What are the disease prevention and control measures for hedgehog farming
Hedgehogs have very strong disease resistance. Under artificial rearing conditions, no infectious diseases have been found in them so far. Only improper feed preparation, extensive management, poor hygiene conditions and other reasons can lead to enteritis, ringworm, parasitic diseases and trauma, etc. As long as rearing management is done well, feed is reasonably formulated, and environmental hygiene and hygiene inside the nest box are paid attention to, these diseases can be avoided or greatly reduced.
(1) Hygiene and epidemic prevention To prevent hedgehog diseases, the principle of placing prevention above treatment must be adhered to, and hygiene and epidemic prevention work must be done carefully; otherwise, once disease occurs, the trouble will be greater. 1. Feed hygiene If concentrate feed becomes moldy and deteriorated, or green feed rots, hedgehogs are prone to gastroenteritis after eating it, especially pregnant female hedgehogs. If gastroenteritis cannot be cured for 3 consecutive days, miscarriage may occur. Therefore, when buying concentrate feed, be sure to buy grain produced in the current year; this kind of grain is relatively fresh. Grain from previous years and moldy grain must not be bought as feed grain. After hedgehogs eat grain from previous years or moldy grain, it will cause gastroenteritis. When feeding vegetables, the soil should be washed off, hard roots cut off, and yellow leaves and rotten parts removed; melons, fruits, root tubers and stem tubers must all have soil or residual pesticides washed off to prevent poisoning. Feed grain must be crushed, steamed into steamed buns or cooked into a thick porridge to feed hedgehogs. Feed processed in this way is easy to digest and will not cause disease. Otherwise, it is not easy to digest and may also cause gastroenteritis.
2. Drinking water hygiene
1) Drinking water should be sufficient, fresh and changed frequently. The drinking water supplied to hedgehogs must be guaranteed to be clean and hygienic. Before each water change, pour out the leftover water in the food basin, remove the dirt in it, and then pour in fresh water.
2) The use of sewage and stagnant water is prohibited. Sewage and stagnant water often contain large amounts of bacteria and parasite eggs, and hedgehogs are prone to infection with various diseases after drinking them. The drinking water given to hedgehogs should be tap water or well water. If there are temporarily no conditions for tap water or well water, pond water can be treated. To treat pond water, use bleaching powder or potassium permanganate. Generally, adding 1 gram of bleaching powder to 2-3 dan of water can kill various pathogens in the water. If potassium permanganate is used for disinfection, the water should turn pink as the standard.
3. Nest box hygiene The outer chamber of the hedgehog nest box should be cleaned frequently, especially feces, which should be removed promptly, to maintain indoor hygiene and environmental hygiene; the bedding in the inner chamber should be changed frequently to maintain cleanliness and hygiene indoors. In cold weather seasons, more soft, dry bedding should be added to play a role in cold protection and moisture protection.
4. Environmental hygiene The inside and outside of the hedgehog breeding farm should be cleaned frequently to ensure a clean environment. Nearby low-lying areas and ditches should be filled in so that water does not accumulate, eliminating breeding places for bacteria. In summer, fly control work should be done well to prevent the spread of pathogens.
1) Clean up pest breeding grounds The most fundamental way to eliminate flies is to manage feces and leftover food well. In summer, feces and leftover food should be removed from the farm area every day, environmental hygiene should be maintained, and all corrupt filth should be cleared away so as to avoid breeding flies and other pests.
2) Kill fly maggots The commonly used drugs for killing fly maggots are trichlorfon, quicklime, etc. Prepare trichlorfon into a 0.2% diluted solution, or regularly sprinkle quicklime powder on top of and around piled feces and near sewers, which can thoroughly eliminate fly maggots.
3) Eliminate adult flies In places with many flies, hang cotton balls soaked in dichlorvos in the air; through the odor they release, adult flies can be effectively killed.
5. Disinfection Disinfection is a powerful measure for preventing infectious diseases and eliminating pathogens. Hedgehog breeding farms must establish a strict disinfection system. Disinfection can be divided into three types: preventive disinfection, temporary disinfection and terminal disinfection.
1) Preventive disinfection This is regular, routine disinfection work carried out to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases. Usually the ground is regularly sprayed and disinfected with quicklime or lime milk. Every year before young hedgehogs are separated into pens, disinfect with 3% Lysol or sodium hydroxide, or disinfect once with a blowtorch flame. Feed processing tools, food basins, water boxes and feed buckets should be regularly soaked in 0.1% potassium permanganate or disinfected by boiling in hot water. The environment should also be disinfected regularly.
2) Temporary disinfection This disinfection method is usually applied on farms where a certain infectious disease has already occurred. Disinfection can be carried out continuously or irregularly, and it is disinfection of environments and items contaminated by excrement. Temporary disinfection mainly limits the spread of infectious disease pathogens. If no infectious disease has been found in hedgehogs, temporary disinfection may not be arranged.
3) Terminal disinfection When the last sick hedgehog recovers and the epidemic situation is lifted, the thorough disinfection carried out once to eliminate the source of infection is terminal disinfection. If no infectious disease has been found in hedgehogs, terminal disinfection may also be omitted.