Farmers in Nghe An highlands 'activate' cold protection measures for livestock

Mr. Ho Ba Long uses rice husks as bedding to protect his chickens from the cold. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Ho Ba Long's chicken farm in Huoi Khe village, Huoi Tu commune (Ky Son) is 3 km away from his house, separated by a forest road. Therefore, on cold and rainy days, he stays at his shack to take care of his flock of 300 black chickens.

“The native black chicken breed is also easy to adapt to adverse weather conditions. However, when the temperature suddenly drops, the sun turns from hot to cold and rainy, I am very worried that the chickens will get sick and die. Therefore, when I heard about this cold spell, I spread rice husks on the floor of the coop to create a thick layer of cushion to keep the chickens warm; and covered the coop. Because there is no 3-phase electricity in the area, it is not possible to install heating lamps for the chickens. If the cold weather continues, the smaller chickens will have to be transported home to use electric lamps to warm them,” said Mr. Ho Ba Long.

On cold days, Mr. Cu Ba Co's chickens in Muong Long commune (Ky Son) are kept in a windproof house. Photo: Hoai Thu

Also raising native black chickens, during the days when the temperature drops, Mr. Cu Ba Co, a resident in Sa Lay village, Muong Long commune (Ky Son), continuously warms the chickens with specialized lamps; for larger chickens (2 months old or older), he herds them home, closes the door and turns on the heating lamp.

Mr. Vu Ba Xu - Vice Chairman of Muong Long Commune People's Committee said: "In the past two days, the temperature in Muong Long has dropped, during the day it is only about 10 degrees Celsius, at night it is very cold, only 5-6 degrees Celsius. In this situation, the commune has notified all people through different channels: directly to village and hamlet officials; through the Zalo system, associations, groups, unions... about the work of preventing and fighting cold for livestock. Accordingly, people are required to bring buffaloes and cows to the barn, cover them tightly, prepare food for livestock and poultry and prohibit free-range buffaloes and cows on cold days".

On normal days, cows are herded into the fields, but on cold days, villagers leave their cows at home for easy care. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau district, Mr. Sam Thanh Hoai - Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune said that in the past 2 days, the temperature has suddenly dropped, around 15 - 16 degrees during the day, and it may be colder at night and early morning. Therefore, in addition to the initiative of households, local authorities also actively recommended that people take measures to protect livestock and poultry from the cold.

The whole Chau Tien commune has about more than 1,000 buffaloes and cows. People mainly keep them in captivity and in confined areas in family farms. The main food sources for buffaloes and cows in Chau Tien commune are elephant grass, straw and additional agricultural by-products such as bran, potatoes and corn stalks.

People in Met village, Luc Da commune (Con Cuong) increase feeding of silage to cows to increase resistance. Photo: Hoai Thu

Mr. Sam Thanh Hoai added that in 2022, Quy Chau district had a movement to make warm clothes for buffaloes and cows. The cattle were "dressed" in tarpaulin covers, combined with closed barns, not allowed to roam freely, and farmers in Chau Tien commune were able to grow a lot of elephant grass to supplement food for buffaloes and cows, so they could withstand the cold very well. During this year's severe cold spell, people continued to take timely measures to prevent hunger and cold for buffaloes and cows.

However, due to the large amount of elephant grass dying after the historic flood last October, the food source for buffaloes and cows in Chau Tien commune is also lacking. Currently, the government is instructing people to increase the food source from corn stalks, straw, and increase the amount of silage to increase nutrition to help livestock cope with the cold.

Use tarpaulin to cover the barn. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quy Chau, the whole district has nearly 34,000 buffaloes and cows. Up to now, the livestock and poultry are growing well, with few signs of disease. The district continues to remind people to take measures to protect livestock, including cold protection and full vaccination.

When the temperature drops, Quy Chau district also focuses on cold protection for fish raised in cages. Ms. Lo Thi Minh in Chieng village, Chau Thang commune said that her family has 2 cages for raising fish. In early December, the commune People's Committee officials reminded her family to monitor the cold situation. If the temperature drops, they need to lower the depth of the fish cages to protect the fish from the cold. Every day, Ms. Minh and her husband monitor the growth of the fish in the cages, increase food from forest leaves and supplement with ground corn bran.

The movement of sewing "warm clothes" for livestock in the cold season has been maintained by farmers' associations at all levels in recent years. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Up to this point, 100% of farmers' associations in the province have activated cold protection measures for livestock and poultry. Accordingly, to prevent severe damage to buffalo and cow herds during this cold spell, Nghe An Farmers' Association has directed farmers' associations at all levels to disseminate and guide members to proactively take measures to prevent and combat cold for livestock.

Entering the fourth quarter of 2023, in addition to preventing and controlling diseases in livestock, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has directed to focus on preventing and controlling hunger and cold for livestock and poultry in the winter-spring crop. Specifically, the Department issued Official Dispatch 4108/SNN-CNTY dated October 18, 2023 on proactively preventing and controlling hunger, cold and diseases in livestock in the winter-spring crop. In addition, coordinate with the Statistics Department to review the total herd in 2023, develop targets and plans for livestock development in 2024 .

Mr. Dang Van Minh - Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the PROVINCE

Clip: Phuc - Thu

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nong-dan-vung-cao-nghe-an-kich-hoat-cac-phuong-an-chong-ret-cho-vat-nuoi-post281973.html