Animal Field Worker Block II

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Animal Field WorkerBlock II December 2007

• Training Material
• India Project for Animals and Nature
• www.indiapan.org

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Animal Field Workers block II

• Experiences so far
• Rehearse in village workshops and during field
  practice
• Wound cleaning
• Internal parasites
• Dewormer calculations
• Diarrhea
• Emergencies
• Record keeping
• New topics
• Pregnancy and new borns
• Feeding
• Recognition of FMD, Anthrax, others and what to
  do
• Others as requested by the AFWs

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Animal Field Workers block II

• Heat
• The time when a female animal will allow a male
  to mate with her
• Mature females can become pregnant
• When a female is in heat, her ovaries release
  eggs into the uterus

• Age when animals first have a heat period
• Cow 8-20 months
• Buffalo 10-20months
• Sheep 6-12 months
• Goat 6-12 months
• Male animals mature at about the same age
• THE BEST TIME TO LOOK AT ANIMALS TO SEE IF THEY
  ARE IN HEAT IS EARLY IN THE MORNING OR IN THE
  EVENING.
• HEAT SOMETIMES LASTS ONLY FOR 12 HOURS OR LESS,
  SO WATCH FOR SIGNS OF HEAT AT LEAST EVERY SIX
  HOURS.

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Animal Field Workers block II

• Signs of heat
• Animals are often restless
• They stand apart from the group
• They swish their tails more than normal
• They might cry out more than normal (especially
  goats)
• They urinate more often (especially goats)
• They eat less than normal
• The vulva is sometimes red and swollen
• Thick clear mucus comes from the vagina when
  red mucus comes from the vagina it is too late to
  mate an animal

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Pregnancy
• The length of pregnancy in different species
• Cow 9 months (270-300 days)
• Buffalo 10 months (300-340 days)
• Sheep 5 months (140-160 days)
• Goat 5 months (145 -160 days)
• ANIMALS THAT DO NOT COME IN HEAT ARE USUALLY
  PREGNANT. YOU CAN CHECK FOR PREGNANCY BY PUTTING
  YOUR ARM INTO THE RECTUM AND FEELING THE
  DEVELOPING CALF.

• Reasons for not getting pregnant
• Timing was the female in heat? Was she mated
  too late after heat started?
• Is the male sterile?
• Check that the male has no fever, that it is well
  fed and not thin
• Check that the male does not need to mate with
  too many females

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• How to prepare an animal for birth?
• Stop milking 2-3 months before she gives birth
• Give enough good quality food, dont let to
  become fat. Make sure she moves around.
• Dont give vaccinations or medicines unless they
  are essential
• Keep her away from strange,unknown animals
• Make sure the shed is clean and provide her a
  clean place away from other animals

• How to tell when an animal is about to give
  birth?
• Few weeks before the udder starts to swell
• Few days before the animal stands alone away from
  the others, teats and udder swell,udder becomes
  tight
• The vulva often becomes swollen and red
• The animal develops a hollow on each side of the
  tail as the muscles around the pelvis and vagina
  start to relax
• The animal starts to look distressed, she looks
  round at her side, she often lies down for a
  short time and gets up again.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Normal birth
• 1. The cervix starts to open. The cervix has
  been sealed tightly with thick mucus while the
  animal was pregnant. The cervix should be fully
  open about one hour after the animal starts to
  push.

2. The uterus starts to contract, contractions
become stronger 3. The bag of water breaks,
yellow fluid comes out of it 4. Usually the two
front legs and the head come out first but
sometimes the two back legs and tail come out
first. 5. After the head, shoulders and chest
have come out, the rest of the baby animal
usually follows easily.
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Animal Field Workers, block II

• What to do if something goes wrong with birth?
• If birth is taking more than an hour gently
  examine the animal to see what is wrong.
• You need
• Clean water
• Soap and brush for washing hands
• Lubricant
• Clean clothes for drying hands
• Clean ropes

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• What to do
• Make sure the animal is loosely tied and can
  easily lie down
• Wash your hands AND arms well. Cut your
  fingernails short
• Use plenty of soap or vegetable oil as a
  lubricant
• Lift up the tail and wash around the vulva
• Put your arm in the vagina is the cervix open?
• Is the baby in the correct position for birth?
• IF IT IS NOT YOU HAVE TO PUT IT IN THE RIGHT
  POSITION BEFORE THE BABY CAN COME OUT!

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• What is the position of the baby?
• Feel the legs are they front or back legs?
• Does the first joint bend the same way as the
  next joint? ? front legs
• Do both the legs belong to the same animal? Twins
  can not come out same time.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 1
• The cervix is not open
• It is too early for the birth. Wait for an hour.
• Sometimes the cervix will open more if you put
  your hand in and gently try to expand it.

• Sometimes the cervix closes again before the baby
  is born. When that happens the baby is usually
  dead. You feel a foul smell often.
• It is difficult to treat this conditions.
  Veterinarians can do caesarean section or treat
  the animal with antibiotics.
• Sometimes the cervix wont open because the
  uterus is twisted. This is difficult to treat.
  Rolling the animal around might help. Or
  caesarean section.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 2
• Two front feet come but no head
• Push the baby back inside little
• Grip the mouth or nose and pull the head towards
  you. You can use rope to pull the jaw.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 3
• Two back feet come first
• Most animal give birth to a baby in this position
  quite easily. Watch the mother closely, you might
  need to help by pulling on the babys legs.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 4 The head comes but one or two front
  legs do not
• Put your arm in and gently bring the legs up into
  the normal position.
• Put your hand over the hoof when pulling

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 5 Only a tail comes
• Push the baby back inside a lttle
• Find the knee of one leg and pull it towards you
• Find the foot and cup your hand round it to
  protect the uterus

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Problem 6 The baby is dead and smells bad
• Dead baby and infection in the uterus can make
  the uterus very weak and it can break easily.
• BE VERY CAREFUL
• Put a lot of soapy water in through the vagina
  with a rubber tube and a plastic bottle

• Pull the dead baby out
• Give the mother antibiotics
• Wash yourself well

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• What to do with a new born animal?
• Make sure it is breathing clean mucus away from
  mouth nostrils
• Pull the new born animal to where the mother can
  reach it to lick it dry
• Make sure the baby sucks its mothers teat as
  soon as possible

• If a new-born animal is not breathing
• Hang it upside down, rub the chest
• Put the new-born animal on the back of its mother
  with its head down
• Put a piece of dry grass up the baby animals nose
  to make it cough

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• What to do with a new-born animal?
• Colostrum!!!!
• Umbilical cord
• If it doesnt break tie a sterile string around
  it and cut about 3cm long
• Keep the navel of a new-born animal clean to stop
  infection getting in. You can soak the navel in
  antiseptic.

• What to do with the mother after birth?
• Give plenty of water to drink
• Check if there is another baby to come
• REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR HANDS AND ARMS AGAIN!
• Check that milk comes from each teat

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Reasons for abortion and what to do
• Infection usually more than one animal aborts
• Check if the animal has fever
• Isolate the animal, move the healthy animals away
  to a clean place, bury or burn the dead baby
  animal together with the placenta
• Clean up the place and wash yourself
• Brucellosis
• Infection comes from aborted baby animals,
  placentas and discharges
• Cause by bacteria
• Vaccine prevents from infection there is no
  treatment!
• PEOPLE CAN GET SICK BY DRINKING THE MILK OF
  INFECTED ANIMALS!!!!

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Reasons for abortions
• Drugs
• Some medicines and vaccines can cause abortions.
• Dont vaccinate animals that are late pregnant
• Before giving any medicines to a late pregnant
  animal make sure that the medicine can be safely
  given

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Complications after birth
• Retained placenta infection fertility
  problems
• Encourage new-born animal to suck
• Antibiotics needed if placenta retains and rots
• Prolapsed uterus infection possible death
• Metritis
• Weak/dead calf loss of milkcalf
• Milk fever

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Diseases related to calving
• Mastitis
• Infection in the udder
• Milk looks different (watery, blood or lumps in
  it)
• Swollen and hot udder and teats
• Animal resists being milked
• In very severe mastitis the udder becomes dark
  blue/black ? very bad sign, animal often becomes
  very sick and might die

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Mastitis
• Treatment
• Milk the udder empty as often as you can
• Dont spill the milk around because it can infect
  other animals
• Use antibiotics
• Prevention
• Keep everything clean when milking
• Clean the udder before and after milking
• Milk animals with mastitis last
• After milking, keep the animal in a clean place
  at least for an hour. Feed animals so they dont
  lie down.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Digestive system of a ruminant
• Four stomach system helps to digest tough fibres
• Helpful microbes (bacteria, protozoa) in the
  rumen break down the food ? gas formation ?
  belche once in every minute
• Abomasum (similar to humans, horses and dogs
  stomach) produces chemicals that help digest the
  food
• In new born ruminants the rumen is not yet
  developed. Solid food stimulates rumen to grow.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Free grazing animals nutrient intake is unknown.
  
• Free grazing animals have to work hard to harvest
  their food and still it is often not adequate
• Totally or partly in-stall fed animals easier to
  affect on the composition of nutrients in the
  feed

• Nutrients
• Carbohydrates (glucose)
• Proteins
• Lipids (fats and oils)
• Minerals and vitamins
• DONT FORGET THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN WATER!

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Foods for energy (carbohydrates)
• Good pasture or forage
• Grains maize, rice, other cereals
• Foods for growth (proteins)
• Legumes
• Good grass and plants when green
• Digestibility and energy value of the grasses and
  plants decrease as they mature.
• Pasture legumes contain more protein, minerals
  and starch than grasses. They are digested more
  rapidly.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• How to make good hay/forage
• Collect grasses before they mature and stack in
  shade
• Wind dries the forage rather than direct sun
• Do this during November and December
• Use little time and effort to prepare yourself
  for the dry season and you will save money and
  your animals will survive the hard season
  better!!!
• IF YOU FEED ANIMALS WITH FORAGE THAT HAS TOO MUCH
  FIBRE THE ANIMALS WILL BECOME FULL SOON AND CANT
  EAT MORE BUT THEY HAVE NOT GET THE ENERGY THEY
  NEED. STRAW HAS VERY LITTLE ENERGY BUT LOT OF
  FIBRE IN IT.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• How to improve straw / poor quality fodder
• Mix with legumes e.g. groundnut, horsegram,
  kubabul, gliricidia, cow pea, beans, chenna
• 10kg straw 2 kg legumes
• Mix with concentrates
• 50 rice bran 20 available cereal (e.g.
  Sorghum, raggy, maize) 20 horsegram 10
  oilcake (e.g. Groundnut cake, linseed cake,
  cottonseed cake, coconut cake)

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• How to improve straw / poor quality fodder
• Mix with minerals
• Mixture 1. mix a large pinch (about 1g) of wood
  ash every day with the animals food for every10kg
  of bodyweight
• Mixture 2. mix 2 parts salt and 2 parts bone meal
• Mixture 3. mix 2 parts salt, 2 parts bone meal
  and 1 part rock phosphate
• Mixture 4. mix 2 parts salt, 2 parts bone meal
  and 1 part lime
• Mixture 5. mix 1 part salt and 4 parts wood ash
• Let the animals eat as much of one of these
  mineral mixtures as they want. Put minerals in
  boxes to stop animals spreading them on the
  ground and wasting them.
• You can also use a commercial mineral mixture.
  Follow the instructions carefully.

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• How to improve straw / poor quality fodder
• Supplementation / treatment with urea
• Urea can be sprayed as a solution on to the straw
  at the time of feeding
• Straw can be treated with urea and then sealed in
  plastic
• Use of urea increases the nutritional value of
  the straw and the intake of it

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Lack of proper nutrition
• Slow growth animals dont yeld much meat
• You cant sell them at a good price
• Weak immune system diseases!!!
• Low milk yeld
• Problems in pregnancy, show heat late

• How to improve nutrition
• Rotation of the pasture lands prevents from
  overgrazing and improves the quality of the
  pasture

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Animal Field Workers, block II

• Improved nutrition, an example for a late
  pregnant cow (not milking)
• 20kg grass
• 3 kg legumes
• 50 ricebran 20 horsegram 20 cereals
• 10 oilcakes give this concentrate mixture
  1-2kg daily for the last two months of pregnancy
• CLEAN WATER

• Improved nutrition by using locally available
  fodder, an example of a daily feed for a milking
  cow giving 5l milk/day
• 20kg grass
• 3 kg legumes
• 1-2 kg conentrates
• CLEAN WATER

• Improved nutrition, an example of a daily feed
  for a heifer (not yet calfed)
• 15kg grass
• 2 kg legumes
• 1kg concentrates
• CLEAN WATER!