Vet on call: Danger of central drainage system in the animal shed
Erick Okeyo, the owner of Pinnacle Farm in Kisumu County, checks on his pigs. With him are farm manager Violet Jahenda and a vet, Collince Oyuko. The pig disease called atrophic rhinitis is caused by two bacteria of the Bordetella and Pasteurella species and can be treated with antibiotics. It can also be controlled with vaccines but they are not available in the country.
The place was extremely cold, drizzling with visibility of about 100 metres due to dense fog. I hoped the piglets had good heating.
Older pigs have no problem with such temperatures because they generate a lot of heat and have thick skin fat cover that protects them from body heat loss and the environmental cold assault.
I advised the directors to provide handwashing soap since water alone is not a sufficient biosecurity.
If the drainage trench traversed several pens, it should be deep and covered with pig-proof material.
The farm’s majestic gate reminded me of Nairobi, yet we were deep in the rural reaches of Kiambu County, very close to the Aberdare Ranges.
To get here, we had to negotiate sharp corners and climb steep inclines. I noted the farm was well-secured with barbed wire but not animal-proof.
