UNAIR NEWS On the first day of the World Universities Association for Community Development () Thematic Summer Programs 2021 on Dairy Cattle Business, the discussion on dairy cattle health management was presented by Prof. Dr. Pudji Srianto, drh., M.Kes., on Tuesday, August 3, 2021.
He explained that dairy cattle is one of the dairy commodities that produce animal protein, which is very important to improve the life and intelligence of the community. Dairy cattle include heifers and pregnant cattle, lactating cattle, dry-cage cattle, and calves.
At the beginning of the presentation, Prof. Pudji said that several changes have occurred in dairy farming in the last few decades. The industrialization of livestock and increasing international competition have led to the selective breeding of highly productive cattle. Consequently, there is a higher disease susceptibility. Therefore, attention is shifting from curing single animals to preventing disease at the herd level.
Herd health, he continued, is a method for optimizing health, well-being, and production in a dairy cattle population. This, he continued, is carried out through a systematic analysis of relevant data and regular objective observations of the cattle and their environment. Thus, informed and timely decisions are made to adjust and improve herd management over time.
淒airy farming is an economic process in which resource factors are converted into income factors. Diseases cause huge economic losses on dairy farms, said the Dean of FKH UNAIR from 2015 to 2020.
Furthermore, Prof. Pudji said that excellent and correct maintenance would significantly affect the success of the business. Maintenance aspects include sanitation, biosecurity, disease prevention, and disease management. Biosecurity is the basic prevention of the entry of disease. In this case, the farmers focus more on cleanliness, especially the cleanliness of the cage.
Disease prevention, he said, is an effort to reduce the number or percentage of infectious diseases through injections, the use of chemicals that kill intermediate hosts that carry disease germs, and the isolation of infected animals and prevention of the infective transmission to healthy animals.
淗ealth treatment includes health checks and treatment of infected cattle. Prevention covers taking vitamins, vaccinations, cutting nails, and so on, he explained.
Disease prevention can also be done by maintaining treatment management or giving vaccinations to stimulate the immune system without being affected by the disease.
淰accination based on its strength can be explained in several ways. Some of the diseases that often threaten dairy cattle include mastitis or inflammation of the mammary glands, diarrhea, abscesses, and milk fever, he concluded. (*)
Author: Muhammad Suryadiningrat
Editor: Nuri Hermawan (YA/AP)
