Farm animals often fall sick and need treatment to get well. The cost of treatment is usually high and a farmer may lose a sizeable number or even an entire stock in an epidemic if animals are not vaccinated.
Vaccination makes the animals resistant to disease attacks, thereby reducing the cost of drug treatment or heavy losses in case of an epidemic. This is because, vaccinated animals are not affected like non-vaccinated ones.
Every animal specie has its own kind of diseases which need unique vaccination. Consult a qualified veterinary person on the common diseases, available vaccines and their administration.
Sam Oketch, a veterinary doctor, says for a good performance, every farmer should vaccinate their stock. This is done either by injecting the animal or dropping vaccine on the eyes.
Oketch says vaccination also prevents the spread of diseases from animal to animal.
“Some diseases that affect animals also affect human beings and once animals are not vaccinated, your family is at risk of contracting the disease as well,” says the vet.
He advises that farmers should always ensure that vaccinated livestock do not get in contact with the non-vaccinated ones. Alternatively, he says, you could team up with the neighbouring farmers to have your animals and birds vaccinated as well for safety.
Poultry diseases like coccidiosis, Gombolo and New Castle often attack chicken and when not vaccinated, lead to death.
Oketch says for poultry, broilers are supposed to be vaccinated three times while layers need nine times. The vaccination schedules also apply to local breeds.
“This is done at different stages of growth which farmers must take note of to avoid skipping the dates,” he adds.
