The Animal Husbandry Department has set out on the task of filling water in water troughs set up at the veterinary institutions in Tiruchi district to quench the thirst of livestock when they were being brought for veterinary examination and treatment. The move comes in the wake of heatwave prevailing for the last one month and as per the direction of the district administration.
Tiruchi district accounts for over 100 veterinary institutions (dispensaries and hospitals) where water troughs had been established. Water was being filled in over 95 of these veterinary institutions to quench the thirst of animals brought during the day for examination and treatment. Steps have been taken to rectify those water troughs which required repairs, a senior official of the Animal Husbandry department here said.
The department has come out with detailed information on the ways of managing livestock and poultry birds, especially during summer. Pamphlets containing information in Tamil to the livestock and poultry owners were being circulated at the village level in Tiruchi district by the field-level department officials.
The pamphlets explain the symptoms of heat stress on livestock, number of times livestock need to be given water to drink, tying of salt lick in the farm shed, installation of water sprinkler within the shed and on its top, planting seedlings of fast-growing trees around the shed to keep it cool for the animals.
The livestock owners have been advised to take the cows for grazing between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. especially during summer. The pamphlets contain steps for management of goats and poultry birds. The official said the veterinary institutions were ready for treatment of summer-related disease faced by the livestock. According to official figures, there were more than three lakh cattle in the district and over six lakh goats and sheep.
