Page 168 - Agriculture_Form_3

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

prevent diseases and injuries, and raise healthy and strong calves, they should be
provided with proper housing with clean, dry beddings, feed and water. Allowing
calves to interact in small, supervised groups also helps reduce stress and keeps
them active and healthy.
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Activity 9.6

Visit your school or any other dairy farm. Observe and collect information based
on the following tasks:
1. How is the calf handled immediately after birth.

2. How is milk given to calves? Consider the feeding method, the amount given,
the temperature of the milk, and the cleanliness.

3. Observe calf pen’s condition: space, ventilation, bedding, and drainage
system.

4. Observe operations performed (such as ear tagging and tattooing, disbudding,
and castration) and find out who performed them.
5. Identify any symptoms or signs of the calf’s ill health or stress, and suggest
actions taken.

6. Participate in feeding the calf and cleaning the calf pen.

7. Find out from those dairy farms what actions are taken to ensure good calf
performance.

8. Write a report on your findings, operations performed, and key lessons learnt
in your portfolio.

Exercise 9.5

1. Several calves in the Jitegemee dairy group farm have developed signs of
diarrhoea.
(a) What could be the possible cause of this problem?

(b) Suggest ways to correct the situation and prevent further illness.
2. A calf is born on a cold, rainy morning, and unfortunately, the mother died.
The farmer dries the calf and moves it to a clean and dry pen. Unfortunately,
there is no natural colostrum available. Advise on what action could the
farmer take to ensure good health of the calf after birth? Suggest a suitable
alternative.

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