Environment
Provide a comfortable, hygienic and safe environment for all dairy animals by, for instance clearing the bushes on the farm. Also, remove any poisonous plants on your farm.
Nutrition
Ensure adequate feeding of colostrum to new-born calves. Provide ample amounts of clean water for drinking. Provide animals with enough feed to allow for maintenance, growth, pregnancy weight gain and lactation.
Adjust feeding levels to ensure that animals are kept in good condition (not too thin or too fat). Ensure that feeding is balanced for energy and protein and supplement with minerals and vitamins, where required.
Vaccination
Vaccinate animals against diseases. Vaccination should be done against foot-and-mouth disease, East Coast fever, rinderpest, anthrax, lumpy skin disease and brucellosis.
Parasite control Regular de-worming (every three months), using appropriate drugs from reputable suppliers should be done. Ticks should be controlled through regular spraying, once a week or otherwise, depending on the acaricides used. Instructions from the manufacturers showing how to mix and apply the pesticides must be followed.
Movement of animals
To protect the health status of your herd, it is very important not to bring into the farm sick animals. It is important to observe quarantine regulations. When purchasing new stock, try to ensure that the animal is healthy and has had the necessary vaccinations before it joins the other animals on your farm.
