Animal Health II – SS2 Livestock Farming Lesson Note (Second Term)

Animal health management on the farm uses veterinary drugs to treat sick animals, vaccines to protect healthy animals, a vaccination programme to time the doses, and quarantine to keep new or sick animals away from healthy ones. Together with good biosecurity, these practices keep livestock healthy and reduce the money a farmer spends on medicine.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. State the uses of antibiotics, anthelmintics, analgesics and acaricides.
2. Explain the withdrawal period.
3. Explain how a vaccine works and name common livestock vaccines in Nigeria.
4. Describe a simple poultry vaccination programme and say why a timetable is needed.
5. Explain when and how quarantine is used on a farm.

What are veterinary drugs?

When animals fall sick, we use veterinary drugs to help them get better. Think of these as the “medicine box” for the farm. As a farmer, you must know that not all medicines do the same thing.

Types of common drugs

1. Antibiotics: These are used to kill bacteria. If your bird has a respiratory infection (coughing or sneezing), the vet might give an antibiotic. Note: They do not work on viruses.
2. Anthelmintics (dewormers): These are drugs used to kill internal worms like tapeworms or roundworms.
3. Analgesics: These are “painkillers”. We use them when an animal is in pain, perhaps after an injury or a difficult birth.
4. Acaricides: These are chemicals used to kill external parasites like ticks and lice (usually applied by spraying or dipping).

The withdrawal period

This is an important rule. If you give a cow an injection, you must not sell its milk or meat for a certain number of days (usually 7 to 14 days). The medicine stays in the milk and meat, and if humans eat it, it can make them sick or resistant to drugs.

What are vaccines?

Drugs are for sick animals. Vaccines are for healthy animals, to keep them from getting sick in the first place. This is why vaccines are called the “shield” of the farm.

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine is like a “practice battle” for the animal’s body. We give the animal a very weak or dead version of a germ, and the animal’s body learns how to fight it. Later, if the real, strong germ attacks, the animal’s “soldiers” (immune system) are ready to win the fight.

Common livestock vaccines in Nigeria

• Gumboro and Lasota: For poultry (chickens).
• Anthrax vaccine: For cattle and sheep.
• Anti-rabies: For farm dogs.

How do you create a vaccination programme?

A farmer should not vaccinate whenever they feel like it. You need a vaccination programme (a timetable).

Why follow a timetable?

1. Timing: Some vaccines must be given when the animal is very young (chicks need their first dose at Day 1 or Day 7).
2. Boosters: Some vaccines need a “reminder” dose after a few months to keep the protection strong.
3. Efficiency: It helps the farmer plan the budget so that money for medicine does not run out.

Example of a simple poultry schedule

• Day 1: Marek’s disease (usually at the hatchery).
• Day 7: Lasota (Newcastle disease).
• Day 14: Gumboro disease.
• Week 3: Lasota (2nd dose).

What is quarantine?

Quarantine is an important way to keep a farm safe. It means keeping new or sick animals away from the healthy ones for a specific time (usually 21 to 40 days). Think of it as the “waiting room” of the farm.

When do we use quarantine?

1. Buying new stock: When you buy a new goat from the market, never put it straight into your main pen. It might look healthy but could be carrying a “hidden” disease.
2. Returning from shows: If you take your best bull to an agric show or competition, quarantine it when it returns. It might have picked up a germ from other animals there.
3. Returning escapees: If a pig escapes and spends two days in the bush before you catch it, keep it in quarantine to be sure it did not pick up a wild infection.

How do you run a good quarantine or sick bay?

To make quarantine work, you must follow these biosecurity rules:

• Separation: The quarantine pen should be far away from the main house (at least 10 metres). Wind should not blow from the “new” animals to the “old” ones.
• Different tools: Use a separate broom, bucket and shovel for the quarantine area, so that you do not carry germs back and forth on your tools.
• The “last visit” rule: Always feed and clean your healthy animals first. Visit the quarantine or sick animals last. After that, wash your clothes and boots thoroughly before going back to the main farm.
• Observation: Watch the isolated animals for signs of coughing, diarrhoea or loss of appetite. If they stay healthy after 3 weeks, they can join the other animals.

Farmer’s secret: Medicine is expensive, but biosecurity (cleanliness and quarantine) is almost free. If you are strict with your quarantine, you will spend very little on drugs.

Evaluation

1. Name the type of drug used to kill bacteria, and say why it is not used for virus infections.
2. What is the withdrawal period, and why must a farmer respect it?
3. Explain how a vaccine protects an animal from disease.
4. List the vaccines in the simple poultry schedule and the day each one is given.
5. State three situations in which an animal should be quarantined.

Assignment

Imagine you are the manager of the school farm.

1. Make a list of 3 items you would put in your “Animal First Aid Box”.
2. Explain why you chose them.
3. Say where you would keep the key to this box. (Hint: keep it away from children and heat.)