International Journal of
Livestock Production

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Livest. Prod.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2448
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJLP
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 290

Article in Press

Dairy cattle mortality in the cold highlands of Kenya: A case study of KALRO, Dairy Research Centre – Ol Joro Orok

Nyaga Z, Mathai N., Juma G, Milcah C, and Kanegeni N.

  •  Received: 26 December 2023
  •  Accepted: 07 March 2024
The dairy industry accounts for 14% of Kenya’s agricultural GDP. The subsector is important as it supports food security, employment, health, and the growth of industries in Kenya. The livestock production potential is however affected by high incidences of mortalities of different classes of cattle. Data including the age of the animal, breed, sex and postmortem findings was collected at KALRO Dairy Research Centre, Ol Joro Orok farm between 2021 and 2022. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of diseases, the mortality rates in the farm and the economic losses attributed to the mortality. Results indicated that the prevalent diseases were those caused by bacteria and protozoan effects respectively. The mortality rate was 7 per 100 cattle annually with an estimated economic loss of Kes 1.6 million. Mortality studies provide an important tool for determining the health status and guidelines for management practices, which will ultimately help in improving the economic status of livestock owners. It is recommended that the farm should invest more resources towards disease control practices since most of the mortalities resulted from etiological agents that can be controlled .

Keywords: mortality, disease, postmortem