Overview of the Animal Rearing System

This book highlights the animal rearing system that follows a seasonal migratory cycle and in which the animals are reared in the alpine pastures during summer and are returned to the base camps at lower hills with the onset of winter. The initial chapter presents the unique features of the prevailing animal farming system in the hills, and aims at providing a brief overview of the history of pastoralism.

Livelihood and System Features

The book also describes how the pastoral system has served livelihood of people living in high mountains, the peculiarity and features of this system in different countries, place of ruminants in hill agriculture, historical aspects of pastoralism and tribes, practice of shepherding, grazing rights of herders, current status of migratory livestock system, problems and constraints and strategies for their amelioration.

Mineral and Nutritional Aspects

The chapters also provide information on principal minerals limiting small ruminant production, causes of salt hunger in migratory animals grazing at alpine pastures, nutritional status of common pastures and feeds, variation of grass mineral profile and crude protein content with altitude. Another chapter describes how the animals adapt to altitude and migration stresses during ascending and descending journey.

Health and Disease Management

The chapters of the book give current information on parasitic infestations and other diseases and disorders of migratory small ruminants, ranking of dominant parasites, information on verminous bronchitis, Peste des petit ruminant (PPR) and persistent abortion due to chlamydia infection. There is a separate chapter on Helminth and Protozoan vaccines for small ruminants, approaches to control parasitic infections like breeding for resistance to parasites and current status of vaccine use.