CHAPTER TEHRE

LIVESTOCK HEALTH AND DISEASE

3.1 Livestock disease

Livestock disease is defined as change in the state of body of an animal or its organs which
disturbs the proper function of its performance and functions.

Importance of keeping livestock healthy

Keeping livestock healthy is crucial due to the following reasons;

∙ Healthy animals produce high quantity and quality products.

∙ Healthy animals tend to live longer.
∙ Healthy animals produce healthy offspring and which mature faster.
∙ Health animals attract better price

Pre-disposing factors of livestock disease

Following are certain factors that predispose diseases to livestock;

∙ Age: Certain diseases attack only young animals while other diseases affect only older
animals.
∙ Sex: Some diseases are gender specific. E.g. Mastitis for only female animal ∙
Heredity: Some diseases are genetic which means that it will not affect all livestock. ∙
Environmental factor and climate change: Certain livestock become sick when the
weather changes. E.g. Cold climate cause some animal diseases.
∙ Poor and inadequate feeding: Animals that feed on food that lacks certain nutrients are
suscebptible diseases. E.g. bloat disorder
∙ Improper handling of animals: Animal mismanagement can lead to diseases. E.g. ticks
and other external parasites affect the animal with no proper handling

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General signs of livestock illnesses
A sick animal will exhibit the following signs;

∙ Increase in body temperature

∙ Lack of appetite
∙ Reduced animal production
∙ Restlessness
∙ In certain diseases, they produce excessive salivation and lachrymation ∙
Swollen lymph nodes
∙ A gradual or sudden loss of weight
∙ Presence of mucus, coughing or abnormal coloration of urine.

Causes of livestock diseases

Livestock diseases can be caused by the following;

1. Living organisms: The living organisms that cause livestock disease are classified into;
∙ Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and virus
∙ Parasites
2. Chemical poisoning
3. Nutritional
4. Physical injuries (fractures, cuts, intestinal prolapsed)

Classification of livestock diseases

Livestock diseases are classified into the following based on the causal agent;

∙ Bacterial diseases
∙ Viral diseases
∙ Protozoan diseases
∙ Nutritional diseases

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1. Bacterial diseases
 Disease and Causal agent Symptoms Control measures
livestock attacked

Anthrax Bacillus ∙ Sudden death ∙ Vaccination

It attacks anthracis ∙ Watery blood oozes ∙ Proper disposal
cattle, sheep, through all body carcasses
and goats openings ∙ High ∙ Quarantine
temperature

Mastitis Streptococcus ∙ Presence of blood in milk ∙ Treating with

It attacks all ∙ Swollen under in teats antibiotics
lactating ∙ Improving hygiene
female
animals

Fowl typhoid Salmonella ∙ Sudden death ∙ Quarantine

It attacks poultry bacteria ∙ Less feeding ∙ Proper feeding
∙ Greenish yellow diarrhea ∙ Improving the hygiene

Foot rot Fusiformis ∙ Lameness ∙ Carry out trimming ∙

It attacks spp ∙ Swollen and painful hoof Providing a foot bath
cattle, goats, ∙ Hoof contains pus and of copper two sulphate
and sheep blood

Brucellosis Brucella spp ∙ Abortion ∙ Vaccination

It attacks ∙ Brownish vaginal ∙ Proper sanitation
cattle, sheep, discharge
goats, pigs

Black quarter Clostridium ∙ Lameness Vaccination

It attacks chauvoei ∙ Shivering Quarantine
cattle, sheep ∙ High fever Proper disposal of
and goats ∙ Lack of appetite carcasses
Scours E. coli ∙ Dehydration ∙ Treating and isolating
It attacks calves, ∙ Blood and mucus with the sick animals
giplets, lambs, feces ∙ Proper feeding
kids

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2. Viral Diseases
Disease and Causal agent Symptoms Control measures
animals it attack

Foot and Foot and ∙ Lameness ∙ Quarantine

mouth mouth virus ∙ Loss of appetite ∙ Mass slaughter
disease ∙ High fever ∙ Vaccination
It attacks ∙ Blisters in the foot, teats,
cattle, sheep, udder and mouth
goats and
pigs

Newcastle Newcastle ∙ Nasal discharge ∙ Vaccination

It attacks poultry disease virus ∙ Watery greenish diarrhea ∙ Quarantine
∙ Breathing difficulties ∙ Killing the
infected birds
∙ Practice hygiene

Fowl pox Fowl pox virus ∙ Lesions on the skin, ∙ Vaccination

It attacks poultry comb, vent and legs ∙ Killing infected
∙ Poor growth birds
∙ Poor egg production

Gumboro Gumboro virus ∙ Watery diarrhea ∙ Vaccination

It attacks ∙ Pecking the vents due to ∙ Practicing
young irritation hygiene
poultry
 3. Protozoan diseases
Disease and Causal Symptoms Control measures
animals it attacks agent

East coast Theirleria parva ∙ Swollen lymph nodes ∙ Controlling ticks

fever It ∙ Breathing difficulties ∙ Treating using
attacks cattle ∙ High body temperature appropriate drugs

Anaplasmosi Anaplasma ∙ Constipation ∙ Controlling ticks

s It attacks marigginale ∙ High fever ∙ Treating the sick
cattle,

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sheep and goats animals with
appropriate drugs

Coccidiosis Coccidia of Diarrhea ∙ Keeping hygiene

It attacks elmerias pps Ruffled feathers ∙ Vaccination
calves, Drooping wings ∙ Treating the sick
poultry,
lambs, and
young
rabbits

4. Nutritional diseases
Disease and Causal agent Symptoms Control Measure
livestock attacked

Milk fever Low level of ∙ Muscular ∙ Feeding animals

It attacks cattle, calcium in the twitching on diet rich in
goats and sheep blood ∙ Staggering calcium
∙ Animal lies with ∙ lntravenous
neck twisted injection with
backwards calcium
∙ Paralysis or Coma
Bloat Excessive feeding ∙ Left side of the ∙ Exercising the
It attacks cattle, of animals on abdomen is sick animal
sheep and goats green excessively ∙ Feeding the
Succulent distended o animals on dry
pastures Difficulty in forage before
Blockage of breathing o allowing them to
oesophagus Profuse graze on lush
salivation pastures
∙ Using trocar and
cannula to
remove gas from
the stomach

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3.2 General methods of diseases control

∙ Sanitation: this involves the provision of an appropriate clean environment that is free
from disease-causing organisms.
∙ Proper feeding: this involves the providing animals with a balanced diet. ∙ Quarantine:
sick animals are deliberately isolated from healthy animals. This prevents cross -infection.
∙ The regular vaccination of animal: vaccination enables the animal's body to produce
those antibodies that will help to make it immune to the disease concerned. ∙ The control
of parasite: this may do through dipping and spraying. ∙ Culling: this involves the
removal of sick and unproductive animals from the herd. ∙ The proper housing of
animals: housing should match the animals known needs. Mammals for example, do not
thrive in overcrowded or wet and damp conditions.

Appropriate methods of handling livestock

1. Hoof trimming: This is cutting back of overgrown hooves

on animal. Over-growing of hooves is common in
sheep's, goats and cattle
Reasons for Hoof Trimming:
∙ To facilitate easy movement.
 ∙ To control foot rot disease.
∙ To prevent the ram from injuries the ewe during mating
2. Dehorning or disbudding: Dehorning is the practices of removing, stopping or
discouraging the growth of horns in cattle.
Reasons for Dehorning Animals:
∙ Easy to handle
∙ It prevents the injuries.
∙ Transportation and feeding is easy
∙ Reduce farm destruction.
3. Castration: Castration is the practices of making the testicles of male none functional.
Reasons for castration:
∙ To control breeding and inbreeding.

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∙ To encourage fast growth rate.

∙ To control breeding disease
4. Culling: this is the practice of removing unproductive animals for the breeding herd or
flock. Culling is done on the following basis:
∙ Poor health.
∙ Old age.
∙ Poor production.
∙ Heredity defects.
∙ Incapability to produce young ones.
∙ To avoid inbreeding.
∙ Poor mothering ability.
5. Docking: is the removal of tail in sheep. It is carried out within the first two weeks after
birth. It is also referred to as tailing. Docking can be carried out using an elastrator and
rubber ring, a burdizzo, a knife or a hot iron.
Reasons for docking sheep:
∙ To enable even fat distribution in the
body
 ∙ To make mating easy
∙ For cleanliness
∙ To avoid occurrence of blowfly attack
6. Beak trimming or Debeaking: is a conditioning of partially removing the beak of
poultry, especially layer chickens.
Reasons of Debeaking:
∙ To reduce feather-picking
∙ Cannibalism
∙ Keeping away from feed waste
7. Caponization: is the process of removing tests from male birds or cock.
Reasons of Caponization:
∙ To remove docile.
∙ To improve meat quality.
∙ To reduce breeding.

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Methods of Caponization:

∙ Surgical operations: this involves opening scrotal removed from tests. ∙

Still bestrol: this is a hormone that is taken from females by injection

Review questions
Answer the following questions with their appropriate provided spaces
1. Name the causes of the following diseases:
i. Fowl typhoid …………...……………………………………………………… ii.
East coast fever …………………….………………………………………….. iii. Foot
rot ………………………………………………………………………… iv. Coccidiosis
…………………………………………………………………….. v. Newcastle disease
………………………………………………...…………… 2. Name two diseases caused
lameness in sheep
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Name four notifiable diseases in cattle? What is the notifiable disease in livestock?
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Explain the term ‘quarantine in animals’
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How do the livestock diseases affect farm income?
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6. State an appropriate way of handling of cattle during treatment
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7. State general methods of disease control?
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8. State predisposing factors of livestock?
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9. What are the effects of parasite?
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10. Define the following terms:
a. Isolation
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… c. Poor feeding
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… d. Quarantine
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End
Thank you for your listening!

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