Vet on call: Don’t keep chickens and pigs, that is a deadly mix

In the last three weeks, several readers have written to me, some seeking answers on the challenges they are experiencing with their livestock.

Hilary from Nakuru said he finds my articles enlightening and singled out one on calf rearing, where I had cautioned against offering the animals cereal porridge. Since he stopped the practice, none of his calves has died.

He said he intends to enrol for a Diploma in Animal Health and Production to further his knowledge since he has a Bachelors in Industrial and Applied Chemistry. 

Chomba, also from Nakuru, found the columns informative since he had learnt how to control livestock diseases and manage animals. 

He said from reading the articles, he had constructed a feedlot where he intends to buy skinny animals, rehabilitate them and fatten them for meat.

He had planted Boma Rhodes grass for hay and napier grass intercropped with desmodium to feed his cattle. He said he would be contacting me for advice.

From Webuye, Antony said he has been doing business but the Covid-19 pandemic had forced him to close down. 

He planned to venture into pigs, goats and chicken farming on his quarter acre. I explained to him it was not advisable to keep pigs and chickens in close proximity. 

Chicken, pig and human influenza viruses are known to have the capacity to mix up in the pig and possibly generate a highly infectious and deadly combination virus that would cause severe disease in humans.

Medical scientists advise that the two species should not be kept together.

Lastly, Kariuki from Kiambu gave me reports on the progress of his goat that I surgically treated at my clinic three weeks ago. He had got my contact from the column. I shared the story of the goat on August 15.

During the first week after treatment, Kariuki said the goat’s wound was healing well. He sent me photos of the surgical wound after removing the bandage. 

Best method of treatment

I was happy with the progress but I was still waiting for the laboratory results for the sample I had taken.

I received the lab report soon after receiving Kariuki’s first report. I did not like what the pathologist had found out. 

Dr Shah, the pathologist who signed the laboratory report, confirmed he had seen round and spindle-shaped non-maturing cells with excessive colour.

He diagnosed a cancer called melanoma of the coronary band. This is cancer affecting the junction between the hoof and skin.

I informed Kariuki of the results and cautioned him the cancer could be healed from the surgery or could regrow. 

Though I had considered the possibility of cancer and done appropriate surgery, it is always not possible to know if all the cancer cells have been completely removed.

Last week, Kariuki sent me some more photos showing very encouraging healing of the extensive surgical wound. “I hope the goat will stay healthy at least until it gives birth,” Kariuki told me on phone.

Melanomas in goats are not common. In fact, this was my first case in my long veterinary practice. 

None of my colleagues at the clinic had seen it either. The cancer normally occurs at the foot-hoof junction but may also be seen in other areas such as the udder, base of the horn and the lips.

It initially grows as a swelling which later bursts and keeps expanding outward. In some cases, the growth seen on the skin may have originated from a primary site in the body. 

It is difficult to check that in a goat because the diagnostic imaging techniques that can be applied such as X-ray are rare and expensive.

If left unattended, the melanoma may spread to other parts of the body through the blood or the body fluid called lymph. This is medically called metastasis.

The best method of treatment is surgical removal of the melanoma if it does not show signs of metastasis.

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