Low Mortality Rate
Mortality rate refers to the number of deaths recorded on your farm. Particularly, mortality rate is used to refer to deaths in livestock farming and not in plants. A low mortality rate means that a very small number of animals died on the farm within a particular period. Naturally, some animals have a higher mortality rate than others, despite measures taken to lower the mortality rate.
Why should you choose a farm with a low mortality rate?
The mortality rate associated with a farming idea is an important risk factor to consider before setting up a farm. While a farmer may put in place all the required mechanisms to reduce death incidents, some animals are naturally predisposed to mortality causes beyond the farmer’s control. Cases have been reported of animals dying of diseases that they were duly vaccinated against. This shows that sometimes, even good management measures may not be enough to prevent the death of animals on the farm.
High mortality rates on the farm will hurt the farm’s profitability. In addition to this, the continuity of the farm is also affected. This is because the farmer has a lesser pool of animals to choose from for breeding purposes.
How we determine our top Farms with low mortality rates
We determine our top farms with a low mortality rate on the basis of the following factors;
Tolerance to diseases and parasites
The survival rate of offspring
Adaptability to different climates
Top 4 Farms with low mortality rates
1. Goat Farm
Due to their hardy nature, most goat farms experience very low mortality rates. Goats’ ability to forage on a wide range of pastures and shrubs makes them be able to live through harsh conditions that other animals would find difficult to navigate.
Proper disease and parasite tolerance with a sound vaccination and disease prevention program can reduce mortality rates on the farm to zero. Other factors for a healthy herd include good housing and a balanced diet. You should also ensure that kids breastfeed well to shore up their immunity levels.
Learn more about goat farming in Africa.
2. Pig Farm
Pig farming is associated with low mortality rates provided that the management is good. There are very low disease incidents on a properly managed pig farm. Equally, the mortality rate is also low. Factors that help to reduce the mortality rates on pig farms include a good selection of breeding stock, maintaining cleanliness in the pigsty, good housing, and good feeding.
Piglets have a higher chance of dying than fully grown pigs. This is because they still have weak immunity. To prevent death in piglets due to anemia, an iron injection is administered on the 3rd and 21st days of life. Piglets should also be breastfed for the first 2 months of life before weaning.
Learn more about pig farming in Africa.
3. Beef Cattle Farm
Beef cattle breeds in Africa have a seemingly lower mortality rate than dairy cattle breeds like Friesian. The reason for this is that most beef cattle breeds in Africa have adapted to the conditions in Africa better than exotic breeds which were imported during the colonial period.
Generations of facing tropical livestock diseases and parasites resulted in very hardy beef cattle breeds that are tolerant to common diseases and parasites. On the other hand, exotic livestock breeds are known to struggle against diseases and parasites like ticks and tsetse flies. Popular beef cattle breeds in Africa include Boran, Sahiwal, and Zebu.
4. Duck Farm
Duck farming has the least mortality rate in poultry farming. When compared to chicken farming or turkey farming, duck farming records the least number of deaths. Mostly, these deaths are recorded among duck chicks. However, even among all poultry types, duck chicks have the least mortality rate. Ducks are able to maintain a low mortality rate even when not vaccinated. In chicken, however, vaccines may need to be administered severally to achieve the required efficacy.
Learn more about duck farming in Africa.
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