When rains turn into a curse for livestock

Dear Doc,

Thank you for your weekly articles. I keep goats and sheep in Kimuka not far from Ngong. Though I am a small-scale farmer, my plan when I retire from employment is to keep a large herd. A few weeks ago, I read in the newspapers and online about sudden deaths of many sheep and goats in counties in dry areas. Why did this happen yet I thought the rains had come with blessings? [Naserian Elizabeth, Kajiado County]

This is a question I have come across several times and I will keep answering for the benefit of our farmers. It is important to understand that animals have a biological system that functions just like ours does.

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We thank God the rains are here with us after a prolonged drought period. Animals have suffered from pangs of hunger and this is a regrettable situation.

I am happy to note that some of the county governments of affected arid and semi arid counties have learned the hard way on the need to produce, preserve, and store pastures just like we do for human food.

If this is done, then not only shall we save millions of livestock from dying but we shall also safe millions of human beings that depend on livestock for their food - milk and meat.

Back to Naserian's question. During such periods of deprivation, the animal grows weak so does its immunity. When the immunity is weak the animal is exposed to the elements and requires to be protected from such. From the immune weakness, the animal is at the mercy of many diseases, which will be waiting for a trigger to quickly manifest. The dust conditions are a predisposing factor for example respiratory diseases.

With the rains, comes more stress as the animal is rained on and with the sudden change of atmospheric temperatures many can easily succumb to acute respiratory conditions.

What such animals require is a cushion to such sudden changes for example through proper housing, strategic deworming, administration of multi-vitamins and vaccinations.

Taking such steps may be tricky considering the hard times that many farmers have been facing. Here is where the county governments can come in to protect these farmers from such losses.

Water harvesting

After the prolonged drought the skies have opened and yielded lots of water. But the question is - are you harvesting this water? Yes, like crops water should be harvested. While the government is working on digging dams; at our individual level we should harvest this water and store it for a sunny day as the forecasts say the rains though strong now are not going to last. When we let the water flow away, it goes into the oceans and becomes salty.

As the grass grows, due to the rains it is also a time to think about harvesting the fodder, preserving and storing it. If you bought hay for your stock during the recent drought you understand just how much money having your own stock of feeds can save.

[The writer is a veterinary surgeon and the head of communications at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Kenya. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of FAO]