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Feeding Management Practices

1. Feed animals daily with concentrate one to two kilograms per day during fattening period. Give roughage daily at 3% of body weight if given air dry or 14% if given fresh.
2. Give clean water without limit or ad libitum. Provide ordinary table salt about 30-50 grams per head per day.
3. Give the animals fresh, palatable feed and clean water at all times. Reduction of feed intake by 5 percent will reduce weight gain by 10 percent. Do not overstock feeds in the feedbunk since the bottom portion will develop heat and make the feed stale.
4. Mix feed properly. Have at least 15-20 percent roughage in feed to prevent bloat and other digestive disorders.
5. During rainy days, cattle will eat more during the daytime. During summer, they will eat more at night and during the cooler hours. Provide enough feeds during these periods.
6. Digestion will be more efficient if roughage is eaten separately from concentrates. Roughage consumption tends to stimulate saliva secretion up to as much as 80-120 liters per day.
7. Providing 12-14 inches of bunk space per head will allow cattle to eat slowly.
8. Schedule manure removal. If allowed to remain with the animals, deep, wet manure will reduce both feed intake and weight gain.

Common Diseases and Parasites

1.  Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)

Cause:   Enterovirus of major strains –A, O & C

Transmission:

• Direct contact with sick animals excreting the virus
• Indirect transmission by ingestion of contaminated feeds
• Contact with infected products and animal excretion by inhalation

Symptom:

• High fever
• Depression
• Appearance of vesicles and blisters with fluid on tongue, gums, udders and interdigital spaces
• Flowing saliva
• Animal refuses to eat
• Becomes lame and refuses to stand

Control:   Regular FMD vaccination every 6 months in areas where the disease is common

2. Hemorrhagic Septicemia

Cause:   Common bacterial disease characterized by hemorrhage (escape of blood from the blood vessels) and septicemia (a condition manifested by the generalized presence of pathogenic bacteria and the associated poisons in the blood). The disease is rapid in onset and runs a relatively short course.

Transmission:

• Direct contact with infected animals
• Ingestion of contaminated feedstuffs
• By aerosol

Symptoms:

• Sudden increase in body temperature (41-42°C)
• Profuse salivation
• Severe depression
• Development of hot, painful swelling on the throat, dewlap
• Difficulty in breathing, and
• Development of signs of pulmonary alimentary involvement in the later stages.

Control:

• Isolate and quarantine infected premises
• Promptly dispose of carcasses of dead animals by burning or burying in soil
• Segregate sick animals and treat them with antibiotics
• Vaccinate apparently healthy and unexposed animals
• Sterilize and disinfect used instruments and equipment.

3. Anthrax – is a peracute disease characterized by septicemia and sudden death with the exudation of tarry blood from the natural body openings. It is a disease virtually of all warm-blooded animals, including man.

Cause:

• Caused by large, gram-positive, aerobic spore-forming rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracic. In cultures, forms long chains which, unstained, appear as solid filaments because the square ends of the individual cells fit very closely together.
• Under low magnification, the margin of the colonies which lie in parallel formation look like locks of hair. It is for this reason that they are sometimes described as “Medusa head” colonies.

Transmission:

• Direct Contact – spread form one animal to another, wherein the bacili are excreted in the urine, feces, saliva and from the natural body openings contaminating the area
• Ingestion
• Indirect transmission through airborne via respiratory tract (inhalation) or vector borne through stable files and mosquitoes

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