6 Unique Ways You Can Keep Your Cow Healthy During the Fattening Period
How to keep your cow healthy during the fattening period.
Cow fattening is a very good and honorable way to invest your money as a farmer. And at the same time get high returns on investment.
If you are thinking of what sector of agriculture to invest your money into. From practical experience I will strongly recommend, you look in the direction of cow fattening.
You will never be disappointed, particularly if you keep your cow healthy during fattening by doing the needful.
To keep your cow healthy during fattening. These come with a lot of planning, hard work, and good breed selection.
You can’t have a well-fattened cow that will generate a lot of income for you and your family without first of all having a healthy cow.
All other attributes are geared towards having a healthy cow that is quite healthy, attractive with a marketable, and the desired weight gain.
Cows just like any other farm animals are bedeviled by a wide range of diseases and infections.
Therefore do not take their health for granted i.e. you need to feed them properly. Periodically deworm them and provide adequate medication and care.
In order to help you keep your cow healthy during fattening. The following unique points will help you keep them healthy and productive:
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1#. Purchasing and Transportation Is the First Step If You Want To Keep Your Cow Healthy During Fattening
It is very important at least for the first time. If you want to start cow fattening, it is strongly advisable you seek professional advice from an experienced farmer.
Particularly someone who has been in the business of cow fattening for some time.
So that you tapped into his wealth of experience, and acquire more knowledge from him. So as not to make an unnecessary, and painful mistake particularly in the selection of a good breed. Because there are quite a number of factors that make a cow good.
Factors such as:
- The breed. How good is the breed
- The health status of the cow
- Fast growth rate
- Temperament, some can be very violent, aggressive, which makes them risky towards their human handlers
- Disease, extreme weather heat tolerance breed.
- Good physical appearance has to do with how healthy and structurally okay the feet, toes, legs, and the general body structure of the cow.
If some of the above-mentioned factors are absent, it would definitely affect the market value of the cow.
And consequently the rate of development such as weight gain rapid growth of the cow. Thereby affecting the overall results, at the end of the day.
One very important factor to look out for when purchasing a cow. If you want to keep your cow healthy during fattening is the health status.
The presence of illness or disease in the cow at the time of purchasing it from the owner or at cattle markets.
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2#. Be More Vigilant When Buying a Cow
Some dubious cow sellers are in the habit of drugging sick cows with hard drugs to make them look very healthy and active before bringing them to the market.
Unfortunately, the unsuspecting buyer would think he is buying a healthy cow not knowing that he is buying a very sick cow that is placed on drugs.
On reaching home after the effect of the drugs has subsided the cow will now collapse and come down with the real illness, by then is already too late.
It is very important to be able to distinguish between a sick cow and a healthy cow that is not on drugs right at the market venue.
It is therefore very important, at least for the first time to seek advice from an experienced farmer when purchasing a cow.
This is to help you avoid the trouble of losing your money at the same time, caring for a sick cow for a very long time instead of fattening them right away.
This scenario can be likened to a human being battling sickle cell anemia. We all know sickle cell has no cure sufferers will be in and out of the hospital at all times, and it is capable of ruining the economy of the entire family.
It is very important you select a very healthy cow from the onset so that you don’t deal with the health issues of any cow all through.
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3#. Provision of Adequate Shelter, Feed, Water, and Other Veterinary Services Are a Must If You Want To Keep Your Cow Healthy During Fattening Period
For your cow to pick up with a sound physical structure, fast growth rate, and rapid weight gain.
You need to provide it with sufficient feed with all the essential nutrients and minerals needed to grow.
Also with adequate and sufficient water supply at all times or else you will be surprised, how your cows will have stunted growth and poor weight gain.
For the fact that cows look big and physically strong. This does not mean they should be treated carelessly.
They need all the comfort and care to thrive in order to yield the desired results.
Clean Environment and Shelter
I have a friend who constantly says cows don’t need shelter no need to protect them from heavy rain, rainfall, or adverse weather conditions.
So he never provides them with shelter even at night throughout their stay on his farm.
Their feces i.e. manure were never cleaned or reduced. They live in an unkempt environment, and at the end of the day they came down with lumpy cattle skin disease.
Unfortunately for him, their market value reduced, and he incurs a lot of losses.
It is therefore very important if you want to keep cows, especially for cow fattening.
Their environment has to be kept neat, dry, and clean particularly if they are confined in a place, and they don’t roam about to graze.
Cow produce a lot of manure, and manure and moisture attract a lot of flies and mosquitoes.
This in turn spread many diseases that might definitely not augur well for your cow.
In order to avoid all the problems that come with an untidy and un-kept environment, please endeavor to keep their environment clean and tidy. This will help to keep your cow healthy during fattening
.
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4#. If You Want to Keep Your Cow Healthy during Fattening Avoid Feeding Toxic Substance to them
Mycotoxins are particularly not too good to cows though cows have some level of tolerance compared to other animals, such as horses notwithstanding cows can still be affected in a number of ways such as loss of appetite.
Having respiratory issues, weight loss, poor growth, and poor immune system. You don’t have to wait to experience all this before you take drastic action to address the issue of mycotoxins in the feeds you use in feeding your herds. You can reduce the effect of mycotoxins in a number of ways mentioned below:
- Always feed the oldest feed in your barn or store first, and try to use up open bags within a few weeks after opening.
- Avoid storage for a very long time, if possible feed your cows feed immediately after purchasing or acquiring them, it is safer and better when it is fed to them fresh.
- Avoid moisture at all costs, be sure to keep food grain, and hay storage areas clean, dry, and free from moisture as mentioned earlier.
5#. Keeping your cows away from pesticides, herbicides, etc.
When fattening your cows, please make sure the grass, hay, or feed giving to your cows has not been treated by any of the pesticides, herbicides, or rodenticides.
Cows who feed on grass that has been sprayed with any of these chemicals can cause them or make them ill or even die from consuming such grass.
In addition to avoiding pesticides and other chemicals near your cow.
It is very important you have a good, safe storage environment for your feed such as silage, hay, grains, and other feed supplies this is to avoid contamination and infection to their feed and the cow itself.
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6#. Given quality feed to your cow
This is a very important point to note if you really want to keep your cow healthy during fattening. Most especially cows with a fast growth rate, rapid weight gain. You must avoid compromising their feeding in any way.
Never feed any spoiled, musty, or moldy hay or grains to your cow, or else you are inviting trouble to them and your finances as well.
Feeding your cow poor quality feed can weaken their immunity and subsequently make them sick.
When giving them feed such as grains and hays check properly for harmful materials such as nails, needles, plastics materials.
Somehow they usually find their way into their feed and feedlot. As a farmer, you have to constantly watch out for these harmful materials in order to safeguard your cows.
I have personally witnessed a situation whereby I was about to feed my cows and found some tiny nails in the grains I intend to feed them with.
Thank God I was able to spot them and throw them away immediately you can imagine what would have happened. If I did not see these nails, and my cows consume them.
It would have caused them serious health issues, it is very important that we are always vigilant and observant when feeding our cows.
It is always a good practice when feeding your cattle with yam, cassava, and sweet potatoes peels.
They should be well sun-dried in order to avoid germs and bacterial infection.
Sir, That is very informative and educative.
Thank you.