ASSESSMENT OF MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTOR OF DAIRY FARMS IN NAIROBI

Abstract

The study was conducted from November 2021 to April 2022 dairy farms of the Dagoretti and Kibra town to assess the major observed health problem associated risk factors. The total of 20 small and large scale dairy farms was included in the current observational study. From this selected dairy farms 475 dairy cattle; 201 in Kibra and 274 in Dagoretti were examined for different health problems. Observational study was implemented by conducting regular visit during the study period with the interval of once per three weeks. Accordingly, Dermathophilosis (25.1%), mange mites (18.3%), tick infestation (30.1), lice infestation (20.2), retained fetal membrane (3.1), dystocia (2.8) as common reproductive problem of dairy cows. Infectious disease like clinical mastitis (5.9%), black leg (1.9%), lumpy skin disease (0.63%), foot and mouth disease (0.84) were also recorded. The result obtained from observational study showed that these major health problems hinder success of dairy farm operation and future expansion. Therefore further studies should be preceded to develop a control and prevention methods to improve the productivity of the sector.