Livestock Owners Advised To Adopt Precautionary Measures To Protect Animals From Cold

Livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab has advised the owners of the livestock to adopt precautionary measures to protect animals from severe cold

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2019 ) :Livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab has advised the owners of the livestock to adopt precautionary measures to protect animals from severe cold.

Talking to Director, Livestock and Dairy Development, Dr. Shahid Sajjad Asghar said that they should make proper arrangements to protect animals from severe cold.

He said the animals, especially indoor and outdoor pets do not have an adequate winter coat for protection in very low temperature. Hypothermia and dehydration are the life-threatening conditions for animals in cold weather, he added.

Wet conditions and wind-chill add greatly to the cold-stress for animals, he said.

The pets should be brought inside or into protected covered areas, and provided with plenty of bedding, food and drinking water, he added.

He said the livestock should be provided with wind-break and roof shelter and monitored for signs of discomfort like extensive shivering, weakness, lethargy, etc.

It is very important that livestock be provided extra hay, forage, feed up to double the calories for normal body heat maintenance in extreme cold, he added.

He said special attention should be paid to very young and old animals as they may be lessable to tolerate temperature extremes and have weaker immune systems.