Environmentally Sound Technologies for Women in Agriculture (IIRR, 1996, 213 p.): Animal husbandry and dairying: Protect your cattle from poisoning

Environmentally Sound Technologies for Women in Agriculture (IIRR, 1996, 213 p.)

Animal husbandry and dairying

		Selection and breeding of cattle buffaloes
		Selection and breeding of goats and sheep
		Selection and breeding of swine
		Community pasture management
		Cattle feeding
		Make hay to preserve fodder
		Make silage to preserve green fodder
		Improve dry fodder by adding urea
		Urea-molasses liquid mixture
		Urea-molasses-mineral lick
		Clean milk production
		Livestock diseases
		Common maladies in cattle
		Protect your cattle from poisoning
		Adaptation of livestock

Protect your cattle from poisoning

Poisoning

Causes Chemicals, such as arsenic, mercury, and salt

- Poisonous plants, such as lantana, young sorghum, and other plants in the flowering stages
- Pesticides and medicines used in fields
- Snake bites

Poisoning

Symptoms

The symptoms vary but poisoning can be suspected when:

- animals suddenly fall sick or die.
- animals show signs of illness abdominal pain groaning kicking at the abdomen diarrhoea constipation convulsions

Treatment

When poisoning is suspected:

- Drench animal with 1 litre of paraffin oil or vegetable oil.

- Drench animal with milk, water with powdered charcoal, or coconut water; or mix together 10-12 egg whites, 1/4 kg sugar and 1 litre water. Drench once a day for one or two days.

- Seek professional help immediately if you suspect poisoning.

Important

Cases of poisoning difficult and expensive to cure. It is better to prevent poisoning by being careful when using poisonous substances.

Poisons	Source	Symptoms	Emergency treatment
Arsenic	Rat poison, insecticidal dips end sprays mischievous poisoning.	Dark, blackish diarhoea, red mucous membrane, loss of hair, leathery skin.	None
Lead	By licking lead-painted objects Some insecticidal sprays also have lead.	Strong-smelling diarrhoea, bellowing, blindness.	Epsom salts, 100 9 in 50 ml wafer given as drench.
Nitrate	Insecticidal sprays, young plants grown in nitrate rich soils. Accidental ingestion of nitrate fertilizers.	Blue colouring inside the mouth and eyelids, rapid and laboured breathing.	Drench with milk with egg white.
Salt poisoning	Excessive consumption of salt. and dryness inside	Loss of appetite, hypersensitivity, redness slightly for smaller animals. mouth and eyelids.	Drench 500 ml oil, followed by 500 ml of water. Reduce
Selenium	Plants growing in selenium-rich soil.	Loss of hair from mane and tail, rough home, deformed hooves. Occurs over a period of time due to slow accumulation of selenium in the body.	No emergency treatment.
Sorghum, Sudan grass	Young immature plants. and eyelids might turn blue, death.	Convulsions, inside mouth feeding on the plants.	Drench. Stop animals from
Lantana	Shrubs and plants of lantana.	Skin becomes sensitive and red. Animal shuns light. Suffers diarrhoea or constipation.	Drench. Remove lantana from pasture.
Fungus	Food which is stale and mouldy.	Diarrhoea. Animals do poorly.	Drench. Remove stale and mouldy food.
Malathion and other term chemicals	(Grazing on recently sprayed fields, or accidental contamination of food and water.	Convulsions, twitching of muscles, loss of control over urination.	Seek professional help.

Snake bites

Symptoms

- Bitten animal might appear anxious.
- There may be a wound or swollen area and fang marks on the leg or face.

Poisonous snake bite-look for tang punctures and swelling.

Emergency treatment

- Locate bite.

Tie a bandage above bite to reduce flow of blood to the heart.

- Make a deep cut over the wound and allow wound to bleed freely.

Make a deep cut over the wound and allow wound to bleed freely.

Seek professional help