By Sandra Matheson, DVM
Part Three
Too often people get excited about getting livestock and dive in without enough preparation. The stories I hear most often are about people getting the animals but don’t have a place to catch them when they need to. Adequate facilities may mean the difference between life and death – theirs or yours.
If the animal has a birthing problem or becomes ill, it may require veterinary assistance. I cringe when I hear of people who let an animal suffer or die because they don’t have a way to or don’t know how to catch it for the vet. Or they endanger their own safety because they don’t know how to handle the animals or have inadequate facilities.
If you have the funds, a used or new chute system is ideal. You may design and build your own. A setup may consist of simply a few livestock panels that allow you to restrain the animal while keeping you out of harm’s way. Do the research to find out what works and what options you have available to you. Temple Grandin is the guru of low-stress animal handling and facilities. She sees things from an animal’s perspective. She has several books and videos that are excellent resources. This is the number one resource when preparing your facilities. The point is to study and construct facilities before the animals arrive.
When it comes to handling animals Dr. Grandin and the late Bud Williams are my favorites. I have learned so much from both of them over the years. Knowing how to move your animals in a low-stress manner makes all of us happy and our jobs easier. Screaming and terrorizing your animals does no one any good. You must make the animal think it is their idea to go where you want them to!
Know what their nutritional requirements are. Different species may have radical differences. Sheep may die from eating the high level of copper that a goat, yak or beef cow needs. Geographical differences in mineral levels may require supplementation. In northwest Washington State, we are low in Selenium and must supplement it. Yaks tend to be copper deficient here and in many parts of the country. Know what needs to be supplemented in your area for your species and how to provide it.
Also, nutritional needs change depending on the life stage. A growing, pregnant, or lactating animal needs higher quality feed than an animal that is no longer growing or not feeding a baby. When it is cold, animals need to eat more to keep their body temperature stable. Also, study how to determine if the forage is high or low quality. I have had animals die from eating low-quality wrapped silage that I did not open to look at when I was assured it was high quality. I bought it and told my employees to feed it when I was out of town. They did not know the difference. Yaks died. That was a hard lesson.
In the next installment, we will cover disease, parasites, vaccination, and tools of the trade for your new livestock. Too often people get excited about getting livestock and dive in without enough preparation. The stories I hear most often are about people getting the animals but don’t have a place to catch them when they need to. Adequate facilities may mean the difference between life and death – theirs or yours.