Overall management of the buffalo
Buffaloes should be cared for as the valuable live capital they are. By proper management buffalo farming is indeed profitable. By deciding at birth whether a calf should be a milk producer or not, proper care of the calves is easier and less costly. The farmer can then focus on the future milk producers and cull the others. No matter how good the genetic potential, no animal will perform satisfactory if it is not cared for and fed properly.
Bull calves after high yielding dams can be bred at the farm for future breeding of the females. They can be sold to breeding stations for progeny-testing.
3.1 Housing
Housing for water buffaloes should give protection against thermal stress - particularly direct exposure to sun, heavy rains and cold weather. It must allow good ventilation. Housing may therefore be different in different areas of the world, due to differences in climate. Below are some considerations and solutions when planning housing in hot and cold climates respectively. Common for all housing is that enough space should be allowed for each buffalo. The outdoor yard should preferably be covered with grass or maybe concrete, in order to prevent it from becoming an unhygienic mud hole in rainy periods.
3.1.1 Hot climate
Buffaloes may appear to be misplaced in a hot and humid environment. They have a dark skin and few sweat glands and are more or less dependent on water for their cooling. This is not entirely true, buffaloes protected from direct sunlight do very well even during hot and humid days, partly because their ability to loose heat through the respiratory tract.
High milk production requires a high feed intake which leads to higher metabolic heat production. High yielding buffaloes thus have a disadvantage over lower yielding animals, and need more cooling facilities. The following points are guidelines to have in mind when giving advice on management.
- The feeding, watering and milking place should always give shade and protection from heavy rains, either by trees or by a roof.
- Cool water either from a clean river or served in an earthen pit, helps the animals to maintain temperature. Water trough should always be placed in the shade.
- A paddock with trees gives a very cheap and effective protection from sun. However, the trees may need to be protected from the buffaloes also.
- A shelter of a simple construction with only a roof. In hot humid climates it is better not to have walls. Walls may lead to inadequate ventilation and thereby favoring bacteria and mold growth, thus making the stable unhygienic. To protect the inside from sunshine (or heavy rain), curtains made from straw, textile or other suitable material, can be used.
- Providing the animals with a wallow. However, the wallow should be one with clean water and not far from the farm. Spending time walking in the sun to and from the wallowing costs more than it saves.
- Showering of the buffaloes with cool water for 3 minutes twice a day has proven to be an efficient way for them to get rid of excess heat.
3.1.2 Cold climate
- A shelter should protect the animals from rain, snow and strong wind. It may be a simple construction with a roof and three walls. This system will allow the buffaloes to go outside to graze when the weather allows it. There should be a feeding area inside the shelter in case of several days with bad weather. A separate heated milking area is advisable in this case.
- A dry and clean bedding is important in cold weathers to maintain animal health.
- In case of extremely cold climate, (Caucasia and Balkan) with several months with a temperature below 0?C, a heated barn may be necessary.
3.1.3 Pens for calves
Calves should be kept in individual pens for the first month. The pens should be easy to keep clean, with shelter from direct sunlight, rain, snow and draught. By keeping the calves individually it is easier to check that they eat and grow properly and to detect illnesses. Also, naval suckling is avoided and spread of diseases is more difficult.
The calves should have access to fresh and clean water at all times. Preferably, the buckets for milk and water should be outside the pen, in a steady holder within easy reach for the calf. Hereby, the calves can not splash it on the bedding. A humid bedding will facilitate growth of germs and parasites. The pen should contain a holder for hay and concentrate. These holders should be placed above the ground so that the calf cannot step or defecate in them (see section on Practical feeding of the calf).
3.2 Overall health control
The buffaloes should be checked daily for injuries and illnesses. Wounds and open sores are a perfect growing place for all kinds of bacteria! It is easy to keep control over milking buffaloes since they are closely studied twice a day. But apart from looking at the udder at milking the farmer or milker should observe the whole animal. Not only milking animals need to be checked on, but also heifers, calves and bulls.
Lameness and large injuries are easier to detect than small scratches. Lameness can be caused by injuries in the hooves and legs as well as back pains. By touching the animal all over the body, the location of the injury can be located.
Large as well as small injuries must be taken care of. Bleeding sores may require veterinary attention although this is quite rare. Wounds shall be carefully cleaned. The best is to use clean water and mild soap. Cleaning should be done with clean hands, cloths and very gently. Chemicals, such as ethanol and iodine might hurt. Never attend to wounds during milking! It is best to take the animal to a sick box or undisturbed area and attend the wounds.
Looking at the feces is an easy way to detect internal defects. This is easy in the milking place when one pale of feces can be related to one buffalo. If the feces looks different than usual, the milker / farmer should be observant.
If the buffalo is not eating properly or otherwise seems dull and ”unfit” it might be a sign of some kind of illness.
If an animal has some or all of the above mentioned symptoms. It is advisable to measure the rectal temperature. Normal rectal temperature is 38? to 39?C. If it is above that, the animal may have some sort of infection and a veterinarian should be called.
The quicker a wound or an infection is taken care of, the smaller the risk of more buffaloes becoming ill.
3.2.1 Parasites
In the tropics and subtropics, parasites, ticks and mosquitoes can be a big problem. Internal parasites may cause malfunction of the digestive tract and thereby decrease feed utilization. Ticks and mosquitoes cause discomfort and damage to the skin which in turn can lead to inflammatory processes.
Chemicals and drugs to fight parasites should be used both as a profylax and in case it is needed. A disadvantage with chemicals and drugs is that they often leave traces in the milk. Some may be harmless and undetectable, yet others may influence processing of the milk and/or leave traces dangerous for human consumption.
Chemicals against parasites should be sprayed on the animals. Care must be taken not to spray in the eyes or genital area. In the face and around the genitals, a sponge with the chemical should be used. Dip baths, which are widely used for cattle are most unsuitable for buffaloes. The buffaloes will see the dip baths as wallows and this has at least two disadvantages. 1) They may enjoy wallowing in the dip, thus being difficult to get out. This may cause harm to the skin. 2) Buffaloes natural behavior is to defecate in their wallow, thus making the dip bath extremely unhygienic.
3.2.2 Vaccination programs
There are a number of vaccines available for common diseases. Most vaccination programs are more efficient if applied to the young calf and thereafter given as a booster with regular intervals. This is further evidence of the advantage of recruiting calves at the farm.
Buffaloes are sensitive to the same diseases as cattle. The disease strikes harder on animals in poor condition. In order to protect the animals, they should be properly vaccinated and de-wormed at regular intervals. It is important to include all animals at the farm in a veterinary control program in order to minimize risks of disease out breaks.
In Italy, all controlled animals are checked with six months interval for tuberculosis, brucellosis and leukosis. Infected animals are immediately taken out of producition and culled.
Acknowledgements:
The main author of Buffalo Milk Production is Mikaela Stahl Hogberg, Agr. Lic. Animal Husbandry, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, SLU, Sweden. For significant and special efforts the following contributors are in particular acknowledged:
- Ole Lind, Delaval, Tumba, Sweden
- Prof. Dr. N.C. Ganguli, former Secretary of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, India
- Dr.S.C. Chopra, Director of Research, C. G. S. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar India
- Dr. Saad Alhayani, Director, Dunaya, Cairo, Egypt
- Mr. C. S. Thomas, Officer Buffalo Projects, Alfa Laval Agri, Pune, India
- Mr. G. Cionini, former President, Alfa Laval Agri, Italy
- Mr. G. Merlo, former Marketing Manager Milking, Alfa Laval Agri, Italy
- Mr. E. Crespo, ProductCenter Manager, Buffaloes, Alfa Laval Agri, Sweden
- Dr. K. Svennersten-Sjaunja, L O SjaunjaAB (LOSAB), Uppsala, Sweden
Appendices & Further Reading:
Appendix 1, dairy farm journal
Appendix 2, breeding records
Appendix 3, quality control
Selected references and further reading
Related Links:
An encompassing article on water buffalo including links to additional web sites
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