Veterinary doctor

03/19/2025

03/19/2025

CALF FEEDING FROM WEEK TWO - ONE MONTH

Calves should be fed milk at approximately 10% of their body weight. Milk can be mixed with other dairy products (whey or skim milk) at this stage and should be fed at body temperature.
Commercial milk replacers can be fed at this stage if they are available and cheaper as they would result in increased profits to the farmer and increase milk for human consumption.
The milk replacer should contain 22% protein (if all protein is from milk sources) or 24% when some plant protein is included (on DM basis). Mastitic milk can be fed to calves only if it appears normal and has low levels of antibiotics. The calf should be introduced to high quality pre-starters at this time.

Calf feeds
Preserved colostrum
High yielding cows may produce more colostrum than the calf can consume which can be preserved and fed later. The colostrum can be preserved by several methods. The most ideal is freezing but this may not be possible in small-scale farms without electricity supply. In such cases, the colostrums may be preserved through natural fermentation (storing at room temperature). Before feeding the preserved colostrum, it
should be mixed with warm water at the ratio of 2 parts colostrum to 1 part water.

Milk replacers
These are commercial products manufactured to resemble milk and are mostly used when there is no milk to feed the calf e.g where a cow is sick or died during calving.
They are also used when demand and price of milk is high. Preserved colostrum should be used as much as possible before a farmer decides to use milk replacer. Milk replacers are always of lower quality than whole milk and should only be fed if they are cheaper.

Pre-starter
A pre-starter is a high quality calf feed, which should be low in fibre and is almost similar to milk replacer and is usually fed during the second and third week. It is fed in12 a dry pelleted form or as a meal. It should be used early to stimulate calves to eat dry feed to enhance rumen development. It is estimated that it takes rumen growth about three weeks after the calf starts eating a handful of dry feed, thus the earlier they start
the better.

Calf starter
The starter contains slightly higher fibre content compared with the pre-starter. At this stage the calf is consuming little milk and is in transition to becoming a ruminant.

Roughage
Calves should be offered only high quality forages early in life and supplemented with concentrates (calf starter). If hay is used, it should be of high quality, fine texture, mixed with legumes and fed ad lib. If they are on pasture, it would be best to always graze calves ahead of adults to control parasites. Some of the common roughages offered to calves are sweet potato vines and freshly harvested and wilted Lucerne.

Water
Calves should be offered fresh water in addition to milk. Lack of drinking water slows down digestion and development of the rumen, and hence the longer it takes before calves can be safely weaned.
Between three weeks and weaning, calves’ water consumption usually increases and should be available all the time.

Keep following Veterinary doctor

03/19/2025

What's your diagnosis?

03/17/2025

A drone captures an elephant herd sleeping while migrating across China in 2021.

03/17/2025

On the top..... 🐐

03/17/2025

Goat Milk and How to Boost Milk Production in Alpine Goats

Goat milk is a nutritious and versatile product, known for its rich content of essential vitamins and minerals. It's also easier to digest compared to cow's milk, making it a popular choice among those with lactose intolerance. For farmers raising Alpine dairy goats, maximizing milk production is crucial. Here are some effective strategies to boost milk yield and maintain the health of your herd:

1. Nutrition:

▪︎ Balanced Diet:
Provide your goats with a balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Alfalfa, clover, corn, and barley are excellent feed options.

▪︎ Fresh Water:
Ensure a constant supply of clean and fresh water to keep goats hydrated and support milk production.

▪︎ Supplements:
Incorporate mineral supplements and vitamins into their diet to meet their nutritional needs.

2. Breeding:

▪︎ Choose High-Producing Goats:
Select the best Alpine goats known for their high milk yield to maintain a productive herd.

▪︎ Proper Breeding Practices:
Breed goats when they are between 7-10 months old and in good health to ensure successful reproduction and milk production.

3. Milking Practices:

▪︎ Regular Milking Schedule:
Establish a consistent milking routine, milking your goats at the same times each day to maintain steady milk production.

▪︎ Hygiene:
Keep milking equipment and the milking area clean to prevent contamination and ensure high-quality milk.

4. Health Maintenance:

▪︎ Biosecurity:
Isolate new goats for at least 30 days before introducing them to the herd to prevent the spread of diseases. Keep the living environment clean and disinfect regularly.

▪︎ Vaccination and Deworming:
Follow a vaccination schedule to protect goats from common diseases. Regularly deworm goats using different types of dewormers to avoid resistance.

▪︎ Health Monitoring:
Conduct regular veterinary check-ups to catch any signs of illness early and treat promptly. Monitor for any health issues and address them swiftly.

2025 | Alpine Dairy Goats

For more information 👇👇👇
Keep following Veterinary doctor

03/16/2025

Choose a suitable title for this picture.

03/16/2025

RAISING DAY OLD CHICKS TO GROWERS

■Day 1-day 7
- The chicks need to be in a brooder.
What is a Brooder?
- a brooder is a simple construction that is used to raise chicks until a point they are not so vulnerable.
- brooders maybe small rooms, wood construction, brooder boxes etc.
- chicks should stay in a brooder for at least 3 weeks - 4 weeks

●How to make a good brooder!
- make sure the brooder is not cold. ( provide source of heat ie. 100,watts Bulb, hot water bottles, brooder pots, etc)
- consider constructing brooders that's not too big and not too small.
-clean and disinfect the brooder before receiving chicks
- provide enough drinkers and enough feeders
- make sure the brooder is free from insects, rodents and mature chicken.
- provide dry dusting materials (saw dust or rice husks).

■Feeding chicks between day 1-day 7
- the best feed at this age is starter (crumbs or mash). - starter crumbs
- fugo starter mash
- pembe starter mash
- at this age avoid mixing of the feed with jenga, omena, pellets etc. You can mix starter crumbs and starter mash at a proportional ration.
- Avoid feeding broiler starter crumbs for chicks that are not broilers.

●Drugs .
- chick formula (egocin,veta chick start, poltricin, vitamet chick etc, dosage (one teaspoon for 5lts, ½teaspoon for 2 litres and ¼teaspoon for one litre)
- aliseryl (this is a blend of various vitamins that will help your chicks grow fast with strength and energy. Also helps chicks boost the appetite and also helps in preventing numerous diseases). Dosage same as chick formula
- liquid paraffin- this is not the normal paraffin we use at homes. This is a medicated paraffin that helps relieve constipation, helps in digestion, prevents injuries to alimentary canal and helps chicks to pass soft droppings.
- so week one give a combinations of chick formula, aliseryl and liquid paraffin

■Give Newcastle at day 7_
Day 8- day 14
■Feeds
-Same as previous week
-
●Drugs
-continue with chick formula
- use coccidiostat (biosol, coccid, vetatrim, biotrim etc) in place of aliseryl. This will help to prevent coccidiocis.
- drop liquid paraffin
so, second week you give a combination of coccid+chick formula
-give gumboro vaccine at day 14
■Day 15- day 21
- feed as previous week
●Drugs
- combination of vitamin and antibiotics ( aliseryl, neoxy vitamin, miramed, agranyl etc)
- repeat Newcastle vaccine
■Day 22- day 28
●Feed .
Start introducing chick mash. (Mixing chick mash with starter )
- incase you started with crumbs, continue giving crumbs until they are 7 weeks old.
●Drugs
- give coccidiostat
- repeat gumboro at day 28.
■Week 5.
Here the chicks are old enough and can survive out of the brooder.
●Feeds
- chick mash/ chick crumbs( or mixture of mash and crumbs)
●Drugs
- vitamins.
■Week 6
Feeds- as in week 5
Drugs, coccidiostat and strexia
●Vaccinate fowl pox._
■Week 7
●Feeds
- gradually introduce growers( mix chick mash and growers)
- drugs - feed suppliments ie molar plus, vigosine or tonophos.
■Week 8
Feeds, growers mash( you can mix with pellets, omena, jenga etc)
10 kgs of growers (mixed rations)- 6kgs growers mash
- 1kg jenga
- 1kg omena
-1 kg pellets
- 1/2 kg ngano
-¼kg sunflower
-¼kg cotton
●Drugs
-vitamins and antibiotics
-vaccinate fowl typhoid.

Keep following Veterinary doctor

03/15/2025

READ THIS BEFORE STARTING A DAIRY FARM:

Starting a dairy farm is not an easy task. A new dairy farm needs a lot of planning and capital! Planning, however, is the big word here.

You cannot wake up one morning, check your bank account, buy stuff and start a dairy farm. Starting a dairy farm needs more than money…it needs planning and clear goals of where you are going and what you need to achieve.

If you add a bit of passion to the mix and you are destined for success.

We are going to focus on two important factors which are the main determinants to milk production; Breed selection and Feeding.

Other honourable productivity mentions include; Health, reproduction and housing. If you get these steps right, then you are on the right track to success.

Look for a good breed

You are starting a dairy farm to get milk and make money right? Yes!

Knowing the right breed to buy is a priority because it will determine how much milk you get daily (This is assuming you will manage your farm well – and in manage, I mean feeding your cows right and making sure they don’t get sick).

These are some of the main breeds;

Fresian: The Fresian has a milk yield between 25–30 litres per day.

Jersey: The Jersey breed has a milk yield between 15–20 litres per day.
Ayrshire: The Ayrshire has a milk yield of 20 litres per day.
Guernsey: The Guernsey cow can give you up to 25 litres per day.
Fleckvieh: The Fleckvieh breed is a multi-purpose, meaning it can be used for milk and meat. It produces between 18-20 litres per day.

Follow the right breeding programs to ensure your cow gives birth every year. It’s a huge blessing when your cow gives birth every year. It’s a big deal. It ensures you have a constant flow of milk and new cows to replace the old ones.

Always use artificial insemination (AI) to breed your dairy cows. AI gives you imported, superior, disease-free bull semen that will improve your herd.

It is cheaper to buy local breeds and use AI to perfect them over the years. It is time-consuming but it will save you a lot of money as a beginner farmer.

Feeding

Cows are simple creatures. Give them food and they will give you milk. Give them enough good and nutritious food and they will give you a lot of milk. Food and water should readily be available to your dairy cows.

Credit: The future of Agriculture

03/15/2025

Did you know that hyenas experience one of the most painful and difficult births of any animal? Female hyenas have a unique reproductive anatomy—what appears to be a p***s is actually an elongated cl****is, known as a pseudo-p***s. Their l***a are fused, forming what looks like a sc***um.

When giving birth, the cub must pass through this narrow and elongated pseudo-p***s, which often ruptures in the process. The birth canal is so tight that many first-time mothers do not survive labor, and a significant number of cubs suffocate before they can be born.

Mating is also complicated due to this unusual anatomy. The male must carefully navigate the female’s pseudo-p***s to achieve successful copulation. This, combined with the hyena’s matriarchal social structure, makes their reproductive process one of the most fascinating yet challenging in the animal kingdom.

Keep following Veterinary doctor

03/11/2025

Sad reality

03/11/2025

🦃 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙮𝙨 🦃

🦃 There are six subspecies of wild turkey, all native to North America

🦃 The currently accepted scientific name for wild turkey is 𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙫𝙤 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙖𝙚𝙪𝙨

🦃 The six subspecies are distinguished by 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙨𝙞𝙯𝙚, & 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.
𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙫𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙥.

🦃 They like to play together and have unique personalities

🦃 They communicate with each other using over 50 sounds

🦃 Their faces change colour depending on their mood

🦃 They have good problem solving skills and can solve simple puzzles

🦃 In the wild, turkeys live for up to 10 years

🦃 Turkeys are very social and become distressed when separated from their group.

🦃 Turkeys have unique vocalizations and can recognize each other by sound.

🦃 Turkeys have terrific mapping skills and can learn the precise details of an area up to 1,000 acres in size.

🦃 Turkeys are very affectionate and create lasting bonds with each other.

🦃 Turkeys enjoy listening to music and sometimes chirp along.

🦃 A turkey’s gender can be determined from its droppings–males produce spiral-shaped p**p and females’ p**p is shaped like the letter '𝙅'

🦃 Male turkeys are called “𝙂𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨,” after the “gobble” call they make to announce themselves to females, called “𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙨”

🦃 Baby turkeys, called '𝙋𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙩', eat berries, seeds and insects,

🦃 Adults have a more varied diet that can include acorns and even small reptiles.

🦃 When a hen is ready to make little turkeys, she’ll lay about 10 to 12 eggs, one egg per day, over a period of about two weeks. The incubation period is about 28 days before hatching.

03/07/2025

Good morning 🌞

03/06/2025

I asked the doctor, 'What is this?' He replied, 'If fate had played out differently, this could have been you!

03/05/2025

🫣

03/04/2025

Do You Know Goat's Milk 🥛 Is More Profitable Than Cow's?

Goat's milk is highly nutritious and palatable compared to Cow's.

03/04/2025

What's your diagnosis?

03/04/2025

"According to Psychologists, there are four types of Intelligence:

1) Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
2) Emotional Quotient (EQ)
3) Social Quotient (SQ)
4) Adversity Quotient (AQ)

1. Intelligence Quotient (IQ): this is the measure of your level of comprehension. You need IQ to solve maths, memorize things, and recall lessons.

2. Emotional Quotient (EQ): this is the measure of your ability to maintain peace with others, keep to time, be responsible, be honest, respect boundaries, be humble, genuine and considerate.

3. Social Quotient (SQ): this is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time.

People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go further in life than those with a high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize on improving IQ levels while EQ and SQ are played down.

A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ.

Your EQ represents your Character, while your SQ represents your Charisma. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs, especially your EQ and SQ.

Now there is a 4th one, a new paradigm:

4. The Adversity Quotient (AQ): The measure of your ability to go through a rough patch in life, and come out of it without losing your mind.

When faced with troubles, AQ determines who will give up, who will abandon their family, and who will consider su***de.

Parents please expose your children to other areas of life than just Academics. They should adore manual labour (never use work as a form of punishment), Sports and Arts.

Develop their IQ, as well as their EQ, SQ and AQ. They should become multifaceted human beings able to do things independently of their parents.

Finally, do not prepare the road for your children. Prepare your children for the road."