Nghe An farmers install heating lamps to protect livestock from the cold

INSTALL HEATING LAMPS, SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD FOR PETS

To maintain a warm enough temperature for livestock and poultry, livestock farmers install heating systems in their barns. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Manh's family (Na Duoi village, Mau Duc commune, Con Cuong) raises 20 pigs.wild boar, a herd of 20 goats and 300 chickens. The garden area is large, and chickens, pigs, and goats are usually let loose on the acacia hills. Learning from previous years, due to not preventing hunger and cold for livestock, after the cold spell, pigs lost weight, many goats got sick, and died. In recent years, he has invested in solid barns, and when there is a forecast of severe cold spells, he herds goats and pigs into barns and prepares food for livestock and poultry.

Mr. Nguyen Van Manh said: “On days when the temperature drops and the fog is thick like this, goats, pigs, and chickens are all kept in pens, fed, and only opened around noon for them to go for a walk; in the afternoon they are herded back into their pens. On sunny days, they are mainly raised free-range, and they find their own food.”

Supplementing minerals for livestock, increasing resistance to cold weather. Photo: Thanh Phuc

These days, the temperature in Hoi Hoi area,Chau Phong commune (Quy Chau)down, in the early morning the temperature is only 10-12 degrees, the thick fog does not clear until 11am-12pm. Therefore, to protect the herd of nearly 200 cows from the cold, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, owner of a cow farm in Chau Phong, and the farm workers cleaned the barn, put a thick layer of straw on the floor and installed heating lamps to protect the cows from the cold.

Mr. Hung said: “Native cows are very resistant to the cold and adapt quickly to the temperature, but crossbred cows and 3B cows are less resistant to the cold. The barn is located in the middle of a hill, so the wind can easily blow in. If they get cold, the cows will quickly become thin and susceptible to illness. Therefore, in addition to using tarpaulin to cover them and lining them with straw as mats for the cows to lie on, I also had to buy 10 heating lamps for livestock using Biogas energy so that the cows would not be cold; add minerals and molasses to the cows' feed; and increase starch in the cows' daily diet.”

At the same time, proactively stock up on food for buffaloes and cows. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To proactively cope with cold spells, many households have implemented measures such as moving livestock from the forest to barns, lighting fires to keep them warm, "dressing" buffaloes and cows, supplementing starchy foods, green foods, etc.

CHANGE IN FREE-RANGE GRASSING PRACTICES

In the past, people in the mountainous areas often had the habit of letting their livestock roam freely. In the cold season, due to lack of care, the rate of livestock dying from hunger and cold was quite high. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The entire Mau Duc commune (Con Cuong) has a herd of 2,700 buffaloes and cows, nearly 3,000 pigs and nearly 30,000 poultry, of which over 80% are raised by households and small-scale farms. Previously, the custom of the people was to let the buffaloes and cows roam freely in the forest, find their own food, and occasionally the owner would come in to check the situation and add salt. Up to now, the forest land has been contracted to households for care, so the situation of letting cattle roam freely has almost disappeared, therefore, the households have been more proactive in preventing hunger and cold for the cattle and poultry.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet, a land and agricultural official of Mau Duc commune, said: “Starting from November, we have deployed measures to prevent hunger and cold for livestock to every village and every household; at the same time, we have instructed and urged households to prepare food reserves for livestock; cover barns, bring livestock and poultry back to captivity, minimizing damage caused by severe cold. Currently, 100% of livestock households have straw stored, 80% of households grow more elephant grass as green food for buffaloes and cows, and know how to use agricultural by-products such as corn stalks, peanut shells, and crushed bean shells as starchy food for buffaloes and cows.”

Characteristics ofpeople in mountainous districtsis to raise cattle freely in forests and hills. In the cold season, the food source for buffaloes and cows is limited, there is no shelter, so buffaloes and cows lie in the dew and cold, so they are susceptible to disease, lose weight easily, and in many years, buffaloes and cows have even died from the cold, causing significant damage to people. In the cold season of 2020 alone, the whole province had 400 buffaloes and cows die due to severe cold. To proactively take measures to prevent hunger and cold for livestock, before this year's winter, localities have deployed many prevention and control plans.

Accordingly, promote propaganda, send cadres to guide each livestock household on how to properly cover barns, encourage people to plant more elephant grass, store straw after harvest, and not burn it; organize regular vaccinations for large livestock herds; guide livestock households to periodically clean and disinfect barns, properly handle livestock waste, and prevent disease outbreaks.

Nowadays, people in mountainous districts have gradually changed their perception. On cold days, people herd buffaloes and cows back to the barn and cover them carefully. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Fortunately, in recent years, people's awareness of preventing hunger and cold for livestock has been significantly raised. Most households have built solid barns, carefully covered them, lined them to keep their livestock warm, and stocked up on dry food to ensure food sources for livestock when severe cold occurs.

“Measures to prevent and control diseases and hunger for livestock in the winter-spring crop have been deployed in localities. In the coming time, the weather will be complicated, possibly accompanied by many severe cold spells that will affect the growth and development of livestock. Localities as well as breeders need to proactively implement measures to prevent and combat cold, protect livestock to minimize losses in production.”

Mr. Ngo Duc Quynh - Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine