Abstract:
Industrial training was conducted in Rubona stock farm found in Rubona town council Bunyangabo District south west of fort potal city in western Uganda. The objective was:
to link the theoretical knowledge with the practical perspective in order to acquire a more hands on ability to face daily farm farmer complaints the farm is crossed by river sonjya which acts as a source of water for animals and domestic purposes. The farm is a breeding area for Holstein friesians, Aryshire, jersey and savannah crosses.
RSF is a government farm under NAGRC and DB with two major enterprises i.e. dairy and goats with aquaculture as a minor enterprise.
The activities done included the following: milking, grazing, dehorning, disease control practices, record keeping, castration, silage making, bucket feeding, ear tagging, dipping, breed identification and deworming. The skills attained also were as follows: grazing habits of cattle as heavy grazers, goats as selective browsers, control of ecto parasites through dipping and hand spraying, and through paddocking, identification of poisonous plants such as Sodom apple, pricky pear, hygienic milk production, coffee brown to yellow color of good silage bio security measures for dairy and savannah goats and their houses. Feeding 21itres of milk to new-born calves to 6months.
The internship began 28th Feb and ended 4th The farm is comprised of boar goats, Friesians cows, jersey. There are 94miIking cows, 135 heifers 39 bulls and 96 savannah boer goats.
During the course of internships at RSF I observed poor animal welfare issues like beating of animals when leading them to the dip tank, poor floor surface in the collecting yard of the dip tank, denial of natural mating in dairy animals, barbed wire fences inflicted a lot of wounds to animals.
I therefore recommend that the freedoms of animal welfare should be maintained during and after dipping, chain linked, and wire mesh fences should be used, Also the floor in the collecting yard should be repaired.
