let's talk farm animals

Livestock on the road – how you can help in an accident

By Jean Clavelle

Well, it’s that time of year. Cattle are coming home from pasture, calves are being weaned and sent to feedlot and horse enthusiasts are enjoying the last few pleasant riding days left of the season. No one plans to have one, but accidents do happen especially when animals are involved. And whether you are the one involved in a motor vehicle accident or an innocent bystander it’s important to know what to do and how you can help when livestock are on the loose.

The top 5 things you need to know about livestock in an emergency:

Livestock do not understand lights and sirens mean pullover. This will definitely not make them stop.
When an animal feels cornered, it will fight or try to run.
Livestock view us as predators and their natural instinct is to flee from predators.
Prey animals are herd animals and become extremely agitated when isolated or separated from other animals. Single animals are extremely dangerous animals.
Once livestock are excited or scared it will take at least 20 to 30 minutes to calm them back down.
Read All »

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 4th, 2013 :: Filed under animal handling,Animal welfare,Beef cattle,Broiler Breeders,Chickens,Horses,Misconceptions,Pigs,Poultry,Sheep,Transportation,Turkeys,Uncategorized,Veterinarians,Weather
Tags :: agriculture, animal care, animal welfare, cattle, pigs, Poultry, Transportation

A biosecurity plan for all horses

by Jean Clavelle

If you have ever had anything to do with livestock, chances are you’ve heard the word biosecurity. Biosecurity refers to practices designed to prevent, reduce or eliminate the introduction and incidental spread of disease. Most of us would associate this with poultry or swine production systems but have you ever thought about biosecurity as it relates to your horse?

Horses are often kept in areas of high traffic and are therefore of high risk for exposure to disease. With some basic practices and common sense you can reduce the biosecurity risk for your own horses whether you have a herd of 20 or of 1!