FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Aloe vera: cures parasite infections, promotes healthy growth of sheep
M.J. PRABU
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Infertility problems have also been cured in many animals
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— Photo: MYRADA
Aloe gel being fed to a sheep.
There are several precious herbs and plant species, which when properly identified and used, offer good results. The irony is that though many of these plants are commonly found on roadsides, lack of awareness of their usefulness has come in the way of their utilisation.
Awareness needed
Aloe vera is one such crop, which has been proved to cure ailments and improve health in both humans and animals. Though humans have been using the gel derived from the aloe leaf for a long time, very little study had been done on its beneficial effect on animals.
Myrada Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Gobichettipalayam, Erode district, Tamil Nadu, took up a project to study the usefulness of this plant on sheep and found that it was able to not only cure the internal parasitic infestations in sheep but also foster healthy growth of the animals.
Primary occupation
Mr. Mr. P.Alagesan, Programme Coordinator, Myrada, says, during the last 3-4 years when monsoon failure affected crop production, sheep rearing (Mecheri breed) turned out to be the primary occupation for a number of farmers, especially in Erode district.
The main reason for the popularly of this breed is its robustness and good body weight. Grown mainly for its meat, which is in good demand, the animals do not require any special diet or care. The animals can be herded into open grasslands for grazing and closeted during night in simple rudimentary sheds.
But though it seems an easy practice, there is a major problem which many sheep growers in the district encounter while grazing their animals.
Many parasites enter the body of the animal while it is grazing and create health problems, which, if undetected, can cause death.
“Unlike cattle, the concept of insuring sheep and goat has not become popular among many of the villagers and the death of an animal is a great blow to their economy.
Though the death of an animal by a snapped live electric wire on the ground or attack by wild animals is a rarity, death of the animals by parasite infestation is the most common, says Mr. Alagesan.
But can timely veterinary attention cure this problem?
“Deworming the animals regularly is a common practice among the growers, but for small and landless labourers deworming their flocks is a big expenditure burden. And the infested animals do not exhibit any external symptoms,” explains the Programme coordinator.
Weight gain
Poor weight gain and growth rate, low intake of feed, diarrhoea and worms expelled in their dung are the symptoms to be observed.
Though some sheep growers buy deworming medicines from the market, the price of these medicines is quite high for many of them, particularly, if they have a large flock.
As parasite infestation is a common problem, the Kendra decided to help the sheep growers by finding a suitable, yet affordable and efficient substitute for deworming the animals. Myrada first collected an exhaustive list of sheep growers from Talavadi, T.N.Palayam, and Anthiyur villages, A meeting was arranged with the growers and it was found that most of the sheep growers were quite aware about deworming.
Medicines
Some of them were using medicines from the market and others were using neem oil, bitter vegetable extract and other natural extracts for curing their animals.
With the help of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary University Training and Research Centre (TNVUTRC), Erode, the Kendra selected about 40 sheep from a grower and divided it into four groups of 10 animals each.
Each group was administered a particular set of treatment.
For the first group about 7.5 mg of Albendazole (market name) was administered, for the second group about 50 ml of neem oil, for the third group a vegetable extract paste made by mixing about 20 gm of neem seed and bitter gourd each, 50 gm of garlic and banana stem (edible part) with jaggery and water, and for the fourth group plain aloe vera gel was administered.
The animals which were administered the aloe vera gel showed an increase in body weight, haemoglobin level, decrease in parasite infestation, and infertility problems.
For more information, readers can contact Mr. P.Alagesan, at e-mail : myradakvk@dataone.in, website: www.myradakvk.org, Phone : 04285 226694 and 226695, fax : 04285 221176.
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