Unit 5: Livestock Farming II

1. Poultry farming, common diseases and preventive measures

Poultry farming is the rearing of domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys for their eggs and meat.

Common Poultry Diseases

• Viral Diseases:
  • Fowlpox: A viral disease that causes crusty and nodular lesions on the unfeathered parts of the bird (like the comb and wattle). A "wet form" can also cause lesions in the mouth and trachea.
  • Infectious Bronchitis (IBV): A rapidly spreading respiratory disease in young chicks. In laying hens, it causes decreased production and eggshell abnormalities (e.g., wrinkled shells).
  • Avian Encephalomyelitis: Affects young chicks (1-3 weeks) and can be transmitted vertically (from parent to offspring via the egg).
• Parasitic Diseases:
  • Coccidiosis: A very common and costly problem, caused by protozoa (coccidia) that infect the intestinal tract, leading to diarrhea and poor growth.
  • External Parasites: Mites (like the northern fowl mite and red mite) and lice are common, causing irritation and reduced productivity.

Preventive Measures

1. Vaccination: This is the most critical preventive step. Vaccines are available for diseases like Fowlpox, Infectious Bronchitis, and Avian Encephalomyelitis. Breeders must be vaccinated to pass maternal antibodies to their chicks.
2. Litter Management: Keeping the bedding (litter) clean and dry is essential to decrease parasite loads, especially for coccidia.
3. Biosecurity: Preventing the introduction of disease by controlling access to the farm, cleaning and disinfecting houses between flocks, and controlling insects (like mosquitoes, which transmit fowlpox).
4. Pesticide Application: For mites and lice, buildings should be thoroughly cleaned and treated with appropriate pesticides, paying attention to cracks and crevices.

2. Dairy Animal Management

This involves the selection, feeding, and milking of animals (like cows and buffaloes) for milk production.

A. Selection criteria for dairy animals

• Breed: Cross-breed animals (e.g., Holstein or Jersey crosses) are often preferred as they combine the high-yield traits of exotic breeds with the heat tolerance and disease resistance of local (Zebu) breeds.
• Pedigree/History: If available, a history sheet or pedigree reveals the genetic background and production history of the animal.
• Lactation Stage: It is best to select an animal during its first or second lactation (after giving birth 1 or 2 times) and about one month after calving. Milk yield is highest during the first five lactations and peaks around 90 days after calving.
• Physical Appearance: Look for an attractive, feminine appearance, bright eyes, and a "wedge-shaped" body.
• Udder Health: This is crucial. The udder should be well-attached to the abdomen, with a good network of blood vessels. All four quarters should be well-demarcated, and the teats well-placed.
• Temperament: The cow should be docile and allow milking easily.

B. Milking techniques

A good, hygienic milking routine is essential for high-quality milk and preventing udder infections (mastitis).

1. Hygiene: The milker should wear clean disposable gloves. If the udder is dirty, teats must be washed and wiped completely dry with a single-use towel.
2. Stimulation (Foremilking): The teats are "foremilked" (a few squirts of milk are removed) to check for mastitis (clots or watery milk) and to stimulate milk let-down.
3. Prep-Lag Time: There should be a 60 to 120-second delay between the first stimulation (touching/wiping) and attaching the milking unit (or starting hand-milking). This "lag time" allows the hormone oxytocin to work, ensuring a faster and more complete milk-out.
4. Milking: (By hand or machine). If using a machine, ensure it is removed as soon as the cow is finished milking. Never pull a machine cluster off under vacuum; shut off the vacuum first.
5. Post-Milking Disinfection: This is a critical step. Immediately after milking, the teats must be completely covered with a post-milking teat disinfectant ("post-dip"). This closes the teat canal and kills bacteria, preventing mastitis.

C. Managing reproductive cycles and lactation in dairy cows

A dairy cow must give birth to a calf to produce milk. The goal of a dairy farm is to have a cow give birth to one calf every 12-14 months to ensure she is in her peak lactation (milk production) phase as much as possible.

• Lactation Cycle: A cow milks for about 10 months (305 days) after calving.
• Dry Period: The cow is "dried off" (stopped from milking) for about 60 days before her next expected calf. This allows her udder to rest and regenerate for the next lactation.
• Reproduction: To maintain the 12-14 month cycle, the cow must be successfully re-bred (usually by artificial insemination) within 2-3 months after giving birth. This requires careful heat detection and management.

3. Ethical considerations in using animals for animal husbandry practices

Ethics involves using logic and reasoning to decide whether an action is morally right or wrong. In animal husbandry, ethical issues arise from the conflict of interest between human needs (profit, food) and animal welfare.

Key Ethical Issues:

• Animal Welfare and Suffering: What counts as "unnecessary suffering"? This includes:
  • Housing: Intensive confinement (e.g., battery cages for hens, gestation crates for sows) that restricts natural behaviors.
  • Painful Procedures: Practices like de-beaking in chickens, tail-docking in pigs, and castration, often performed without anesthesia.
  • Transport and Slaughter: Ensuring transport is not overly stressful and that slaughter is humane and minimally painful.
• Animal Sentience: Recognizing that animals are sentient beings (capable of feeling, perceiving, and experiencing suffering). Research into the sentience of animals like decapod crustaceans (crabs, lobsters) is an active area of ethical debate.
• Reproductive Technologies: The ethics of technologies like artificial insemination, cloning, and genetic alteration (genetic engineering) to produce faster-growing or higher-yielding animals.
• Ethical Frameworks: Different frameworks are used to weigh these issues.
  • Utilitarianism: A "harm-benefit analysis". Does the overall good for humans (food, economy) outweigh the harm (suffering) caused to the animals?
  • Animal Rights (Deontology): The view that animals have intrinsic rights (e.g., the right to not be treated as property) which should not be violated regardless of human benefit.