Animal Activities #01

Hello diligent farmers and members of steem-Agro, seasons greetings from me, @destinedhanik to you all. Farming is what beings food and money and so, we can't stop talking about it. Today, I'm joining the contest by @xkool24 to talk about the farm animals we use on our farms. Farm animals are domesticated animals used by man on the farm and reared for different purposes. Farm animals helps man in terms of labour (working on the farm), they provide milk and meat for man, among other things. There are many examples of farm animals and they are all useful in their different ways.

Examples of farm animals
• Goat

• Pig

• Cow

• Ram

• Sheep

• Horse

•Rabbit, etc

There are lots of general activities farm animals engage in daily. Examples are:

• Eating: All farm animals eat.

• Drinking water: All farm animals drink water.

• Sleeping: While some sleep at intervals during the day example goats, others sleep only at night example hens.

• Playing with each other or fighting: This is mostly seen amongst goats.

• Giving birth or reproduction: All farm animals give birth while hems lay eggs.

• Working in the farm in terms of labour: Horses and donkeys usually helps in the farm in terms of carrying heavy loads.

• Pigs: We rear pigs for different purposes example to sell and make money. Rearing of pigs has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:
• They grow fast and one can make profit in a short while. They are unlike some farm animals that takes time to grow example cattle.

• They sell fast. The market or rush for pig or pork meat cannot be compared to that of other farm animals.

• Pigs are not really prone to diseases unlike other farm animals that easily fall sick.

• One doesn't need to break a bank to be able to feed it. The price of its feed is moderate.

• The faeces of pigs can be used to spread on plants or sold to make money.

Disadvantages of rearing pigs:

• Pigs need a large space to be moving around.

• They prefer an environment that is warm, if the place they are reared isn't warm, they will rub themselves on the ground and get very dirty.

• They make lots of noises which disturbs the environment if people are living around there.

• The meat of pig has to be cooked for long hours so that the parasites or organisms will die.

• The smells of pig is very offensive and can pollute the whole environment.

• Goats: Goats are very easy to rear and take care of. Infact, it's one of the farm animals that can't be found lacking in a farmer's house. There are many reasons goats are reared, for its meat which is very expensive and to be sold out. Also, one can use it as meat of one has an occasion. I rear goat for its meat and I can also sell it when it's very big.

Advantages of rearing goats:

• With goats, one doesn't have to spend much buying their feed. Goats eats almost every food man eats even with it's remnants. Example, the peel of banana, plantain and other foods.

• Goat's food can be found everywhere around us, some in form of grasses, so one only has to go to the nearby bush to get it's food.

• They chew the cud meaning if there is no food, they will still have what to eat or chew on.

• People easily buy goats or their meats especially when they have an occasion unlike pork meat that can't be served on a general occasion.

• Goat is cheaper than cow meat.

• They don't die easily unless they have a sickness which can easily be treated when noticed.

Disadvantages of rearing goats:

• Goats can be very destructive especially when let out or left to wander around. Their being able to eat everything has disadvantage because they will eat even what was meant to be sold.

• They litter everywhere with their faeces when left to move freely, and if it's a goat that is old, the odour can be very offensive.

• They can easily get lost when wandering making the owner to lose his or her money.

• No matter what they eat, they don't get satisfied. They will still continue to bleat fo more.

• They need to be vaccinated from time to time.

• Chickens: Chickens are very common farm animals that people don't joke with. Chickens is used in different occasions as meat and on seasons of celebration. Example, in this Christmas season, the price of chicken has skyrocketed. But since I bought it months ago, I do not have an issue over it's price now. Also, I rear chicken for the eggs. A crate of egg is quite expensive and then for the faeces which serves as manure.

Importance of rearing chickens:

• They can be bought when very small at a cheap price and then reared until they grow very big.

• One can rear as much as 4000 chickens are the same time if one has the needed structures example the deep litter system. The feeding abd cleaning is fine easily with machines.

• There is much profit to gain in rearing chicken if one takes care of it well example vaccinating then abd giving them the right drugs when one notices sickness.

• Different parts of the chicken brings money example one can get eggs from it, for household use or to sell. The faeces can be used for manure either by the owner or sold for money.

Disadvantages of rearing chickens
• Diseases easily gets spread when one chicken falls sick and if not treated or allowed to be with others.

• If one doesn't know how to handle poultry, one can lose all his or her chickens in a day.

• Chickens need to be fed with the right feed to grow well and their feed is quite expensive.

• They are prone to attacks abd being stolen by snakes, hawks etc.

• If reared close to the living area, the odour can be intolerable and suffocating

• Too much heat or too much cold can kill lots of chickens in one day.