals basing on the performance of its relatives in the family. Eg the
performance of its parents and siblings.
FACTOR TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING BREEDING ANIMALS:
i) The individual animal’s performance records / its productivity;
ii) The performance of its relatives;
iii) Performance records of the ancestors;
iv) Progeny testing results i.e. basing on the performance of the off-springs;
v) Health standards of the animal; animals free from diseases are preferred;
vi) Age of the animal; younger animals are preferred to very old animals;
vii) Physical appearance of the animal; the animal should have an attractive appearance;
viii) Physiological condition of the animal; the animal should be in a sounding
physiological state;
ix) Disease resistance; the animal should be resistant to diseases prevalent in the area;
x) Adaptability of the animal to the environmental conditions; the animal should be able
to adapt to the environmental conditions in the area;
xi) Feed conversion rate; the selected animal should have a high fed conversion rate to the
desired products; and
xii) Growth rate; the selected animal should have a fast growth rate and maturity.
CHALLENGE FACED DURING LIVESTOCK SELECTION

- Inadequate knowledge;
- Environmental differences between the source and the farm;
- Recessive characters that may lead to wrong selection when they show up;
- Time consuming as it takes long to identify and test the desire character;
- Limited number of off-springs which makes reliable selection relatively difficult;
BREEDING METHODS:
The methods used are aimed at changing the population structure by mating like or unlike
individuals based on the phenotype or genotype. The methods include:
i) Inbreeding (close breeding):
This is the mating of closely related animals. Eg brother and sister, father and daughter.
Advantages of inbreeding:
- It leads to concentration of some desired genes / characters in the population;
- It leads to development of pure lines which are ideal for crossbreeding to exploit the
hybrid vigour or for testing recessive un desirable characters;
- It enables identification of undesirable genes in the population.
Disadvantages:
- Some undesirable characters may show up;
- It may lead to loss of hybrid vigour, leading to inbreeding depression;
- It encourages hereditary diseases; and
- It leads to loss of resistance to diseases.
ii) Line breeding:

This is the mating of distantly related animals with the same line of ancestors. E.g. Grandson and
granddaughter. It is done in order to maintain a high relationship to the outstanding ancestors.
iii) Out breeding (out crossing):

This is the mating of un related animals from the same breed. E.g. Friesian x Friesian.
It enables maintenance of good breed characters.
iv) Cross breeding:

This is the mating of animals from different pure breeds of the same species. E.g. Friesian with
Jersey. This form of breeding results into off-springs that are more vigorous than the average of
their parents, a condition called hybrid vigour or heterosis.
Advantages of crossbreeding:
- It results into development of new breeds;
- There is exploitation of hybrid vigour where the off-springs perform better than the
average of their parents; and
- Off-springs may survive in environments where parents may not have survived.
- It reduces inheritable diseases in the herd.
v) Hybridisation:
This is the mating of animals of different species. E.g. a cow and a buffalo, a horse and a donkey,
etc. However the off-springs produced are usually sterile due to differences in chromosome
numbers.
vi) Grading up:

This is the mating of a low grade female animal with a high grade male animal in a series of
successive times in order to increase the genetic contribution of the male to the off-springs.
Therefore, it is the successive use of a pure breed male of superior characteristics with females of
inferior characters. Eg mating a zebu cow with a Friesian bull and then mating the offspring cows
with the pure Friesian bull successively.
Female (pure breed zebu) x Male (pure breed Friesian)
Indigenous (100% I) Exotic (100% E)
Gametes 50% I x 50% E
F1 offsprings = 50I:50%E
Gametes 25%I:25%E x 50%E
F2 offsprings = 25%I:75%E
Gametes 12.5%I:37.5E x 50%E
F3 offsprings = 12.5%I:87.5E
Gametes 6.25%I:43.75%E x 50%E
F4 offsprings = 6.25%I:93.75E
Gametes 3.125%I:46.875%E x 50%E
F5 offsprings = 3.125%I:96.875%E
Gametes 1.5626%I:48.4375%E x 50%E
F6 offsprings = 1.562%I:98.4375%E.
Advantages:
- It is an efficient and cheap method of improving low quality animals;
- It allows introduction of new genes in the population.
Disadvantages:
- It takes a lot of time to improve the herd.
- It may concentrate undesirable genes of the male in the population.
CROSSING SYSTEMS:
i) Single cross:
This is the cross made between two pure breeds. The offsprings obtained have maximum heterosis
eg a cross made between breed A and breed B resulting into a hybrid AB.
ii) Back crossing:

This is a cross made between the offspring and one of the parents in order to increase the genetic
contribution of the parent in the population. It is sometimes used to determine the genotype of the
offsprings.
iii) Criss crossing:

This is when animals are crossed in different patterns so that the offsprings produced have varied
genotypes. However, it is a complicated process.
iv) Rotational crossing:

This is the crossing of animals which are of more than two breeds eg Jersey, Friesian and zebu.
Male x Female
Jersey Friesian
Offspring = Jersey Friesian
Zebu x Jersey Friesian
Offspring = Zebu Jersey Friesian
Guernsey x Zebu Jersey Friesian
Offspring = Guernsey Zebu Jersey Friesian

MATING IN FARM ANIMALS:
This is the process by which a female on heat receives semen from the male animal. It normally
takes place when the animal is on heat; the period when a female has high desire to be mated.
Heat period occurs during ovulation that first appears during puberty (time of sexual maturity).
Ovulation is the shedding of a mature ovum from the Graafian follicle.
Types of ovulation in animals:
a) Spontaneous ovulation; which occurs at a scheduled time irrespective of whether coitus
has taken place or not. E.g. man, cattle, etc.
b) Induced ovulation; which takes after sexual stimulation. E.g. rabbits and cats.
HEAT (OESTRUS) IN FARM ANIMALS

This is the period when a female animal has high desire to be mated. It normally occurs during
around ovulation (shedding of mature ovum from the graaffian follicle to the oviduct).
TYPES OF HEAT IN FARM ANIMALS
a) Real Heat
b) Standing Heat
c) Silent heat
Signs of heat in farm animals:

- The animal becomes excited / restlessness;
- The animal loses appetite for feeds;
- Slight reduction in milk production in lactating animals;
- Appearance of low level of progesterone hormone in milk;
- The animal licks other animals;
- The animal mounts other animals in the herd;
- The animal stands to allow other animals to mount it (standing heat);
- The animal seeks association with others in the herd;
- The animal stands when others are lying down;
- The eyes become red and widely open;
- Mucus secretion from the vulva;
- Swelling of the vulva and becoming red;
- The animal twists the tail on one side exposing the vulva;
- Frequent urination;
- The vagina has a lot of lubricating fluids;
- There is a slight rise in body temperature;
- The animal is the first to wake up in the morning, with early morning noise.
METHODS OF MATING IN FARM ANIMALS:

a) Natural mating:
This is where a bull is allowed to mount cows on heat. When bulls graze together with cows,
they detect the cows on heat. However, when male and females graze separately, females
detected to be on heat are brought to the males’ paddock for mating.

Advantages of Natural mating:
- It eliminates insemination costs e.g. buying of semen;
- It does not require skilled labour;
- It avoids problems of looking for the inseminator, which saves time;
- It is easy to undertake;
- It saves the stockman from planning and timing breeding programmes since bulls detect
this accurately; and
- It is ideal for beef cattle in range areas.
- It is efficient since a lot of sperms which are un contaminated are deposited into the
female.
Limitations of natural mating:

- It is expensive to keep a bull for a small herd;
- It can easily result into inbreeding;
- There is easy spread of breeding diseases;
- Females can miss service when the male falls sick;
- It is more expensive to transport a bull than semen;
- There is a lot of semen wastage;
- Heavy males can injure females which are small; and
- Farmers must wait until the bull is sexually mature before it can be used.
b) Artificial Insemination (AI):

This is where semen with living sperms is collected from a fertile male and introduced in the
reproductive tract of the female at the appropriate time using instruments (inseminating gun and
speculum).
Steps in Artificial insemination:

a) Semen collection:
This is the process of obtaining semen from the male animal. It is done in two ways:
i) Using artificial vagina technique:
This involves allowing the male (bull) to mount a teaser animal (which can be a castrated bull,
cow or a dummy-something similar to a cow), so that the operator directs its penis into an
artificial vagina for ejaculation. The semen is collected in a test tube /collecting tube which is
covered with a black material to prevent ultra violet light that affects sperm viability.
Diagram of the artificial vagina:

Filler plug
Rubber funnel
Rubber Sleeve Warm water Collecting Tube (Vial)

(40 – 450 C)
Semi rigid Black polythene

membrane
ii) The electro ejaculator method:

This is where ejaculation is induced by electric impulses from electrodes placed in the electro
cavity near the reproductive tract and nerves supplying it. The ejaculate is collected in a clean –
sterile container. It is normally for high quality bulls which are too heavy to mount, too old, or
with physical disabilities such as lameness.
b) Semen examination:
Semen is examined for quality in terms of colour, volume, mass activity (motility), and
individual motility. This is done under the microscope. Sperm count (dead and live),
morphological study, resistance to cold and shock, etc are all carried out.
c) Semen dilution:
This is the process of adding diluents to semen in order to increase its volume to obtain many
dozes. Each doze containing about 10,000 sperms is packed into a micropipette and stored for
future use. The diluents normally contain nutrients / extenders e.g. egg york, boiled milk, whey,
skimmed milk, etc. It also contains buffers to maintain optimum ph, and bacteriostatic agents to
control bacteria.
Characteristics of a good diluent:

- It should be able to provide energy to the sperms;
- It should be able to maintain a suitable osmotic pressure;
- It should be able to inhibit bacterial attack on semen;
- It should be able to protect sperms against cold shock;
- It should be able to buffer ph changes in semen since metabolic activities continue to
take place; and
- It should be able to increase the volume of semen so that many doses are obtained.
Reasons for semen dilution:

- To provides energy to the sperms;
- To maintain a suitable osmotic pressure;
- To inhibit bacterial attack on semen;
- To protect sperms against cold shock;
- To buffer the semen against ph changes;
- To increase the volume of semen so as to obtain many doses.
d) Semen storage:
Semen should be stored at 50c after collection, but after dilution, it can be stored at -79 0c in solid
carbon dioxide or -1960c in liquid nitrogen. The lower the storage temperature, the longer semen
can stay and the higher is its viability.
e) Insemination:
This is the introduction of semen into the female genital tract. It is usually done 6 hours after
heat signs or 24 hours after the onset of heat. This is because ovulation takes place 10 – 14 hours
after the end of oestrus. Therefore, the best time for serving the animal is from the middle of
standing heat to the end of standing heat and six hours after heat.
It is done using the inseminating gun or the speculum.
Methods of insemination:
1. Recto-vaginal method:
Procedure:
- Restrain the animal on heat in a crush;
- Wash your hands with soap and clean water;
- Put on clean long gloves;
- Lubricate the gloves using soapy water;
- Remove semen straw from Nitrogen container;
- Thaw the semen by putting it in water at room temperature to activate the sperms;
- Sterilise the equipments to be used;
- Cut off the end of semen straw and insert the straw into the inseminating equipment;
- Push one hand into the rectum and remove the dung if the rectum is congested;
- Clean the hind quarters with clean water and soap;
- Push one hand into the rectum and locate the cervix through the rectal wall;
- Gently using the other hand guide the inseminating equipment through the vagina and
through the cervix;
- Release the semen into the lower part of the uterus;
- Gently remove the equipment;
- Release the animal; and
- Clean the inseminating equipment and sterilise it for future use.
2. Speculum method:
Procedure:
- Restrain the animal on heat in a crush;
- Wash your hands with soap and clean water;
- Remove semen straw from Nitrogen container;
- Thaw the semen by putting it in water at room temperature to activate the sperms;
- Sterilise the equipments to be used (speculum and syringe);
- Cut off the end of semen straw and insert the straw into the inseminating equipment;
- Put the semen straw into the inseminating syringe;
- Put on clean gloves;
- Lubricate the gloves using soapy water;
- Wash the vulva with clean water and soap;
- Sterilise the speculum;
- Gently insert the speculum through the vulva and use it to locate the cervix;
- Insert the inseminating syringe through the speculum;
- Push the semen into the uterus when the syringe reaches the cervix;
- Remove the inseminating syringe and then the speculum;
- Wash the speculum and syringe.
Advantages of Artificial Insemination:

- It eliminates the cost of keeping a bull on the farm;
- It enhances planned and controlled breeding;
- It reduces accidents resulting from heavy bulls mounting small cows;
- It enables the use of semen from lame and very old males which cannot mount;
- Semen can be used even after the death of the sire / bull;
- It avoids semen wastage since semen from one bull can serve many cows;
- It increases the fecundity of animals since semen is deposited in strategic area;
- Semen from good bulls can be made available in remote areas where bulls could not
survive;
- It can introduce new stock in the country where pure breeds cannot survive;
- Infertility and sterility can easily be detected;
- More offsprings can be produced by the bull in one year compares to natural mating;
- It enables the farmer to use semen from different types of bulls, hence improving his herd;
- It controls the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in livestock.
Disadvantages / Problems of Artificial Insemination:

- It requires skilled labour;
- Genetic variation is reduced and the possibility of getting new breeds is restricted;
- Un careful inseminators can spread diseases;
- Harmful genes can spread more quickly;
- Semen storage is difficult;
- It cannot be done successfully on females with silent heat;
- It may be difficult to detect heat period; and
- Un skilled operators may injure the cows.
- Un desired characteristics of the male can spread faster in the population.
Practical problems associated with Artificial Insemination:

- It is difficult to detect heat signs due to human weakness or un clear signs;
- Infertility which may be associated with a cow or bull either due to diseases or under size;
- Maintenance of the cold chain may be difficult which lowers the viability of the sperms;
- Poor transportation and storage due to unreliable power supply lower sperm viability;
- Poor communication results into late serving of the animals;
- Poor insemination techniques due to inadequate knowledge and skills reduce effectiveness;
- Use of un sterilised instruments may transmit diseases to the animals;
- Improper use of the inseminating instruments may damage the animal’s system.
MULTIPLE OVULATION AND EMBRYO TRANSFER:

Ovulation rate is the number of eggs produced per ovulation. This rate depends on:
- Genetic factors (fecundity genes);
- Live weight (big animals have higher ovulation rates);
- Nutritional status (good feeding enhances ovulation rate);
- Season of breeding (ovulation rate increases with progress in breeding season); and
- Age of the animal (ovulation rate increases with age of the animals).
Embryo transfer:
After super ovulation and fertilization, the embryos are removed from the female by flashing the
reproductive tract with fluids that extract them.
The embryos are then examined for size, sex and other qualities, and then transferred to the
reproductive tracts of foster animals which have been prepared after hormonal treatment.
Pipettes are used to introduce these embryos into the foster animals.
Uses of embryo transfer:

- It increases the multiplication rate of the desired breeds;
- Many calves can be produced from a very good female animal (cow) in a short time;
-It speeds up selection programme since the big number of off springs reduces the degree of
error in selection;
- It shortens the generation interval by breeding pre-pubertal heifers;
- It enables cloning of embryos;
- It induces twinning as implantation of more than one embryo is possible by topping the
animal with a single embryo in its uterus.
- It enables breeding of good females (cows) that would not sustain a pregnancy by using
them as donors of ova.
- It reduces transportation costs since embryos are easier to transport than mature animals.
FEERTILIZATION:
This is the fusion of the male and female reproductive gametes (sperms and ova). It takes place
in the fallopian tubes. Many females (cows) conceive (80 – 85%) but only 40- 50% deliver or
produce living young ones. The act of fertilization marks the beginning of pregnancy / gestation.
The young embryo moves by the help of cilia in the fallopian tubes to the uterus where it
becomes attached to the uterine wall in a process called implantation.
The point of attachment to the uterine wall is called the placenta / flat cake. This point allows
diffusion of food and gaseous exchange to and from the embryo.
Diagram of the uterus:
PREGNANCY / GESTATION:
Gestation period is the period when the animal is pregnant. This period differs from species to
species. E.g. For cows 9 months, rabbits 31 days, pigs 3 months 3weeks and 3days.
Signs of pregnancy:
- Lack of oestrus 21 days after the cow is served;
- Extension of the belly especially after 5 months which is more prominent on the left side as
the right side is occupied by the rumen;
- The flanks become hollow while the spine and the root of tail become more prominent;
- The udder tissues develop i.e. increase in size of the udder especially in heifers;
- Pregnancy diagnosis gives positive results;
- Some signs of life in the foetus can be felt on the left side of the belly especially in later
Stages;
- Increase in pulse rate;
- Slight increase in body temperature;
- The skin becomes smooth and shinny;
- Increase in body weight especially after 5th month;
- Closure of the cervix; and
- Presence of corpus luteum by feeling through the rectum wall.
Care during pregnancy:

- Do not tire the animal by making them walk long distances especially on uneven surfaces;
- Protect the animal from falling into open ditches;
- Avoid overcrowding the animals in narrow gate ways;
- Take care that the animals are not chased by dogs and children;
- Do not allow the animals to fight;
- Avoid slippery conditions in the animal house as it may lead to fall, dislocation, fracture
and spread – angle condition which is very fatal for large animals;
- Do not allow pregnant animals to meet with diseased / carrier animals especially with
brucellosis;
- Provide adequate clean drinking water;
- Provide shelter to protect the animals from heat stress;
- Provide adequate beddings in the animal house;
- Provide a nurse paddock for proper feeding on nutritious pastures;
- Isolate the animal in the nurse paddock for proper supervision;
- Control pests and diseases by spraying and dipping animals, and vaccinating and treating
them respectively;
- Provide adequate feeding to meet the nutrient demands of the cow and foetus. This is called
steaming up. For lactating cows, it should be done during the dry period after drying off the
cow.
DRYING OFF:
This is the process of stopping milking a pregnant lactating cow at seven (7) months of
pregnancy or ten (10) months of lactation.
Objectives of drying off:

- To enable the udder tissues to prepare for the onset of lactation;
- To prepare the cow’s body with enough food nutrients especially minerals in preparation
for the next lactation;
- To enable the provision of nutrients for the growing foetus to cater for its increased nutrient
demand;
- To enable the cow build up its body physiologically in preparation for calving.
Procedure for drying off / methods of drying off:

i) Incomplete milking:
This involves milking the cow half way for 3 – 4 days before milking is completely stopped.
ii) Intermittent milking:

This is when the cow is milked on alternate days for 3 – 5 days before milking is stopped.
iii) Ceasation:
This is when milking is suddenly stopped at once. However, it leads to congestion of the
udder.
iv) Dry cow therapy:

This is the inclusion of antibiotics in the animal’s diet, some of which suppresses milk
production while others protect the cow from mastitis in the next lactation.

STEAMING UP:
This is the practice of feeding a dry cow in late pregnancy on concentrate feeds of high nutritive
value.
Objectives of steaming up:

- To cater for increased foetal nutrient demand;
- To enable the animal build up its body in preparation for calving;
- To increase milk yield and colostrums necessary for calves;
- To prevent nutritional disorders associated with milk production e.g. milk fever; and
- To accustom the heifers to the milking parlour.
Procedure for steaming up (Feeding dry animal on concentrates)

Week 1: Give ½ kg of concentrate feeds
Week 2: Give 1 kg of concentrate feeds
Week 3: Give 1½ kgs of concentrate feeds
Week 4: Give 2 kgs of concentrate feeds
Week 5: Give 2½ kgs of concentrate feeds
Week 6: Give 3 kgs of concentrate feeds up to calving.
Parturition / Calving:
Signs of approaching parturition:
- Isolation from the herd;
- Tendency of lying down;
- Distension of the udder and teats;
- Presence of yellow colostrum in the udder;
- Swelling of the vulva which also becomes flabby;
- Mucus secretion from the vulva;
- Relaxation of the cervix muscles;
- Relaxation of the pelvic ligaments and muscles;
- Relaxation of the ligaments that hold the pin bones together;
- Loosening of the ligaments on either side of the tail head;
- Walking difficulties;
- Walking while frequently looking around its hind quarters;
- Being restless; and
- Loss of appetite.
Calving:
The start of labour pains is indicated by restlessness, heavy breathing, turning and looking at the
flank region, frequent getting up and lying down, and intermittent urination at short intervals.
The start of labour pains and appearance of water bag indicates the onset of parturition. In the
normal birth, the water bag appears first from the vulva opening, it then bursts releasing its water
content. Strong and rhythmic contractions of the uterus force the calf out, fore legs and head in-
between first.
After the calf has been expelled, the after births or clearances are passed out through the vagina.
Fitness of the animal during parturition is encouraged by plenty of exercise and feeding with
laxative foods (easily digested foods).

Presentation:
This is the way in which the calf approaches the birth canal. In a normal delivery, the calf comes
out by its fore legs followed by the head in-between. This is called anterior presentation.
However, in some cases, the calf may come out with the hind legs first which is a dangerous
position of presentation. This is called posterior presentation.
During calving:
- If the cow fails to calve down by herself after five hours, assistance should be given.
- If the calf is successfully born, the mucus membranes surrounding the nostrils should be
stripped off.
- The umbilical cord should be tied and disinfected using iodine solution or dettol to kill any
invading bacteria / pathogens.
- Make sure that the calf is breathing. However, if it is not, the following should be done:
a) Remove any remaining mucus membranes around the nose;
b) Swing the calf around while holding its hind legs;
c) Rub the chest of the calf vigorously and quickly;
d) Drop the calf gently from the height of ¾ of a metre above the ground;
e) Insert a grass straw in the nose of the calf and twist it a bit inside to stimulate sneezing out
any remaining mucus in the nose which the facilitates breathing;
f) Put a little salt on the tongue of the calf. This makes it to open its mouth which allows air
to rush into the lungs to facilitate breathing;
g) Pour a pail of cold water on the chest and head of the calf;
h) If all the above have failed, the carry out mouth to mouth respiration by drawing air into
the lungs of the calf through the mouth and then pressing the ribs gently. This is repeated
many times until breathing starts.
However, if the calf fails to breath after all the above processes, then it is a still birth.
CARE AFTER CALVING:

a) Weighing the calf:
This is done by fixing it in a gummy bag and weighing it to determine its birth weigh since this
determines the growth rate of the animal.
b) Accommodation:
The calf should be taken to a well ventilated and littered pen. Separate young calves from older
calves. This is aimed at reducing calf mortality by protecting it from adverse temperature, wind,
rain and parasites.
Qualities of a good calf house:
- It should have good drainage inside and around it;
- Should be well ventilated but without draught. (Draught is the sudden wind movement);
- It should be warm enough;
- It should have a sloping and an easy to clean floor;
- It should have enough space to accommodate the calf;
- It should have a good supply of natural light;
- It should be fitted with adequate watering and feeding facilities;
- It should have dry beddings to keep the calf worm.
- It should be accessible; and
- It should have a leak-proof roof;
c) Calf feeding:
The calf should be fed on colostrum (first milk produced by the cow) during the first week after
birth. Colostrum contains more fats, proteins, sugars and vitamins than ordinary milk. It also
contains antibodies that offer passive immunity to the calf. Newly born calves should be fed on
three litres of colostrum per day for about four days after calving.
Reasons for feeding calves on colostrum:

- It is protective due to presence of antibodies;
- It encourages expulsion of the first feacal materials (feacal meconium) from the calf;
- It is highly nutritive as it contains a lot of proteins, vitamins, and others;
- It is highly digestible to the calf;
- It is very rich in solids not fats.
NB: The substitute for colostrum can be made by mixing whole milk with cod liver oil, castor
oil, antibiotics and vitamin A.
Later feeding:
After the first four days of colostrum feeding, the farmer may use any of the following methods:
i) Natural / Mother raising:

This is when the calf is left to suckle milk freely from its dam (mother) which is not milked.
Advantages of natural raising:

-It is easy to undertake ie saves labour;
- Calves get enough milk;
- There is no contamination of milk for the calves;
- The occurrence of diseases in calves is reduced.
- Calves tend to grow faster.
Disadvantages:
- Calves are overfed;
- There may be reduced milk production by the mother if suckling does not completely
remove the milk.
- Easy transmission of diseases from parents.
ii) Multiple suckling or Foster mother / Nurse mother:

After the first four days of colostrum feeding, four – five calves can be made to suckle one
cow called the foster mother, which is not milked. Then, milk from other dams can be sold.
- For multiple suckling to succeed, the foster mother should have good mothering ability.
- It should be able to produce enough milk for the calves.
- It must be healthy by being free from worms and Tuberculosis.
Advantages of foster mother system:

- It saves a lot of labour;
- There is low incidence of digestive disorders;

Disadvantages:
- Calves may be under fed if the mother produces less milk;
- Weak calves are likely to be out competed hence under fed;
- Diseases and parasites can easily be transmitted to the calves from the foster mother.
iii) Bucket / Artificial feeding:

This is where calves are fed on whole milk in the bucket using a bucket teat or by teaching the
calf to drink directly from the bucket. While drinking, the calf should not be allowed to drink in
gulps because milk may chock the calf when it enters the undeveloped rumen which may cause
digestive disorders or disturbances.
Procedure of teaching a calf to drink milk from the bucket;

- Wash your hands clean;
- Warm the milk to body temperature;
- Put the milk in a clean bucket;
- Dip your first and second fingers in the milk;
- Remove them and put them on the muzzle of the calf, which the calf will lick;
- Dip again the fingers into the milk and put them on the muzzle of the calf to lick;
- Slowly withdraw the fingers and direct them into the bucket as the calf follows them;
- Lift the bucket from the ground and allow the calf to drink milk in-between your fingers in
the bucket;
- Slowly remove your fingers from the bucket so that the calf can drink directly from the
bucket.
Advantages of bucket feeding:

- It permits better management of the herd as milking starts immediately after colostrum;
- Calves can be fed according to their milk requirements;
- It permits the calf to be weaned as early as possible;
- The incidence of scours (diarrhoea) is minimized if proper hygiene is maintained;
- It ensures survival of the calf especially when the cow dies during / soon after calving;
- It can be used in case the dam has mastitis.
Disadvantages:
- It requires more labour and attention eg during milking, rationing and others;
- Unclean utensils may lead to infection to the calf;
- It requires skills to train the calf to drink from the bucket;
- The utensils increase the costs hence making it relatively expensive;
- Inappropriate milk temperature may lead to digestive disorders;
- The calf may take milk in large gulps which may lead to chocking and bronchitis; and
- Sometimes, the calves can be underfed.
iv) Restricted milk and early weaner feeding:

This is when milk feeding is decreased and early weaner concentrates are fed to the calf at one
week of age. Sometimes, this method is used in weaning. The concentrates encourage rumen
development so that milk feeding can completely be replaced with concentrates at 3 -5 weeks
instead of eight (8) weeks of age.
Advantages:
- It encourages early rumen development;
- It enables the calf to learn to eat cheap feeds eg cereals and grass at an early age.
Disadvantages:
- The feeds are expensive to ordinary farmers;
- It requires skill to undertake.
Weaning:
This is the introduction of other foods other than milk in the diet of the calf. Complete weaning
can be done at eight (8) weeks of age, while early weaning can be done as early as one week of
age.
NB: For the first 3 – 7 days, the calf should be fed on colostrum. From the second to the fifth
week, the calf should be fed on concentrates and whole milk to prepare the stomach for pasture
feeding (young green grass). From sixth to fourteenth week, feed the calf on young grass free
from parasites. The calf can be allowed to graze with the rest least at twelve weeks but it is best
at sixteen weeks.
Colostrum Whole Whole milk Young green grass Green pastures

milk Skim milk
Concentrates Concentrates Weaning 18%
protein
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 weeks.
Calf mortality:
Many calves die especially after 2 months when the passive immunity from the mother’s
colostrum declines so that they become susceptible to pests and diseases.
The major causes of death in calves are:
- Pneumonia; which is caused by bacteria / virus which is increased by damp conditions and
poor ventilation;
- Naval infection; This ca n be treated with copper sulphate or protected with tincture of
Iodine at birth.
- Worm infestation;
- Calf coccidiosis;
- East coast fever.
- Scours / diarrhoea which is caused by:
* Feeding the calf on slightly sour milk with bacteria;
* Dirty utensils;
* Too much milk / irregular quantity / at irregular time;
* Feeding the calf on poor quality milk / milk replacer; and
* Keeping calves in dirty pens.

ROUTINE MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS:
These are activities done in the life time of the calf for better management and health.
They include:
- Identification; - Dehorning;
- Castration; - Drenching;
- Vaccination; - Culling;
- Grooming; and - Restraining.
a) Identification:
This is the marking of animals with marks that enable the farmer to differentiate his animals
accurately.
Reasons for marking animals:

- It enables easy identification of animals for day to day management practices e.g. feeding;
- It enables provision of proof of ownership in case of strayed animals;
- It enables accurate record keeping;
- For breeding purposes;
- For keeping health records;
- For selection programmes.
- It avoids disputes over stolen animals.
Methods of identifying farm animals:
The most important methods include:
- Branding; - Ear tagging;
- Tattooing; - Ear notching / cutting;
- Use of chains and neck laces; - Use of natural and acquired marks.
i) Branding:
This is the sealing of a number or a letter or a design or a combination of these on the skin of the
animal using a hot iron, chemicals or any other means. It is used mainly where cattle are reared on
large pastures or open range. However, calves should be branded when they are about a year old on a
sunny day.
Methods of branding:
a) Hot iron branding:
This is where a hot iron showing the colour of grey to bright red is used to scotch a small
part of the hide surface in any size and shape desired.
Advantages:
- It is cheap to use;
- The tools used are readily available; and
- Less skills are required to perform it.
Disadvantages:
- It lowers the quality of hides and skins if carelessly done;
- It is painful to the animal;
- It may not be effective on wet animals.
Precautions when using hot iron branding:
- Do not hold the hot iron on the skin for a long time to avoid secondary burning;
- Do not use too hot iron as it makes a wide burn;
- Do not use hot irons with too thin surfaces to avoid deep cuts;
- Use a reasonably wide surface iron whose mark can no easily be covered with hair;
- Always brand dry animals;
- Clip off the hair first from the area to be branded to avoid spreading of heat or catching fire.
NB: The best areas for branding are the thighs, jaws, hump, forehead and other inferior parts of the
hides and skins.
b) Chemical / Liquid branding:

This is where corrosive chemicals such as NaOH (caustic soda) and KOH (caustic potash) are used to
burn the skin of the animal. The chemical is applied used branding iron which has shallow grooves on
the contact surface to hold the chemical.
NB: This kind of branding should be used at weaning age.
Advantages of chemical branding:

- It is simple to undertake;
- It makes a permanent mark on the hide of the animal;
Disadvantages:
- Chemicals need skills to be used;
- Chemicals are not available in every area.
c) Freeze branding:
This involves application of a branding iron dipped in liquid nitrogen or alcohol with dry ice on the
hide or skin of the animal so as to kill the hair follicle in the contact area, thus preventing hair from
growing. Apply some pressure to freeze the skin. When the hair follicles are killed, no hairs grow, thus
leading to a permanent mark.
The merit of this method is that it does not damage the hide or skin of the animal.
ii) Ear notching:

This involves cutting the animal’s ear in the desired design or shape using sharp scissors or pincers. It
is regarded as the second best method in identifying cattle. The common marks usually used include:
Crop cut
Under slope
Steeple fork
Under sharp

Over sharp
Over slope
Bit over and Bit under
Shallow fork
Split
NB: Too small notches tend to close soon and are easily hidden by hair, while too large notches tend
to deform the ears.
iii) Tattooing:
This involves piercing holes in a characteristic letter(s) or number(s) under the skin of the ear of the
animal using needle-like points on the tattooing forceps.
The needles are dipped into a special ink before the process. The ear should be prepared by removing
all the waxy secretions on the under surface using a cloth moistened with a fat- solvent. The solvent is
then wiped off to allow the ink to take onto the ear.
NB: When tattooing, always avoid damaging the blood vessels.
K 12
iv) Ear tagging

This is where labels called ear tags made up of light metal or tough plastic with numbers on them are
fixed onto the ear of an animal using a tag punch or ear tag applicator.
v) Neck chains and necklaces:

This involves the use of necklaces that carry special identification numbers eg when animals are on
transit. It is a less permanent method.
vi) Other methods of identifying farm animals include:

- keeping records of natural marks eg spots, patches body colour, etc;
- Keeping record of acquired marks such as scars and wounds;
- Branding on the horns;
- Using coloured labels stuck with adhesives on the animals;
- Using clip marks cut in the hair using a pair of scissors;
- Using paint or coloured marking sticks to mark animals especially during vaccination.
NB: The last three methods are temporary, hence used for shorter durations eg market stocks,
experimental animals, etc.
b) Dehorning:
This is the process of removing horns from the head of the animal. It also involves the removal of horn
buttons / horn buds from the head of the animal, a practice called disbudding
Advantages of dehorning farm animals:

- It reduces space required by animals during feeding;
- It reduces space required during transportation of animals to market areas;
- It increases the carcass value of animal by reducing bruises during transportation;
- It reduces injuries on hides and skins of the animals which increases their value;
- It reduces damage / injuries to the farmer by making animals easier to handle;
- It reduces damages on farm structures such as fences;
- It prevents wastage of nutrients that would be used to make horns in animals;
- It increases the aesthetic value of animals to some farmers.
Methods of dehorning:
There are several methods of dehorning used. These include:
- Using chemicals; - Using dehorning saws;
- Using hot iron; - Using elastrator;
- Using clippers; and - Dehorning spoons and tubes.
a) Chemical dehorning:
This involves rubbing caustic sticks containing NaOH and KOH onto the horn bud of the calf at 3 – 14
days of age.
Procedure:
- Restrain the calf and cast it down;
- Hold the calf’s head firmly on the ground;
- Smear a layer of grease or Vaseline around the horn bud but not on the horn bud itself. This
is to prevent the chemicals entering the eyes of the calf;
- Rub the end of the caustic stick on the surface of the horn bud until when all the hair is
removed and the skin becomes red. However, care should be taken not to cause bleeding;
- Repeat the same process on the other horn bud;
- Leave the calf alone in the pen to avoid rain water which may wash the chemicals into its
eyes despite the Vaseline / grease layer.
Therefore, the calf should be left indoors for at least three (3) days.
Precautions during chemical dehorning:

- Calves should dehorned at an early age (4 – 10 days) for they suffer less, and if properly
done, it may not be repeated; Also older animals have hard horns which are can’t be rubbed;
- Do not allow bleeding during rubbing as this may cause secondary injuries;
- Do not allow the calf out in the rain to prevent rain water washing the chemicals in the eyes
- The person dehorning should not hold the caustic sticks with bare hands.
b) Hot iron method:

This method is used for slightly older calves with horns or horn buttons that do not exceed one (1) inch
in length. Longer horns should be first cut off with a knife before dehorners are used.
c) Rubber ring elastrators:

This involves removing the horns from cattle using a rubber ring which is stretched by an elastrator.
NB: Small horns drop off within 3 – 6 weeks, while bigger ones may take up to 2 months.
d) Dehorning saw and clipper:

Dehorning clippers are used to cut of horns from young animals when still soft. Special dehorning
clippers or shears are available, but they are rather heavy and cumbersome to use. For the hard and
brittle horns of mature animals dehorning saws are the best to use. Any hard wood cutting saw can be
used for dehorning.
However, for whatever instrument used (saw or clipper), the horn should removed at 1 cm depth in the
skin at the base. This skin should be used to cover the wound after the process.
e) Dehorning spoons and tubes:

When using a dehorning spoon, it should be placed on the horn button at 1 cm depth in the skin and
then tilted at an angle of 450 so as to scoop out the horn button.
When using a dehorning tube, it should be placed 1 cm deep on the horn button base, then tilted at an
angle of 450 to allow scooping out of the horn button.
Either way, open wounds are left, which necessitates application of fly repellants to keep off flies and
antiseptics to speed up healing.
c) Castration:
This is the destruction / removal of the testes, the glands that produce the male germ cells from a male
animal.
Factors that influence the choice of the castration method:

i) The type of animal; where some methods can be applicable to some animals but not ideal
to others. E.g. Elastrator method can be applied to goats and cattle but not to pigs;
ii) The age of the animal; where some methods can be applicable to some older animals but
not ideal to young ones and vice versa. E.g. The burdizzo is more ideal for older animals
while the open and elastrator methods are more ideal to younger animals;
iii) The weather conditions; where some methods can be applicable in cool weather while
others in any weather. E.g. The open /surgical method can better be done in cooler
weather to reduce bleeding.
iv) The income of the farmer; where the choice depends on the farmer’s ability to pay for its
requirements;
v) The cost of the tools to be used; whereby some tools are cheaper than others. E.g. surgical
knife or blade is cheaper than the burdizzo;
vi) The availability of the skills to use the selected method; where some methods need more
skills to use e.g. surgical method than others like the burdizzo method;
vii) The hygienic conditions on the farm; whereby some methods cause open wounds that
can easily become septic if the conditions are unhygienic. E.g. surgical method requires
more hygienic conditions than the rest of the methods;
viii) The side effects of the method selected; some methods have more side effects than
others. E.g. Open castration leaves open wounds that can easily become septic; and
ix) Farmer’s choice and preference; where a farmer prefers a particular method based on his
own reasons.
Advantages of castration:
- It makes the animal docile / easy to handle;
- It reduces inbreeding on the farm;
- It increases the rate of fattening of farm animals;
- It improves the quality of wool in sheep;
- It reduces on the risk of spreading sexually transmitted infections in livestock;
- It eliminates bad smell in animals e.g. the male goats;
- It reduces unwanted pregnancies on the farm;
- It eliminates inferior genes from the farm;
- It increases the work output from working animals;
- It increases the growth rate of castrated animals; and
- It makes the management of the farm easy since males can easily/ freely graze with females
METHODS OF CASTRATION:
- Burdizzo method; - Rubber ring / Elastrator method;
- Open / Surgical method; - Chemical method;
- Physical crushing.
i) BURDIZZO METHOD:
This involves clumping and crushing the sperm ducts of the male using a burdizzo.
Procedure:
- Restrain the animal and cast it down;
- Secure its feet together;
- Hold the pods to the side of the scrotum;
- Locate the sperm ducts in the neck of the scrotum;
- Open the jaws of the burdizzo and transfer it to the neck of the scrotum;
- Clump the burdizzo at about 3 – 5 cm above the testis for a few seconds;
- Repeat the operation on the other testis.
- Paint a little antiseptic on the clumped depression made by the burdizzo;
- Release the animal.
NB: Complete atrophy of the testes occurs in about 8 weeks because the testicles are made
functionless by destroying the channels of nourishment. Also, one sperm duct should be clumped at a
time without interfering with blood circulation through the central portion of the scrotum.
ii) SURGICAL / OPEN METHOD:

This involves the use of a simple castrating knife to open the scrotum and remove the testes.
However, the operator’s hands, knife and the environment should be clean and disinfected to avoid
sepsis.
Procedure:
- Tie its feet firmly together;
- Wash your hand clean and disinfect them;
- Wash the scrotum with soap and antiseptics;
- Put on gloves;
- Sterilise the knife / surgical blade;
- Apply local anaesthesia to reduce pain during operation;
- Make a vertical slit on the scrotum using a sterilized knife;
- Extend the cut well down to allow for proper draining of blood;
- Cut the underlying layer and membrane on the testis;
- Pull out and expose the testis;
- Remove the testis by cutting the sperm duct or twisting it;
- Use a hot iron to seal off the blood vessels in order to stop bleeding;
- Repeat the same on the other testis;
- Wash the scrotum with clean water to remove blood;
- Apply an antiseptic on the wound.
- Suture the wound to close it up;
- Wash your hands and equipments used.
Advantages:
- It is very effective with no chances of re-occurrence;
- The knife / blade are cheap to buy;
- The equipments used are easy to get.
Disadvantages:
- It is very bloody;
- It is very painful to animals;
- It leaves open wounds which can easily become septic;
- It takes time when carrying out the operation;
- It needs skills to undertake.
iii) RUBBER RING / ELSTRATOR METHOD:

This involves the use of a specially made rubber ring stretched by the elastrator which is placed just
above the testes. This cuts off blood and nerve supply which leads to falling off of the scrotum after
some time.
Procedure:
- Tie the animal’s feet tightly together;
- Close the jaws of the elastrator;
- Fix a rubber ring on the closed jaws of the elastrator;
- Press the handles inwards to open the jaws to stretch the rubber ring;
- Transfer the stretched rubber ring onto the neck of the scrotum;
- Relax / close the jaws of the elastrator to allow easy removing of the rubber ring;
- Roll off slowly the rubber ring to the neck of the scrotum; and
- Release the animal.
Advantages:
- It is bloodless;
- It is easy to undertake;
- It requires less labour.
Disadvantages:
- The method is only effective on calves with small testes;
- It is very painful.
iv) CHEMICAL METHOD:

This involves mixing chemicals in feeds which inactive the male male’s ability to produce sperms and
male sex hormones, thus making it sexually inactive. This practice is commonly used in poultry
because their testes are hidden inside their bodies, hence no other method can be used. This practice is
called caponisation. However, care must be taken not to consume treated poultry before two weeks
elapse after treatment to allow biodegradation of the chemicals, lest they may cause the same effects to
the consumers.
v) PHYSICAL CRUSHING:
This involves crushing the testes in their scrotum using two flat surfaces. It is a rudimentary, rough
and un humane method of castration which is commonly used on goats.
It is a very painful method to the animals.
OTHER MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS ON FARM ANIMALS:

a) Spaying:
This is the removal of ovaries from cows which are meant for beef production. It is normally done to
relieve management problems where it is impossible to separate bulls from heifers. It makes the
heifers gain more weight and fattening to produce better quality beef.
b) Vasectomisation:
This is the cutting and ligaturing of the sperm ducts (vas deferens), leaving the blood and nerve supply
un disturbed. This makes the animal sterile but sexually active, but its ejaculate does not contain
sperms.
Vasectomised males are used as teasers because they have a sex libido and therefore can detect
females on heat on the farm.
c) Ovariectomy:
This is the cutting and ligaturing of the fallopian tubes so as to inhibit fertilization. Such animals are
very helpful in semen collection for Artificial insemination.
d) Drenching / Dosing:
This is the process of administering medicine / drug to the animal via the mouth or orally. It is done
using a drenching / dosing gun or a bottle.
The major aims of drenching animals are as follows:
i) To treat bloat (where gases accumulate in the stomach due to eating too sappy or too
succulent feeds eg banana peelings);
ii) To treat worm infestation in animals eg liver flukes, Ascaris spp, etc.
e) Casting animals:
This is the practice of throwing down the animal to the ground. It is done to control the animals when
operations on them are to take longer time. Animals should be cast on grass to avoid damage on their
hides and skins.
The commonest method used in casting animals is the casting tackle (Reuff’s method). This method
involves tying a rope around the body of the animal and through the legs so that by pulling the loose
rope backwards and towards the sides, the animal looses balance and slowly sinks to the ground.
However, for animals which cannot be easily roped, the use of narcotic agents for casting is
recommended.
f) Restraining animals:
This is the hindering of movement of animals by physical force. It is done in order to perform
operations such dehorning, vaccination, inspection, treatment and identification. Small animals can
easily be tied with ropes or held physically, but big animals need a crush or squeeze cute. Halters
which are arrays of rope networks can also used for leading animals and sometimes neck ropes.
g) Grooming:
This is the brushing of the hair coat of the animal. It is done for cleanliness and good appearance.
Importance of grooming:
- To clean the animal’s hair coat;
- To give the animal a good appearance;
- To massage the animal in order to stimulate blood and lymph circulation;
- To remove scurf from the hair coat;
- To keep the skin loose and pliable;
- To remove loose hair that would find its way into the milk ie for clean milk production;
- To remove lice and other external parasites;
- To facilitate mating by removing dung that may damage the penis of the bull.
h) Culling:
This is the picking and removing of animals from the herd for various reasons.
Reasons for culling farm animals:

- To remove over aged animals;
- To remove animals which are ready for sale;
- To remove animals which have vices;
- To remove animals which are mature and ready for slaughtering;
- To eliminate unproductive animals from the herd;
- To remove diseased animals from the normal ones; and
- To eliminate sterile and infertile animals.
i) Vaccination:
This is the artificial application / introduction / building up of the animal’s body immunity against
specific infections / diseases. It is done by giving the animal vaccines orally (drenching) or through
injections.
A vaccine is the infective agent which may be bacteria, virus, or toxin which is either live, attenuated
(partially dead / weakened) or dead, that stimulates the body to produce specific antibodies.
Vaccination should be done routinely to ensure (guard) against possible disease outbreak.
E.g. Brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, tuberculosis (TB), black quarters, anthrax, etc.
j) Docking:
This involves cutting short the tail of sheep in order to facilitate mating, increase growth rate and for
proper fat distribution.
k) Hoof trimming:
This is the cutting off of irregular flaps from hooves of animals in order to avoid lameness due to un
balanced movement. It is done using a hoof trimmer.
l) Treatment / Injection:
This is the administration of drugs through muscles (intra muscular) or through the veins (intra
venus) using a hypodermic syringe.
Procedure:
- Restrain the animal in a crush;
- Put drugs into the syringe;
- Sterilise the area to be injected to be free from bacterial contamination;
- Fix the injection needle on the syringe;
- Inject the animal very fast and then release the animal, after which wash the syringe and needle.
Observation of animals:
This the practice of having a close look at the animal to assess its physical state and other reasons.
Reasons for observation

- It enables the farmer to carry out physical assessment of animals on a ranch;
- To enable the farmer to identify animals on heat so as to be served;
- To carry out physical counting of animals for inventory purposes;
- To be able the farmer to know the animals that are ready for parturition to make necessary
arrangements;
- To separate breeding animals from non breeding ones / animals that need separation;
- To enable the farmer to wean off the calves; and
- To enable culling and marketing of selected animals.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS:
These include: Milk, Meat, Hides, Skins, Horns, Hooves and manure.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT MILK YIELD (QUANTITY) AND COMPOSITION (QUALITY):

1. Breed of the animal:
Different breeds of cattle have different abilities to produce milk and with varying composition.
E.g.Zebu cows tend to produce less milk in terms of quantity but with high butter fat content /
composition while exotic breeds produce more milk in terms of quantity but with relatively low
butter fat content and the same management conditions with the zebu.
Breed Milk yield per lactation in litres Butter fat content

Zebu 2275 5.5 – 6.5
Guernsey 2275 – 3640 4.5 – 5.0
Friesian 6825 3.8 – 4.0
2. Age of the cow:
Milk yield tends to increase with increase in age up to the 7 th – 8th lactation, remains steady up to the
10th lactation and there after begins to decline. However, the butter fat content reduces with
advancement in age. E.g. heifers produce less milk of high butter fat content than older cows.
3. Stage of lactation:
The amount of milk (yield) increases from calving until the 7 th – 8th week and there after it gradually
Milk production
declines until drying off.

Illustration:
Drying off
Pregnancy
Dry period
Milk production
Calving Conception
4. Feeds: Time (months) after calving
The amount and composition of milk highly depends on the type of feeds given to the animal.
E.g. When lactating cows are fed on succulent feeds, milk yield will be high but the butter fat content
will be low, whereas those fed on dry roughages will produce less milk but with high butter fat
content.
5. Feeding:
When animals are fed on enough feeds, their milk yield will be high while those fed on little feeds will
also produce less milk.
6. Stage of pregnancy:
Hormonal changes in the pregnant cow affect milk composition by increasing the solid not-fat content
of milk and also appearing in milk.
7. Health of the animal:
Both quality and quantity of milk are affected by the animal’s health. E.g. Sick animals tend to eat less
food leading to low milk yield. On the other hand, some diseases like mastitis reduce milk quality and
sometimes make it unfit for human consumption.
8. Temperament of the cow:
Docile and quiet cows tend to produce more milk compared to stubborn ones. On the other hand,
stubborn cows tend to produce milk of varying composition especially butter fat.
9. Water supply:
Water being a necessity in milk synthesis, its good supply to the animal increases milk yield though
composition in terms of butter fat reduces due to dilution effect.
E.g. To produce one litre of milk, three litres of water are required to be taken by the animal on top of
its maintenance requirement of 40 litre per day.
10. Season of the year:
During the rain season, cows feed on more succulent pastures and produce more milk but of lower
butter fat content. In the dry season, cows feed on dry roughages that stimulate secretion of more
saliva that makes the rumen more alkaline to favour the acetic acid producing bacteria. Then, more
acetic acid is produced which is a raw material for butter fat formation, hence less milk of high butter
fat is produced.
11. Oestrus / Heat period:
Animals on heat tend to have a slight reduction in milk yield and composition during that time. This is
because they tend to eat less food hence low yield, and the high level of progesterone in milk changes
its composition. The butter fat also varies by being 1% above or below the normal.
12. Milking interval / Frequency of milking:
Animals that are milked more times a day tend to produce more milk than those milked fewer times.
However, the butter fat content reduces with an increase in the frequency of milking. E.g. Animals
milked three times a day tend to produce more milk but of lower butter fat while those milked twice
produce less milk but with higher butter fat content.
NB: Labour usually dictates the milking frequency because the extra milk produced from the extra
milking times must be able to off set the extra labour need before this can be done.
13. Handling of the animal during milking:
Gentle handling of the cow before and during milking increases milk yield while rough handling
disappoints the cow, which leads to milk hold up and reduces milk yield.
14. Exercise given to the animal:
Animals having more exercises tend to produce less milk with less butter fat content than those
without exercise.
15. Use of drugs:
Some drugs change the composition of milk and sometimes make it unfit for human consumption.
16. Temperature of the environment:
High environmental temperatures increase heat stress while very low temperatures cause chilling of
the animals both of which reduce feeding rate, thus reducing milk yield from lactating cows.
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS:

Milk is the whole fresh secretion in a colloidal state obtained from a healthy lactating cow by milking,
excluding 15 days before and 5 days after calving. It is an excellent source of proteins, calcium,
Phosphorus, vitamins A and B, and water. However, it is a poor source of Iron, Copper, Iodine,
vitamin C and D.
Fluid Milk:
This is the milk received from the farmers eg at the collecting centres / marketing centres. Such milk
must usually be processed and packed before consumption.
Milk reception:
This involves the receiving of milk at the collecting / marketing centres and then subjecting it to a
number of tests such as odour tests, taste tests, appearance tests and measuring its specific gravity
using a lactometer or density hydrometer or specific gravity bottles for adulteration.
The normal specific gravity of milk is 1.032NM 2. Values higher indicate that solid substances eg flour
and banana have been added to make it heavy; while lower values indicate dilution with water. In
either case, the milk is said to be adulterated.
TYPES OF SPECIALLY PROCESSED MILK:

1. Skimmed milk:
This is milk where the fat content has been reduced to only to only 0.1% fat content.
2. Condensed milk:
This is the milk whose water content is reduced by controlled temperature to a third of the water
content in the milk.
3. Condensed sweetened milk:
This is where part of water in the milk is removed and 40 – 45% of sucrose (sugar) is added. The sugar
makes the milk sweeter and acts as a preservative.
4. Evaporated milk:
This is homogenized milk from which some water is removed. The milk is then canned and sterilized.
5. Fortified milk:
This is milk which has been enriched by addition of more minerals, vitamins and lactose.
6. Cultured milk:
This is pasteurized milk to which specific bacteria have been added to form butter milk and yoghourt.
It also gives the milk the desired flavour and taste. Eg culturing using lactobacillus bacteria.
7. Dried / Powdered Milk:
This is milk made by drying fresh milk on heated rollers. It can also be made by spraying milk in a
blast of hot air which comes across a dry chamber.
8. Cream milk:
This is made by centrifuging raw milk and then screening off cream which contains 15 – 40% fats.
The process of centrifuging is done using a milk separator. Sometimes, the milk in the container is left
to cool and settle in 12 -24 hours so that cream collects on top, which is then screened off.
MILK PRODUCTS:
1. Butter:
This is made by churning whole milk, cream or sour milk in a butter churn. The cream obtained can be
inoculated with streptococcus lactis bacteria in order to improve the products.
2. Cheese:
This can be made from whole milk, skimmed milk or cream. The coagulated portion of milk is
called curd while the liquid part is called whey.
3. Ice cream:
This may be made from whole milk, cream, powdered milk, condensed milk or a combination
of these. It is sweetened and flavoured before freezing.
4. Ghee:
This is a homemade product of milk which can be made from butter, fresh milk, cream or
sour milk.
a) Getting ghee from cream:
Cream is washed to remove casein which is left in the cream, then boiled up to 1200C for 20
minutes and then filtered to form ghee.
b) Getting ghee from sour milk:
Sweet / Fresh cream is left to stand for 24 – 48 hours until it becomes sour so as to destroy the
Casein by the action of microbes, hence no washing is required. It is then heated up to 1200C
for 30 minutes, followed by filtering to obtain ghee.
c) Getting ghee from butter:
The butter is boiled directly up to 1200C for 20minutes and then filtered to get ghee.
MEAT:
This is all the skeletal muscles or tissues that can be used for food. Most meat contains proteins,
vitamins (B1, B2 and B3), fats and minerals especially Calcium, Iron and Phosphorus.
Meat is obtained after killing and dressing the animal. However, before and after dressing the animal,
the following are very essential considerations:
- Ensure that that the animal is free from any diseases;
- Avoid stressing the animal before slaughtering it as it hardens the meat;
- Do not feed the animal 24 hours before slaughtering it to reduce on the manure in the digestive
system;
- Slaughter the animal from a clean place to ensure clean meat production;
- Use clean tools during slaughtering to reduce contamination of meat;
- Meat should be hanged to ensure proper draining out of blood that can lower meat quality;
- Allow for proper draining during slaughtering to reduce blood content in the meat;
- Meat should be inspected for any parasites by honest meat inspectors; and
- Keeping meat in a refrigerator to reduce putrefaction especially for left-over meat.
Terms regarding to dressing:

a) Live weight: This is the total weight of the animal before its slaughter.
b) Dressing: This is the whole process of slaughtering the animal up to when meat is obtained.
c) Dressing (Killing out) percentage: This is the weight of dressed carcass divided by the live
weight of the animal, multiplied by 100.
Dressing (Killing out) percentage = Weight of carcass (Dressed weight) x 100
Live weight of the animal
d)Flaying: This is the removal of the external covering of the animal. It is done after
slaughtering and following the right ripping lines to maintain the quality of the hide / skin
from the animal.
e) Marbling: This refers to meat whose fats are uniformly distributed within the muscles, hence
making it to be high quality.
Slaughtering / Butchering procedure:

- The animal must be handled with kindness;
- The animal should be starved and rested for 24 hours to allow emptying the gut. It also
conserves the body’s glycogen which is converted into lactic acid after slaughtering that has a
preservative effect on the meat;
- Inspect the animal to ensure that it is not diseased before slaughtering;
- The animal should be stunned (made senseless) before slaughter to reduce pain. This can be
done by using an electric shock, a gun or a hammer.
- The neck of the animal should be cut and allowed to bleed by hoisting it up, to allow complete
bleeding that reduces meat spoilage;
- Skinning / flaying should be done following the right ripping lines to reduce damage on the
hide or skin. It should be done using a sharp knife but not pointed;
- Devisceration should then be done by cutting open the carcass to remove internal organs;
- Meat inspection should then be done as a post-mortem to check for cysts of tapeworms and TB;
- Lastly, meat should be graded basing on its fat content, texture, colour and degree of marbling.
A pale colour indicates poor quality while a dark colour indicates good quality.
Meat grades include prime, choice, good, commercial, utility, cutter and canner in descending order of
quality. The cutter and canner are very low grades which are usually for canning.
Factors that make meat unfit for human consumption/ Factors that lower meat quality:
i) Animal parasites such as tape worms and round worms which can also affect man and liver
flukes which make it unhygienic to consumers;
ii) Animal diseases such as Tuberculosis, anthrax, end others which are zoonotic;
iii) Animal poisoning which makes meat harmful to humans;
iv) Contamination of meat during and after slaughter eg with flies that lay their eggs and hatch to
form maggots on the meat;
v) Improper storage of left-over meat which makes it to go bad;
vi) Slaughtering animals which are on treatment;
vii) Bad smell from plants such as Mexican marigold when eaten by the animal before slaughter;
viii) Poor bleeding that leaves a lot of blood in meat which encourages rotting;
ix) Age of the animal slaughtered; where meat from very old animals tends to be more fibrous
and of low quality while that from very young animals tends to be too soft and un palatable;
x) Ratio of fats to muscles in the meat; where too fatty and too lean meat is not good for
consumption; and
xi) Un hygienic transportation may contaminate the meat and lower its quality.
Factors that influence the rate of meat spoilage:

i) Temperature; ie high temperatures do encourage rapid multiplication of putrifying bacteria;
ii) Contamination with rumen contents; ie when rumen contents come into contact with the meat,
they introduce bacteria that cause meat spoilage / rotting;
iii) Diseases; ie meat from diseased / sick animals undergoes rapid deterioration and spoilage;
iv) Unhygienic slaughter houses; ie these increase contamination that increases the rate of meat
spoilage;
v) Unhygienic transportation; ie these containers may favour bacterial multiplication which
increases the rate of meat spoilage;
vi) Poor /improper bleeding; ie this leaves a lot of blood in the meat which encourages rapid
meat spoilage;
vii) High moisture content in the meat; ie this favours bacterial multiplication that encourage
meat spoilage;
viii) Method of preservation; ie when good preservation methods are used such as salting,
smoking, drying, cooking / boiling and roasting, bacterial multiplication and meat spoilage
are retarded and vice versa.
ix) Refrigeration; ie when meat is refrigerated, bacterial multiplication is reduced hence reducing
the rate of meat spoilage.
METHODS OF MEAT PRESERVATION:
- Smoking
- Drying
- Roasting
- Salting
- Frying
- Refrigeration
- Boiling /cooking
Factors that affect beef production in Uganda:

i) Climate; ie poor climate in most parts lowers animal feeding and productivity in terms of beef;
ii) Soils; ie fertile soils favour good pastures hence high beef production and viceversa;
iii) vegetation; ie poor vegetation reduces productivity of beef animals and beef production;
iv) Breeds of animals; ie poor breeds of livestock reduce both quantity and quality of beef;
v) Conservatism; ie the unwillingness of most beef producers to adopt new technologies of
production, due to low levels of education, reduces beef production;
vi) Poor extension services; ie this leaves most of the beef producers ignorant of what to do,
hence reducing beef production;
vii) Pests and diseases; ie these limit cattle rearing in some parts which reduces production;
viii) Insecurity; ie some areas experience insecurity from tribal hostilities that discourage animal
keeping and beef production;
ix) Urban development; ie this forces livestock farmers to poor and drier areas as the fertile land
is used for crop production and settlement;
x) Poor management; ie inadequate knowledge leads to poor management which lowers beef
production;
xi) Shortage of land; ie beef animals need extensive grazing lands which are becoming scarce
today in Uganda.
3. HIDES AND SKINS:
Definition: A hide is the external body covering of a large animal like cattle;
A skin is the external body covering of a small animal like a goat.
Good lather can only be obtained from good hides and skins. Therefore, great care must be taken
during the life of the animal, during flaying, after flaying, during preservation and during storage and
transportation to produce good leather from hides and skins. This is because these act as the sources of
damages on hides and skins.
Importance of hides and skins:

- They are used as clothings in many societies;
- They are raw materials for industries;
- Are used for ornamental purposes
- Making drums and other musical instruments;
- Sold to get income;
- Used as mats for cultural purposes.
CAUSES OF DAMAGES TO HIDES AND SKINS:

i). Pre-slaughter damages:
These are damages that occur during the life time of the animal. These damages are caused by:
- Beating the animal leading to bruises and blood clots in the hide/ skin tissues;
- Indiscriminate branding ie when branding is done on the part of the body hide/ skin;
- Mechanical damage during transportation of animals;
- Scratches from barbed wire;
- Injuries from horns of other animals during fighting;
- Injuries from sharp thorns;
- Insect and tick bites;
- Warble fly damage resulting into holes in the hides or skins especially if it occurs in the best
Parts;
- Skin diseases such as ring worm, mange, scabies and cowpox; and
- Mechanical damage in animal handling layouts.
ii). Damages during slaughter (killing damages):

These occur due to:
- Poor casting of the animal eg casting the animal on a rough surface;
- Pulling / dragging the carcass over a rough surface which damages the grain;
- Incomplete / poor bleeding which results into small cutaneous vessels being filled with blood
that may lead to putrefaction by encouraging bacterial growth hence veiny leather.
iii) Damages during flaying:

Flaying is the practice of stripping the hide / skin off the dead animal. Damages here are due to:
- Using poor ripping lines which give the hide an irregular shape;
- Cut marks due to the use of pointed knives or unnecessary use of the knife where the hide
could be fisted or pulled off;
- Contamination of the hide or skin with manure, blood or soil which reduces its quality;
- Folding the hide / skin before drying.
iv) Damages after flaying / during drying (curing):

These are damages which occur during the drying process of hides and skins. They are normally
common on those hides and skins which are traditionally dried on ground. They include:
- Over drying which leads to cracking;
- Un even drying which makes some parts hard and others soft;
- Rotting due to wet conditions on the soil or due to rain water effect;
- Damages from dogs and other carnivorous animals which may use it as food; and
- Mud / run-off water which makes hides and skins dirty.
v) Damages during transportation:

These are due to:
- Poor tying of the hides and skins;
- Sliding over each other which results into hair slip;
- Tight roping which may damage hides and skins due to intensive folding;
- Rusting of the metal clips which gives the hide a rusty colour; and
- Contamination with petroleum products such as grease and other oils.
vi) Damages during storage:

These may be due to:
- Leaking roofs which may make the hide / skin wet hence weakening and becoming mouldy;
- Vermins such as rats and some insects which feed on hides and skins.
TREATMENT OF HIDES AND SKINS AFTER FLAYING:

1. Washing: Hides and skins should be washed immediately after flaying when blood is still
liquid, in order to remove blood, dung and soil.
2. Hanging: After washing, hides and skins should be hanged out for the water to drain/drip out.
3. Fleshing: This is the removal of meat and fat deposits on the hides and skins using a knife or
scrapper. However, over flaying / over fleshing should not be done as it leads to loss of
Calcium, which is a content of leather, hence lowers its quality.
4. Trimming: This is the removal of irregular flaps / parts at the edges of corners in order to
give the hide / skin a regular shape.
5. Preservation:
This is aimed at retarding all conditions which may damage hides / skins. Hides and skins can
be preserved in the dry form by drying them or in a wet form by salting them or a combination
of the two methods.
Methods of preserving hides and skins:
a) Wet salting method:
This involves arranging alternate layers of hides or skins and salt layers on a slanting floor so
that water can easily drain out. The salt absorbs moisture from the hides , making putrefaction
difficult, hence preserving them.
However, the piles should be over hauled (changed upside down) after every 10 days to ensure
uniform preservation. This preservation process should take about three weeks.
b) Dry salting:
This is a combination of wet salting and suspension drying, where the hides are salted for a
short time during the most critical time of putrefaction and thereafter, dried by dry suspension
to remove the remaining moisture.
c) Suspension drying:
This involves hanging (suspending) hides/ skins on frames so as to allow free air circulation
from all sides.
It is the cheapest method; requires little control and simple equipments. However, it can easily
lead to over drying which results into cracking, and sometimes under drying which results into
putrefaction and hair slip.
d) Traditional drying method:
This involves spreading and pegging the hides and skins on the ground so as to dry.
It is a cheap method; easy to use and requires little labour. However, it has demerits such as:
- Fats can easily melt and spread on the hide/ skin;
- Hides may be over dried leading to cracking during folding;
- Rain water may collect on the hide/ skin making it wet to become mouldy;
- The tension during pegging may not be uniform during stretching, leading to irregular shape;
and
- Hides and skins are more prone to damage from carnivores.
Therefore, to reduce damages after drying, the walls of the store should be smooth; the doors and
ventilators should be covered with a fine wire mesh to make it vermin proof; the roof should be water
proof; the hides and skins should be dusted with fungicides and insecticides to control moulds and
beetles respectively.
Tools and equipments used in the production of hides and skins:

- Flaying knives with convex edges, curved and blunt point for flaying;
- A hoist which allows for proper bleeding;
- Skinning scadles that protect the hides and skin from dirt during flaying;
- Clean water for washing hides / skins during processing;
- Frames for suspending the hides and skins during drying;
- Good storage facilities; and
- Good transport facilities.
Bi products from hides and skins:

- Trimmings such as pieces of the shanks, lips, ears and masks are cured and used to make glue;
- The switch hair is used for making brushes.
ANIMAL HEALTH:
Health refers to the soundness of the body. Therefore, a healthy animal is one whose organs and
systems function properly.
Signs of a normal healthy animal:
- Having a good / smooth looking hair coat;
- Passing out feaces of the right consistence;
- Having a good appetite for feeds;
- Passing out pale straw coloured urine;
- Having a constant normal body temperature, but this differs from species to species. E.g.
Animal Normal body Temperature range ( 0C)
cattle 37.5 – 39.5
Sheep 38.5 – 40.0
Goats 35.5 – 40.5
Pigs 38.0 – 40.0
Poultry 40.5 – 43.0
- Having pink or red mucus membranes;
- Being alert by responding to stimuli very fast;
- Having brightly coloured eyes;
- Moving the ears in response to sound;
- Having a normal pulse rate;
- Having a normal ventilation rate.
NB: Any deviation from the normal conditions above is a sign of ill-health. Therefore, any change or
deviation from the normal functioning of the body is referred to as a disease.
Causes of animal diseases:

1. Microorganisms; these can be fungi, bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Such disease causing
organisms are called pathogens. The development of pathogens into a disease is referred to as
pathogenesis.
2. Nutritional deficiencies; when animals have inadequate supply of particular nutrients due to un
balanced diet. E.g. milk fever.
3. Hereditary / genetic diseases; are inherited from parents by the offsprings. E.g.
4. Physical / mechanical injuries; these are body harms inflicted on the animals’ body. E.g. scratches
of barbed wire and thorns, cuts, dislocation and fractures.
5. Parasites which are either internal or external parasites;
6. Poisons and chemicals; these affect the animal’s health when taken in.
Predisposing conditions to diseases:

These are conditions which increase susceptibility of animals to diseases. They are usually indirect and
distant but prepare the way for diseases. They include:
i. Heredity; animals may be born with infectious diseases or may be born with infectious diseases
or may be born with susceptibility (low immunity), physiological disorders and anatomical defects.
ii. Age; some diseases affect more the young animals due to low resistance while others affect
more the adults due to senescence.
iii. Climate; some diseases are more common in tropical worm climate than in temperate region
iv. Feeds; animal feeds can easily be source of contamination and a home for disease causing
organisms.
v. Feeding; poor feeding deprives animals the ability to fight diseases hence increasing
susceptibility to diseases.
vi. Air circulation in the animal house; Poor ventilation in the animal’s house encourage spread
of disease causing organisms especially those which are air-born.
vii. Drainage in the animal’s house; poor drainage encourage breeding of pathogens and their
spread to animals.
viii. Soil; this acts as a hide out of some pathogens and their spores that attack animals.
ix. Skin coat colour; the skin coat colour may attract organisms that cause diseases;
x. Production level of the animal; highly milk producing animals tend to be more prone to diseases
like milk fever.
xi. Stress; this reduces the immunity of the animals making the susceptible to diseases.
xii. Physical injuries; injuries like wounds act as entry points for pathogen.
xiii. Presence of toxic plants; these can be consumed by animals during times of feed scarcity,
leading to poisoning of animals. Eg tick berry weed to cattle.
xiv. Presence of thick vegetation; this acts as a hiding place for vectors that transmit pathogens.
xv. Poor hygiene; un hygienic conditions such as dirty beddings / premises can be a source of
pathogens to the animals.
xvi. Grazing management; when animals are communally grazed/ managed, they can easily
come into contact with diseased and carrier animals with the pathogens.
Effects of diseases in farm animals:

- Reduction in quality of products such as wool, milk, beef and eggs;
- Reduction in yield in terms of quantity;
- Reduction in feed conversion efficiency;
- Retarded growth due to low metabolic activities;
- Loss of condition / being weak;
- Emaciation/ loss of weight if weighing was done;
- Reduced appetite for food which reduces production;
- Infertility of animals if it is a breeding disease eg brucellosis;
- Premature termination of pregnancy;
- Lameness and blindness of animals; and
- Death of the animal.
Ways through which diseases spread in farm animals:

- Animal excreta, litter and contaminated premises that can be a source of contamination;
- Vermins such as rodents and birds which contaminate the animals and feeds;
- Clothings of people who may have come from contaminated or infected areas;
- Blood sucking vectors which may carry the pathogens;
- Poor disposal of dead animals;
- Indirect contact of animals via feeders, drinkers and contaminated feeds;
- Direct contact of one animal with another;
- Introducing carrier animal on a farm of healthy animals;
- Introducing diseased animals in a healthy herd;
- Some diseases are spread through air ie air- borne diseases;
- Contaminated soil which contains pathogen spores eg anthrax spores which can survive for 40
years in the soil when still virulent
GENERAL METHODS OF CONTROLLING DISEASES:

- Ensure adequate sanitation on the farm to eliminate sources of pathogens;
- Provide adequate ventilation to ensure good air circulation in the animal’s house;
- Ensure proper drainage in the animal’s house to eliminate breeding places for pathogens;
- Provide adequate space in the animal’s house to reduce spread through animal contact;
- Proper disposal of animals’ excreta by burning or burying it;
- Proper disposal of dead animals by burying or burning the carcasses;
- Buying animals from reliable sources;
- Restricting visitors to livestock areas on the farm;
- Vaccinating animals and following the vaccination routine to ensure immunity;
- Keeping good farm records which show the likely time of disease outbreak and the medications used;
- Isolating sick animals from healthy ones to reduce disease spread;
- Isolating newly brought animals for observation until when proven to be disease free;
- Culling sick and carrier animals for slaughter;
- Quarantine by restricting movement of livestock and their products into and out of the disease
outbreak area;
- Fencing the farm to control livestock movements and their contact with wild animals;
- Administering preventive drugs to animals;
- Clearing the bushes around the farm to remove hideouts of vectors; and
- Dipping / spraying animals regularly to control pests like ticks which act as vectors.
LIVESTOCK PARASITES:
A parasite is an organism that feeds on another organism (host) and gives nothing in return except
harm.
Classification of parasites:
Parasites are classified according to:
a) Location on the host: These include:
i) External parasites / Ecto – parasites; these are found on or under the animal’s skin. E.g. lice,
mites, ticks, ring worm, etc.
ii) Internal / Endo – parasites; these live within the body of the host either in the organs eg liver
flukes, round worms, tape worms or in the spaces found between cells (intercellular parasites) eg
trypanosomes or in the cells (intracellular parasites) eg coccidian, plasmodia, etc.
b) Duration on the host: These include:
i) Periodic parasites; these live on the host for a short time or occasionally. E.g. flies.
ii) Obligate parasites; these live entirely on the host. Ie They cannot survive without the host. E.g.
Round worms, tape worms and all internal parasites.
iii) Facultative parasites; these can live at times on their own without the host. E.g. Blow fly larvae.
EFFECTS OF PARASITES ON THEIR HOSTS:

- Parasites feed on the host’s food leading to malnutrition;
- They transmit diseases to the host ie act as vectors e.g. ticks;
- They suck the host’s blood leading to anaemia;
- They cause irritation leading to coughing or scratching of animals;
- They damage the hides / skins of animals e.g. warble flies;
- They feed on body tissues of the host e.g. protozoa and warms;
- They cause mechanical obstructions e.g. tape worms in the digestive system and gape worms in
the trachea of chicken, filaria worms in lymphatic system leading to swelling of feet and scrotum;
- Lead to sores and wounds that act as entry points for bacteria;
- They cause inflammatory reactions in the host by producing toxins or allergy – forming substances.
E.g. lung worms and liver flukes.
- Some parasites lower the quality of animal products. E.g. Liver flukes in the liver;
- They lower the yield of the host animals; and
- They reduce the growth rate and cause loss of weight of animals.

General symptoms of parasite infestation in animals:
- Emaciation (loss of weight);
- Coughing due to irritation;
- Slow weight gain of animals;
- Retarded growth of animals;
- Standing hair on the animal’s skin (Rough / starring coat);
- Tendency of having a pot belly;
- Swelling in the jaw regions (oedema);
- Unthriftness (being sluggish, slow and dull);
- Anaemia;
- Diarrhoea;
- Loss of appetite;
- Death in severe cases;
- Eggs and parts of internal parasites in the feaces; and
- Low yields of milking animals.
EXTERNAL PARASITES:
1. TICKS:
These are eight – legged animals in the class of Arachnida and the order of Acarina. They are blood-
sucking parasites with either hard or soft bodies.
Effects of ticks on the host animals:

- By sucking blood, they make the animals anaemic;
- Through piercing mouth parts, they cause wounds on the host;
- They transmit tick born diseases hence acting as vectors;
- They cause irritation / itching which leads to discomfort to the animals;
- They bore and make holes in hides and skins which reduces their economic value;
- They lead to loss of weight and condition of the host animals;
- They lead to reduced production of animals e.g. milk and meat.
IMPORTANT TICK SPECIES AND THE DISEASES THEY TRANSMIT:
English Name Type of Site on the host Animal Diseases transmitted

Botanical host affected
name
1 Brown ear tick Three host - Horn base; - - Eye -Cattle; -East coast fever;
Rhipecephulus tick lids; and – -Anaplasmolsis;
Appendiculatus - Tail switch; Sheep. - Nairobi sheep disease.
- Ear edges.
2 Red-legged Two host - Inside ears; - Cattle; - Red water;
tick tick - Under tail. - Sheep; - East cost fever;
Rhipecephulus - Goats. -Anaplasmosis;
Avertsi - Spirochaetosis.
3 Blue tick One host - Body sides; - Cattle; - Red water (Babesiosis);
Boothilus tick - Neck; - Sheep; - Anaplasmosis (gall
decoloratus - Dewlap; - Goats. sickness);
- Shoulders. - Spirochaetosis.
4 Bont tick Three host - Belly; - Cattle; -Heart water (Ricketiosis);
Amblyoma tick - Udder; - Goats; - Sweeting disease;
variegatum - Shanks; and - Sheep; - Nairobi sheep disease.
- Scrotum - Pigs.
Methods of controlling ticks:

- Dipping / spraying animals using recommended acaricides;
- Hand dressing animals using pye grease;
- Practicing rotational grazing to destroy the life cycle of ticks;
- Burning old pastures and bushes during the dry season to destroy eggs and stages on ground;
- Ploughing pasture paddocks to burry and destroy ticks;
- Isolating and proper treatment of new stock to ensure freedom from ticks before mixing them;
- Practicing zero grazing limits contact with infested pastures and animals which reduces spread;
- Growing tick repellant plants on the farm such as spider flower;
- Hand picking and killing the ticks physically;
- Double perimeter fencing to reduce entry and contact with infested animals;
- Allowing birds such as white egrets to pick ticks from animals.
2. Mites:
These are small yellow bodied blood sucking arachnids that commonly affect poultry.
Damages caused by mites on their hosts:
- Skin irritations;
- Scaly legs;
- Loss of feathers during scratching;
- Loss of condition of the birds;
- Reduced eggs production by the flock;
- Loss of blood which is sucked.
Control of mites:
- Dusting the poultry house with recommended acaricides;
- Dusting / spraying birds with the right acaricides;
- Providing enough space in the poultry house to reduce spread from bird to bird;
- Smoking the poultry house periodically;
- Destroying the nest immediately after the hen hatching;
- Dusting incubation nests with recommended powdered acaricides.
3. Lice:
These are wingless insects with flat bodies and biting and sucking mouth parts.
Damages caused by lice on their hosts:
- Skin irritations which cause discomfort;
- Lead to sores due to scratching;
- Reduced productivity of bird due to discomfort;
- Transmit diseases such as typhus fever to the host.
Control of lice in animals:
- Grooming the animal’s hair to remove the lice using a brush;
- Providing enough spaces in the animals’ house to reduce spread by contact;
- Cleaning the animal house regularly;
- Periodically replacing the animal beddings;
- Washing the animal’s hair coat regularly.
- Spraying the animals with recommended insecticides.
INTERNAL PARASITES:
These are parasites found inside the body of their hosts. They are mainly worm which belong to the
Helminths group. These worms are divided into two major groups namely:
a) Flat worms (Platyhelminths); which have a flat body structure e.g. Flukes and Tape worms;
b) Round worms (Nemathelminths); which have a round body structure e.g. Ascaris.
General effects of internal parasites to animals:

- They cause wounds / ulcers;
- They suck the animal’s blood which leads to anaemia;
- They absorb the host’s food which leads to stunted growth;
- They make the animal lose condition which leads to thinning weakening;
- They destroy internal organs through burrowing e.g. liver flukes;
- They can block internal passages in the host such as lymph ducts by filaria worms and
intestines by the tape worms which leads to ill-health.
- In severe cases, they can cause death of the host animal.
General symptoms of worm infestation in animals:

- Slow growth rate which results into stunting;
- Decline in production of the animal;
- Weakening of the animal;
- Anaemia;
- Digestive problems such as constipation and diarrhoea;
- Rough / starry hair coat;
- Pot bellied;
- Oedema (swelling) especially in the jaws; and
- Coughing especially in pigs.
1. Tape worms:
This is a group of flat worms that belong to the Cestodes. It comprises of two major species that attack
animals namely Taenia saginata whose host is cattle, and Taenia solium whose host is the pigs. Tape
worms live in the intestines, stomach walls and muscles of animals.
Tape worms consist of the head (scolex), rostellum for sucking and hooks for attachment onto the
host’s tissues. The head joins the rest of the body via the neck. The body is made up of a long chain of
segments (Strobila), each of which is called a proglottid. Each proglottid consists of both the male
and female reproductive parts, making capable of self-fertilization. Mature proglottids are the ones at
the extreme end and break off to pass out with feaces for dispersal.
Structure of the tape worm:
Mature
Hooks proglottid
with eggs
Rostellum Proglottids
Sucker Neck
region
Control of tape worms:
- Proper disposal of human feaces using toilets or pit latrines but not the bushes around;
- Properly cooking the meat to kill the bladder worms before eating it;
- Freezing the meat to below -40C for 3-5 days which kills the cysts;
- Inspecting pork and beef by trustworthy inspectors so as to condemn the infested one;
- Regular drenching of all animals on the farm using suitable drugs.
2. Liver fluke:
This is a group of flat worms that belong to the Trematodes. Flukes comprise of many species that
attack animals, but most important are Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica.
Liver flukes are large, flat, and leaf-shaped with a pinkish or grey colour and a tapering exterior.
They have suckers and mouth for feeding. They normally attack cattle, goats and sheep but have a
water snail (hymnaea spp) as their secondary host.
Symptoms of liver fluke infestation in cattle:
- Emaciation / thinning;
- Diarrhoea;
- Skin and mucous membranes are paler in colour;
- Loss of appetite;
- Severe anaemia;
- Disturbed rumination;
- Fluke eggs appear in feaces after laboratory examination;
- Post mortem shows thickened bile duct containing liver flukes / liver with liver fluke;
- Watery swellings appear on the lower body parts;
- Swellings between jaws / oedema / bottle jaws;
- Weakness / unthrift ness / dullness;
- Rough coat / standing hair / staring hair;
How farmers can control liver flukes:
- Regular drenching / deworming using antihelminths to kill worms in the animals;
- Draining marshy pasture lands to kill the water snails by denying the suitable habitat hence
destroying the life cycle;
- Avoiding grazing animals in poorly drained areas to avoid exposing them to cercaria;
- Fencing off marshy areas to avoid exposing animals to the infective cercaria stage;
- Providing clean drinking water to avoid exposing animals to cercaria in dirty water;
- Spraying infested areas with copper sulphate solution to kill snails;
- Employing ducks that feed on the snails;
- Burning pastures in the dry season to kill the snails and cysts on the grass;
- Hand picking of water snail and killing them;
- Practicing zero grazing to deny flukes access to definitive host;
Observable structure of a liver fluke:
3.
Mouth
Anterior
Oral sucker
Body
Posterior
Round worms:
These are cylindrical bodied worms that live in the gut of the host animal.
Symptoms of round worm infestation:
- Pot belly;
- Emaciation;
- Standing hair / rough hair coat;
- Diarrhoea;
- Appearance of worms and their segments in feaces;
- Coughing especially in pigs.
How to control round worms on the farm:
- Practicing rotational grazing to break the life cycle;
- Draining pasture land to prevent eggs hatching and starve the larvae;
- Harrowing the pastures in the dry period to expose and desiccate the eggs and larvae;
- Grazing young susceptible cattle ahead of old ones to reduce spread;
- Providing adequate space in the animal’s house to reduce spread through contact;
- Burning bushes and old pastures to destroy larvae and eggs;
- Clean the feeding facilities properly to reduce contamination;
- Deworming / drenching animals with suitable antihelminth drugs; and
- Isolating newly brought animals which should be drenched against worms before mixing.
Structure of the round worm:
Anterior
Mouth
Body
Posterior

Animal Production S.5-6

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HILTON HIGH SCHOOL -MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT 2019

LIVESTOCK KEEPING IN EAST AFRICA

FACTORS THAT AFFECT LIVESTOCK DISTRIBUTION IN EAST AFRICA.

MAJOR PROBLEMS OF LIVESTOCK IN EAST AFRICA:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOCAL AND EXOTIC ANIMALS.

IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS LIVESTOCK IN E. AFRICA:

LOCAL SYSTEMS OF LIVESTOCK KEEPING:

2. EXTENSIVE MIXED FARMING:

PROBLEMS OF LOCAL LIVESTOCK KEEPING METHODS:

1. INDIGENOUS / LOCAL BREEDS OF CATTLE (BOS INDICUS):

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIGENOUS CATTLE:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

ADVANTAGES OF INDIGENOUS CATTLE:

DISADVANTAGES / PROBLEMS OF BOS NDICUS:

2. EUROPEAN/ TEMPERATURE BREEDS (BOS TAURUS)

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

DISADVANTAGES OR PROMBLEMS OF EXOTIC CATTLE

MAJOR CHARATERISTICS OF DAIRY CATTLE

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN INTRODUCING A DAIRY HERD:

FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE ESTABLISHING A BEEF HERD:

DUAL PURPOSE TYPE:

WORK / DRAUGHT TYPE:

FEEDS AND FEEDING IN ANIMALS:

i) Stage of rapid gain of weight up to until puberty.

d). Physiological state of the animal

TERM RELATING TO PROTEINS:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

THE FOUR CARDINAL RIGHTS OF FEEDING:

ii) Animal protein concentrates:

iv) MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

vi) ADDITIVES / NON NUTRIENT ADDITIVES:

d) Tranquilizers; are used to improve the live weight gain of animals.

e) Detergents; which are growth promoters.

f) Copper sulphate; which leads to higher growth in pigs.

g) Nitrorine; which promotes growth by increasing the growth rate.

h) Coccidiostats; which control coccidiosis.

vii) Non conventional feeds:

SOME COMMONLY MIXED RATIONS ON THE FARM

c) Chick and duck mash

d) Abomasum: (True stomach):

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

Parts of the non-ruminant digestive system and their functions:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN RUMINANTS AND NON-RUMINANTS:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

REPRODUCTION IN FARM ANIMALS:

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF A MALE ANIMAL (BULL):

FUNCTIONS OF THE PARTS:

iv) Seminal vesicle:

vi) Cowper’s gland (Bulbo-urethral gland):

viii) Sperm ducts (Vasdeferens):

xi) Sheath (Prepuce):

STRUCTURE OF THE TESTIS:

HILTON HIGH SCHOOL-MUKONO AGRICULTURE DEPARMENT 2019

DIAGRAM SHOWING SEMINIFEROUS TUBULE DURING SPERMATOGENES: