Maintaining dairy animals in proper health is essential for obtaining desired productivity and higher profitability from dairy farming enterprise. Animals can be kept healthy if they are purchased from the healthy herd and are quarantined for 45 days before entry into the herd. Further, they are to be kept under proper sanitation, management and feeding and use of appropriate vaccines for the prevention of diseases should be made so that losses from diseases could be minimized.
i. Signs of ill health
The animals that are not in good health, will show several behavioural changes and other symptoms which can be observed by any experienced person. Every farmer should be aware of the common signs of illness of dairy animals so that he/she is able to identify the unhealthy animals at an early stage. Some of such symptoms are described below:
a) The general posture of the animal, its movement and behaviour will change in case of illness. The animals separating from the herd, showing weariness, lack of alertness and keeping head down are likely to be sick.
b) Stoppage of rumination and off-feed are the earliest signs of ill-health. The muzzle and nostrils will be moist and devoid of any discharges in healthy animals. Sunken eyes with fixed staring look, redness in the eyes, paleness or yellow colouration of eye membrane are indicative of disease.
c) The dung in healthy animals is semi-solid in consistency with a dark green colour. Urine of healthy animals is clear and straw coloured. If variation to deep yellow, bloody or coffee colour is noticed it can be a sign of disease.d) The skin of healthy animals should be soft, elastic and pliable and the hair coat should be glossy and lustrous.
e) Change in quality and quantity of milk produced is an early indicator of disease.Milk yield in dairy cows fall when they are sick. The purulent and creamy discharges from the reproductive tract are indicative of diseased reproductive tract.
f) Change in the normal rectal temperature indicates illness. The average normal rectal temperature of cattle is 101.5 oF and in buffaloes it ranges from 98.3 oF in winter to 103 oF in summer.
g) Variation in the nature and rate of pulse can be indicative of disease. The normal pulse rate varies from 50-60 counts per minute in cattle and 40-50 counts per minute in buffaloes.
h) The rate of respiration and the manner of breathing deviate in disease conditions and ailments of respiratory system. The normal respiration rate varies from 20-25 counts per minute in cattle and 15-20 counts per minute in buffaloes. Incidence of coughing, whistling, crackling and grunting with pain are the signs of diseases of the respiratory system.
ii. Common Diseases and Control Measures Against them
The disease conditions commonly affecting cattle and buffaloes, their causes, modes of transmission, symptoms and the measures for their prevention and control are given in table
i. Signs of ill health
The animals that are not in good health, will show several behavioural changes and other symptoms which can be observed by any experienced person. Every farmer should be aware of the common signs of illness of dairy animals so that he/she is able to identify the unhealthy animals at an early stage. Some of such symptoms are described below:
a) The general posture of the animal, its movement and behaviour will change in case of illness. The animals separating from the herd, showing weariness, lack of alertness and keeping head down are likely to be sick.
b) Stoppage of rumination and off-feed are the earliest signs of ill-health. The muzzle and nostrils will be moist and devoid of any discharges in healthy animals. Sunken eyes with fixed staring look, redness in the eyes, paleness or yellow colouration of eye membrane are indicative of disease.
c) The dung in healthy animals is semi-solid in consistency with a dark green colour. Urine of healthy animals is clear and straw coloured. If variation to deep yellow, bloody or coffee colour is noticed it can be a sign of disease.d) The skin of healthy animals should be soft, elastic and pliable and the hair coat should be glossy and lustrous.
e) Change in quality and quantity of milk produced is an early indicator of disease.Milk yield in dairy cows fall when they are sick. The purulent and creamy discharges from the reproductive tract are indicative of diseased reproductive tract.
f) Change in the normal rectal temperature indicates illness. The average normal rectal temperature of cattle is 101.5 oF and in buffaloes it ranges from 98.3 oF in winter to 103 oF in summer.
g) Variation in the nature and rate of pulse can be indicative of disease. The normal pulse rate varies from 50-60 counts per minute in cattle and 40-50 counts per minute in buffaloes.
h) The rate of respiration and the manner of breathing deviate in disease conditions and ailments of respiratory system. The normal respiration rate varies from 20-25 counts per minute in cattle and 15-20 counts per minute in buffaloes. Incidence of coughing, whistling, crackling and grunting with pain are the signs of diseases of the respiratory system.
ii. Common Diseases and Control Measures Against them
The disease conditions commonly affecting cattle and buffaloes, their causes, modes of transmission, symptoms and the measures for their prevention and control are given in table
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| Common Diseases and their Control |
iii. Vaccination for the Prevention of Diseases.
Vaccination is a procedure for artificially inducing active immunity in animals against specific infectious diseases by introducing biological agents called vaccines into their systems. The vaccine is an antigenic substance from a particular microorganism.A vaccine when introduced into the animal system produces antibodies in the animal against the disease and thus protects the animal from the attack of that disease. A chart showing the programme for vaccination at a dairy farm is presented in Table. Vaccination is carried out routinely on animal farms so as to prevent the outbreak of diseases in the herd. The vaccination is not done at a locality where the disease has already broken out.
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| Vaccination schedule |
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