ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

  SHEEP-POX Epidemiology Sheep-pox is a highly contagious disease.It causes a mortality of 20 to 50 per cent in animals below the age of 6 months, and causes damage to the wool and skin in adults.Of the pock diseases, sheep-pox ranks only second to human small-pox in virulence.The disease is transmissible to in contact goats but not to other species of animals. It, however, spreads slowly. Symptoms The disease in characterized by high fever, and symptoms of pneumonia and acute enteritis.Skin lesions appear particularly in parts free from wool, notably around the eyes, inner side of the  thigh, udder and under surface of the tail. The internal organs such as trachea, lungs, kidneys and intestines are also affected.The disease results in emaciation and, as already mentioned, frequent  deaths of affected animals. Treatment, Prevention and Control The diseased animal should be treated with palliatives.In the young ones nursing is more important than medication.The infected litter should be

  Pregnant, Parturient and Lactating Ewes Careful management of the pregnant, parturient and lactating ewes will have a marked influence on the percentage of lambs dropped and reared successfully. So, the following steps may be taken to afford proper attention to these animals. Do not handle the pregnant ewes too frequently. Separate the advanced pregnant ewes from the main flock and take effective care in their feeding and management. Extra feed during the later part of pregnancy (3-4 weeks before parturition) will be beneficial for the condition of the pre-parturient ewes which will help in improving milk production of ewes, birth weight and growth of lambs. Inadequate and poor nutrition may result in pregnancy, toxaemia, abortions and premature births of weak lambs. Bring lambing ewes into lambing corals 4-6 days before parturition and provide maximum comfort. If possible, provide soft, clean bedding and individual lambing pens. Watch gestation length, which ranges from 142 to over

  Sheep Grazing – better thrive -on stubble after harvest 1. Highly resistant- water deprivation. 2. Bifid upper lip. 3. Consideration for fleece. Flushing Improving the nutritional status of ewes during 3-4 weeks prior to mating is known as ‘flushing’.  Nutrition and body condition of the ewes prior to putting them to ram are important.  Flushing will have effect only if the ewes were in declining phase of nutritional availability.  Ewes in better body condition will produce more lambs and thus the flushing of leaner ewes will increase the fertility by way of increased incidence of oestrus and increased ovulation rate.  To obtain increased lambing rate, the breeding ewes, 4-6 weeks prior to their being bred, should be supplemented with 250g of concentrate mixture or 500 g of good quality legume hay per head per day. Sheep Feeding Pregnant Ewes The foetus makes two-thirds of its total growth during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy.  The consequences of under-nutrition in late pregnancy ar

  Normally sheep do not require elaborate housing facilities but minimum provisions will definitely increase productivity, especially protection against inclement weather conditions (sun, rain and winds) and predation.  Shed could be built along the wall of the house.  Further protection could be provided with gunny bags or temporary of removable protections made of thatching material and bamboos.  The roof of the shed should be made of the asbestos sheet supported by tubular or angular steel, but wooden rafters and thatching material could also be used. Exotics should be provided 0.9-1.1 m2 and native and crossbred sheep 0.8-0.9m2 space per head.  Shed measuring 18 m x 6 m can accommodate about 120 sheep.  A chain link fencing or thorny bush enclosure of 12 m x 6 m can be provided for night paddocking of sheep on each side of the shed. Classing and Culling Classing and culling of sheep are very important for the development of a good flock.  It helps to remove undesirable animals and

  India can be divided on the basis of the agro-ecological conditions and type of sheep into 4 regions viz.  I. North-Western, Central arid and semi-arid region II.   Southern region, III.  Eastern region and IV. Northern temperate region. There are about  44 descript breeds of sheep  available in India. I. North-western, central arid and semi-arid region Hissardale Hissar and hilly regions of Kulu in Haryana. It was evolved by crossing Bikaneri with Merino rams. Average body weight of rams and ewes are 54 and 34 kg respectively most animals are polled. Colour is predominantly white, although some brown patches may be observed. Wool is of superior quality yield 2-3 kg per annum. II. Southern region       Important breeds in this region are Nellore:   Nellore, Prakasam and Ongole districts of Andhra Pradesh tall animals with little hair except at brisket, withers and breech. Rams are horned ewes are polled. Long and drooping ears; 86% of animals have wattles male: 36 kg female: 28 kg Ma

  Sheep can be reared as free range (where there is no shortage of land) or under housing inside a shed. It is a very important component in dry land farming system. With very low investments can be made in to a profitable venture for small, marginal farmers and landless labours. Introduction Sheep with its multi-facet utility for wool, meat, milk, skins and manure, form an important component of rural economy particularly in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous areas of the country. It provides a dependable source of income to the shepherds through sale of wool and animals. The advantages of sheep farming are: Sheep do not need expensive buildings to house them and on the other hand require less labour than other kinds of livestock. The foundation stock is relatively cheap and the flock can be multiplied rapidly. Sheep are economical converter of grass into meat and wool. Sheep will eat varied kinds of plants compared to other kind of livestock. This makes them excellent weed destroyer

  BUFFALO-POX The disease occurs in India in both generalized and localized forms, udder, inner thigh, lips and nostrils. The disease is of zoonotic importance manifesting lesions on the hands and fingers of milkers. The methods of treatment and prevention are similar to those recommended for cow-pox. Since buffaloes wallow in marshy places care should be taken to see that the wounds are cleaned well and kept free form files. Attempts to develop a vaccine against buffalo-pox have not given encouraging results. Symptoms  After an incubation period of 2 to 5 days there is some rise in body temperature; the animal develops pin-point red spots and papules of the size of mustard or sago which cab be felt by hand.  Later, these papules coalesce into vesicles, Papules occurring on the udder are generally circular, but those on the teats are elongated.  The lesions heal in the course of 15 to 20 days; the udder and the teats regain their normal appearance.  In males, the disease is very often

  Lactation and milk yield The onset of lactation is with the birth of the calf. The initial yield is a reliable indicator of the animal’s genetic potential. The highest yield is reached after five to six weeks of lactation and maintained for some weeks. Thereafter the yield decreases until the end of lactation. The lactation ends as the dry period starts. In buffaloes, the highest milk yield is seen in the fourth lactation where after it declines. The shape of the lactation curve depends on factors such as feed, management, milking frequency, diseases among others. The length of lactation and yield for various breeds is shown in Table 10. The optimum lactation length in the Murrah has been reported to be 262 to 295 days. Factors affecting lactation and milk yield Lactation and milk yield depend on both genetic and non-genetic factors. The genetic influence is due to species, breed, and individual. Further, it is affected by ability to reproduce, e.g. fertility and thereby calving inte