Your Animal Doctor

A dairy farmer poses next to his dairy cows. Red urine or hematuria in cows may be caused by several reasons including ingestion of poisonous plants such as Bracken fern, bacterial infections of the kidneys and bladder and a tick-borne disease called babesiosis. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Drinking water for calves should be availed throughout the day as calves deprived of water tend to consume more than required resulting in bloody urine.
  • A shell-less egg consists of a yolk, albumen and a membrane alone.
  • It is important to call a qualified veterinarian to examine your birds and determine the main reason for your problem.
  • Reduce the amount of calcium fed to dry cows (those not being milked) as doing otherwise further increases the risk of a cow coming down with milk fever.

Blood in cow’s urine

What causes a cow to urinate blood?

Wanja

Red urine or hematuria in cows may be brought about by several reasons. It may be caused by tick-borne disease called babesiosis.

It could also be as are result of ingestion of poisonous plants such as Bracken fern, or bacterial infections of the kidneys and bladder.

Drinking water for calves should be availed throughout the day as calves deprived of water tend to consume more than required resulting in bloody urine.

It is important that you call a qualified veterinarian to examine your cow and determine the cause of bloody urine.

The vet would then manage the condition. Tickborne diseases are treatable but are best controlled by spraying your animals weekly using acaricides which are available in agrovets.

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Immature eggs

I have been rearing improved Kienyeji chicken for a year now, but of late the chickens have been laying immature eggs, kindly advice.

Catherine

By immature eggs I assume you mean the eggs have not developed a shell. A shell-less egg consists of a yolk, albumen and a membrane alone. This may be as a result of several reasons:

  • Nutritional deficiency especially of calcium, phosphorus and vitamins
  • Infectious diseases like Newcastle, infectious bronchitis and egg drop syndrome may cause laying of shell-less eggs
  • Infestations of internal and external parasites such as worms, mites or lice
  • Exposure to high temperature and low humidity
  • Feeding on moldy or contaminated feeds
  • Stress prompting the birds to lay eggs prematurely before the shell is formed
  • Egg laying while molting

It is important to call a qualified veterinarian to examine your birds and determine the main reason for your problem.

Ensure that you supplement the birds with Dicalcium Phosphate(DCP) fortified with Stressmix.

Deworm the birds once every three months with Piperin through drinking water.

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Egg reduction

What causes chicken to reduce eggs it lays in certain months?

Makena

Normally, a hen would lay between 24 and27 eggs in a month. This is because it takes 26 hours for an egg to be formed. Reasons why hens would reduce laying include:

  • Laying for more than 12 months.
  • Change in weather conditions leading to stress.
  • Vaccination, de-beaking and transportation stresses.
  • Disturbances eg when removing litter, predators, noises etc.
  • ationing feeds.
  • Feeding poor quality feeds
  • Insufficient fresh, clean drinking water.
  • Exposure to short photoperiod hours of light.
  • Infestation with Internal and/or external parasites.
  • Disease situation.
  • When the birds are laying and eating eggs/deficiencies.
  • When other predators are eating eggs e.g cats, rats, snakes.

Try to establish which among these may have contributed to the drop, correct it and also supplement the birds with Stimosol and Stressmix for faster recovery.

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Cows falls after birth

What causes cows to fall after giving birth?

James

This would most likely be due to a condition called milk fever. Milk Fever may occur a week before calving, at calving or even a week after calving.

It is a metabolic disease caused by low calcium levels in blood. High milk produces and older cows are the most susceptible to milk fever.

This condition is not common in heifers. Always supplement your milking cows with a high quality mineral salt during lactation.

The amount of salt fed is dependent on a particular cow’s milk production. Reduce the amount of calcium fed to dry cows (those not being milked) as doing otherwise further increases the risk of a cow coming down with milk fever.

Milk Fever is a veterinary emergency and the animal would require urgent attention.

Dr John Muchibi is a Veterinary Surgeon and the Animal Health Manager at Elgon Kenya Ltd. Reach him through +254733715102 or e-mail him through [email protected]