Animal Agriculture

Leopard frog Bullfrog cannibalizing Green frog Garnished frog meat Frog meat in some states in Nigeria like Benue, Anambra(particularly Ogbaru local government), Rivers, and Oyo States are a special delicacy  during some special occasions. Raising and selling frogs on a commercial basis has not proven to be successful economically in Nigeria or elsewhere  to our knowledge. Although farming for frog meat sounds promising, operating a profitable frog farm seems to be more of a myth than a reality. Those few individuals who claim to be successful frog farmers generally are distributors engaged in the selling of adult frogs, tadpoles, or frog eggs, frequently harvested from the wild. Many “frog farms” turn out to be natural marshy areas, swamps or shallow ponds with abundant food and habitat suitable to the needs of wild frogs. At some frog farms, culture methods simply consist of increasing the shoreline area, erecting a fence to exclude predators and retain t

Mating is an integral part of every liveestock farming.  In pig production particularly intensive system of pig breeding, farmers adopt a mating methods most suitable ...Read more

House fly laying her eggs on manure The presence of flies in poultry houses and other livestock farms causes nuisance and disturbances to the animals and the Farm keeper. Generally, flies acts as disease... Read more...

Like every other livestock, grasscutters are also affected by a number of diseases which to an extent leads to a greater economic loss on the farmer. The following are common diseases ... Read more...

Egg bound in hens occurs if the  hen  is  laying eggs  prematurely, before her body is fully developed and can lead to a serious condition known as... Read more...

There are a few common causes of pond odours, and all should be taken seriously and treated if you have fish in your pond. Even in fishless waters, a bad smell is usually an early indicator of a natural imbalance which can slowly damage the eco-system. Discovering the ...Read more

Bluish face  Fowl Cholera is a highly contagious bacterial disease of avian species caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida and its in chickens, turkeys, and... Read more

.. Among all the diseases in the suckli... Read more

Follow me on twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/ugwuemm12052259 A normal lactation length for cows is 290 to 310 days with an average length of 296 days. A short lactation length is anything less than 270 days For a healthy and productive cow, feed rations should be balanced in terms of quality, quantity and amounts of concentrates, protein, mineral and vitamins. Some literature compares a dairy cow to a factory. That means what is fed to the cow determines to a large extent the quality and quantity of milk produced. It is from the feeds that a dairy cow derives energy for maintenance, growth, milk production and reproduction. When a cow gets sick and is unable to feed well, its energy levels goes down. The cow’s first response will be to cut down milk production to save energy for its health. If energy levels remain low, the cow will not show any signs of heat. This shows that production and reproduction are the two most affected when a cow is not fed with the right qu

Drop in egg production Having your laying hens lay bigger and sizeable eggs is important but having them lay for a consistently longer period in their lifetime is more important in poultry business as this will guarantee a profitable farming. It can be quite alarming when a poultry farmer gets a consistent ten crates of egg(30eggs/crate) daily, from 300laying hens, only to find just 5crates for  ...Read more

Camborough pigs are a product of a cross-breeding system known as criss-crossing- an alternated use of boars of two or more breeds on... Read more...

   Fowl pox  is an infectious disease  of poultry (Chicken, turkeys,pigeon etc) characterized by prol ... Read more

Return on Investment (ROI) in pig farming is usually influenced by breed or genetics. Every pig farmer want pigs that have rapid growth, lean carcass quality and good feed conversion ratio. Some pigs have poor growth rate, low feed conversion ratio, high fat content and farrow small litter, such pigs are usually produced from poor pedigree. To have a profitable pig farming, it is very important for pig farmers to consider these... Read more ...

Rats manipulating egg When rodents eat feeds, they tend to defecate in it. Your chickens may ingest the feces and that can make your flock... Read more

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is a viral disease affecting sows and other pigs leading to reproductive failure (abortions, weak and stillborn piglets, infertility), and causes pneumonia and increased mortality in young animals. PRRS also known as blue ear disease affects only pigs. This disease is capable of... Read more...

  All hens start egg production laying Pee Wee or Small eggs and gradually increase to a mature egg grade size of Medium, Large or bigger. In modern breeds, most hens starts laying Large, Extra Large or Jum... Read more

Facial paralysis Listeriosis also known as circling disease is an important infectious disease of sheep and goats most commonly caus... Read more

MMA (Mastitis-Metritis-Agalactia) is a complex syndrome in sows,occurs after birth in a short time from 12hrs-3days. It's caused by an infection of the mammary gland or ... Read more

Legs splayed out Marek's disease is a highly contagious disease caused by Gallic herpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2) in chicken. Mobility is 10-50% and mortality up to 100%. Quail and turkeys are also infected with.. .Read more

If you don't want to eat crickets, any chickens, Fishes,ducks, turkeys, or pigs will do well with them. Crickets and other insects, as you may have heard, are a vastly more sustainable form of protein than livestock. They are also an ideal protein source for feed formulation.  Crickets take up very little space, and won’t cause a ruckus if they escape. Unless they escape indoors, that is – then you’ll have quite a ruckus on your hands. factor that prevents most folks from eating bugs, you might still want to raise them as a sustainable food source for other critters that you do want to eat – they are suitable for any omnivorous livestock, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, and pigs. Housing consists of nothing more than 20-gallon plastic totes: each one can support a population of 1,000 or so insects. The smooth sides of the totes prevent the crickets from climbing up them and escaping. You’ll need a least two totes, which will be used on a rotational basis for adult

Difficulty breathing       CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease)  in poultry has some common symptoms such as  wheezy breath... Read more

(Left-Right)Ekere,Uchenna,Valentine, Ugonna and Ozuluonye June 2013 I still remember in the year 2012 when my farming journey began, with me was  Udeh Valentine Chidozie.  We both were students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Many of our classmates wondered how we cope with studies and farming thinking we might fail. I remember  Uchenna Faith  linking me up with clients, that was a big encouragement to my quest,  Ugonna virtue  was always there to spice our day with smiles.  Ekere Mathew  always desired to farm but never had the will power to push. But within me, I was determined to see success in farming and that was my hope. Of course, lot's of mistakes were made which almost led to our failure in farming. With my years of experience in the sector, I can tell some of the reasons why most farmers fail ...Read more

Yellowish/watery diarrhea Weak pig Weak and huddled piglets PED is a disease caused by virus and affects the farmers income due to the high mortality rate in piglets and rapidly spread through flock. Transmission The virus is present in feces,on the floor, skin and hair of sows. Virus invades through oral path,replicates in small intestinal villi system. Diarrhea caused by bacteria doesn't occur rapidly in a wide area. It appears slowly on a few individual. PED caused diarrhea is severe and spread rapidly  and in all ages. It can spread through out the herd. Clinical signs Vomiting, yellow watery diarrhea, undigested milk in feces, huddling together. Newborn piglets are most susceptible with high mortality. Treatment • Immediately supply water/fluid and electrolytes • Use antidiarrheal • Use disinfectant like formaldehyde, benzalkonium chloride. • Supply enzymes and molasses to feeds when pigs recover to increase digestibility and absorbability. Preven

Dog with localized dermatitis around the eyes Hair loss Dermatitis is a common condition that has many causes and occurs in many forms. In dogs,it is caused mainly due to Ectoparasites living in the hair,skin or dog ears like fleas, ticks,lice,ears mites caused by Dermodex Canis, mange caused by Sarcoptes. They suck blood thus leads to anaemia, allergy and damaged skin may lead to deuteropathic inflammation and Pyoderma. It usually involves itchy,dry skin or a rash on swollen, reddened skin. It may cause the skin to blister, ooze,crust or flake off. E.g. Atopic dermatitis (eczema), dandruff and contact dermatitis. Transmission 1. Ectoparasites inflected dams rapidly transmit to their puppies during nursing period. 2. Infected host to susceptible host. 3. From outdoor environment such as playing or sleeping areas. Clinical signs a. Dermodex canis is likely to reside on head and 4 limbs. Obvious sign is hair loss around eyes which appears like wearing-glass. In ea