Why talk abut this nw? Imprved animal safety means: Reduced stress n cattle Imprved grwth rates Imprved reprductive perfrmance Better able t fight disease Imprved chute safety means: Faster t get the jb dne Less cst Imprved prductivity Imprved handler safety means: N accidents Peple will want t help with the jb We can cntinue t d ur jb fr years t cme
The face f the KVC Veterinarian is changing Sme f us are shrt n functining limbs and digits! Sme f us are wrking with a temprary side kick! Nne f us are getting yunger!
Wrking with large animals always presents a safety risk Ensuring prper handling facilities, animal restraint and cnfident, knwledgeable human helpers will help t minimize the risk Even the gd cwbys can get hurt But that desn t mean we want it t ever happen!
smene wh knws cws Hw they act Hw they react Hw they can be unpredictable and never trusted smene wh is patient smene wh is quiet yet cnfident smene wh wrks efficiently Fast Efficient BUT Efficient = Faster Ensure all human handlers/helpers understand the imprtance f being a gd cw persn Fr animal and human safety, but als fr animal welfare Regardless f yur set up extra help always makes the jb easier and safer
T ensure animal safety yu must have a clear understanding f animal behaviur and animal mvement Cattle have panramic visin but pr depth perceptin at angles greater than 50 Cattle are scial animals They like t be in grups and fllw the leader If 1 animal is stressed, thers in the grup will react as well If a lne animal refuses t mve release it back with a grup and mve it again with ther animals Cattle d nt like sudden changes in flr texture r level
Cattle mve better in well-lit areas and fear harsh cntrast between light and dark Cattle will balk at shadws and bright light patches Des yur handling system have any? Can yu handlers cntribute t any? Cattle d nt like mving int direct sunlight Where will the sun be when yu are wrking cattle?
Cattle will balk at the sight f spastic, unexpected mvement By a persn By a piece f material flapping in the wind Handlers shuld stand back frm the head gate when an animal is entering Animals shuld never be prdded unless an pening t an escape can be seen Electric prds can (and shuld be) replaced by a garbage bag attached t a brmstick The rustling f the plastic bag is enugh stimulatin t make cattle mve Walk thrugh the handling facilities and lk fr areas f bstructin, distractin r surprises prir t wrking cattle Be sure t lk at the cw s eye level!
Mving cattle requires a clear understanding f an animal s flight zne Flight Zne hw clse yu can get t an animal befre it mves away frm yu Best place t wrk is edge f FZ Animal will mve away slwly and calmly Yelling/Shuting increases FZ size Speak lw Speak slw Dn t say t much!
Prper wrking facilities are key t animal and handler safety Facilities will range in size, sphisticatin and cst depending n yur farm s needs 3 basic cmpnents t any farm s handling system A crwding pen A chute A functining headgate Optinal cmpnents: hlding pens, squeeze, blcking gates, back stp, kick bar, man gate
Funnels cattle int the wrking chute A circular r angular pen ( a tub ) helps get cattle facing the right way and entering the chute in single file Slid sides help t prevent distractins The chute is seen as the nly way ut
Hlds cattle in single file ready t enter the headgate r squeeze Ideally, lng enugh t line up and hld at least 3 animals Curved chutes make mving cattle easier Needs t be wide enugh fr animals t mve thrugh easily but narrw enugh that n animal can turn arund Alteratins may be required fr a chute t wrk cws vs. calves Slping sides will allw fr these size differences Simple prcedures may be dne in a the wrking chute (pur n dewrmer, BCS) Needles shuld never be given t an animal in a chute Handlers shuld never psitin themselves within a chute while animals are in it
Slid sides Straight r curved Blcking gates thrughut
Essential fr animal restraint and handler safety Wide range f mdels available Manual, self catching, hydraulic, neck extenders Key t a gd headgate: Quick Easy t perate Adjustable fr different sized cattle Prir t wrking cattle, ensure ALL aspects f yur handling system are functining safely and easily Ensure ALL handlers understand hw the system wrks prir t sending the first animal thrugh
Mlly et al, 1995; Fisher et al, 2005, Cetzee et al, 2009 Castratin and dehrning are painful prcedures and if nt dne prperly, r with pr restraint, animal safety is jepardized Hw painful? Regardless f methd (rubber ring, Burdizz r surgical castratin), castratin caused behaviural respnses indicitive f pain fr 3 hurs after the prcedure ADG decrease f 50 t 70% when dne at 8 t 9 mnths f age ADG f 7 week ld calves castrated were lwer than thse f uncastrated calves, fr the first 5 weeks pst castratin Purchased, castrated males gained 0.58lbs/day vs. intact males castrated n arrival t feedlt
Castrated calves were bserved t vcalize luder and 4x as much as cntrl calves Castrated calves spend a large amunt f time standing after castratin (79.3% vs. 51.2% f 24hrs pst castratin) Castrated calves spend a lwer percentage f the time eating pst castratin Faster exit speed frm the headgate was bserved fllwing castratin Fast exit speed in general meant: Lwer weight gains Mre sickness Mre dark cutting in meat Cetzee et al, 2007
Lcal Anesthesia (Nerve Blck) Shuld be used n all calves at dehrning 10-20mL Lidcaine per hrn Allw 2-5 minutes fr effect NSAID Pain Management Recmmended fr lder animals Guged hrns (**Ouch!**) Anafen 1.5mL/100lbs IM Metacam 1.1mL/100lbs SQ Giving bth a lcal anesthetic and ketprfen (Anafen) befre surgical castratin was fund t virtually ablish the pst surgical crtisl respnse Staffrd et al, 2002
Sedatin is necessary t reduce stress and increase safety fr highly anxius/nervus cattle (and the handler) Many sedatin ptins simply take the edge ff Minimal risk f ging dwn in the chute Prir t using a sedative, ensure it is safe fr the intended animal Safe fr use in pregnant animals? Safe fr use in breeding bulls? Meat withdrawal Less than ideal handling facilities will greatly increase the need fr sedatin
Margins in the beef industry are tight enugh Dn t spend extra mney due t pr, unfit and unsafe facilities that put animals and humans at risk f injury KVC has a prtable squeeze and headgate fr ur clients t use as required Cntact the ffice if needed If a veterinarian will be perfrming the cattle prcessing, have the system set up prir t arrival Ding it right will encurage everyne t cme back and d it again next year!
Up t $20-millin three-year prgramc(2011-2014) undertaken thrugh the Agricultural Flexibility Fund Prvide cntributins t assist in the alteratin f animal handling structures, which will enhance traceability capabilities Up t 80% f eligible prject csts, t a maximum f $100,000 per facility Applicatins and mandatry supprting dcuments may be submitted at any time until September 30, 2013 r until all prgram funding has been cmmitted. All activities must be cmpleted n later than January 31, 2014. http://www4.agr.gc.ca/aafc-aac/display-fficher.d?id=1294344464885&lang=eng Or Ggle LATI Prgram fr mre infrmatin and an applicatin frm