Findings Concerning Animal Damage

Knowledge of the risks involved in animal handling is an important prerequisite to responding appropriately to that risk. Depending of your level of superiority within the production unit, you may need to respond immediately to potential problems or you may need to report to a manager or supervisor who will assist you to respond appropriately to the risk or to the damage. Always ensure that you have the knowledge to respond appropriately to a problem, if you are unsure, seek assistance immediately.

Evaluate The Risk

Once the data regarding the circumstances of the production unit are collected, it is necessary, again quickly but thoroughly, to decide how one will go about the day’s activities

• Using accident records, check which tasks and work situations are most frequently linked with injuries.
• Check each identified risk for likelihood and severity of injury.
• Assess proposed safeguards and safe procedures for other risks.

Example: For each of the factors named in 1.2 above an appropriate response should be developed and any action that follows should be based on the assessment.

Let us use the following scenario to decide on an appropriate response:

Themba has been asked to weigh the one-month old calves of a Brahman herd of forty cows and is required also to vaccinate the calves and apply pour-on dip. The females and calves will need to be herded to the handling facility which is 500 m from the camp in which they are grazing. Themba has 5 labourers to assist him. The handling facilities are in good condition, with rubberised slopes, shade over the weighing scale area with sturdy railings. Themba checks all the gates into the facility as well as all the sorting gates. He notices that one of the self-locking latches of one of the sorting gates is broken and that the gate is closed using a piece of baling cord (orange nylon cord). He also notices that two of the drinking troughs within the holding area are not working (there are four drinking troughs in total). Themba further sees that there is some garbage (rubbish) within the handling facility (some tin cans, some plastic bags and two empty glass jars). The size of the handling facility is adequate to hold all forty female cattle and their calves (approximately 2m2 per pair).

Themba’s assessment of the situation is as follows:

• Brahman’s are a large livestock species (cattle)
• They are a notoriously aggressive breed
• The cows are protective of their one-month old calves
• The calves are unfamiliar with the handling facilities since this will be the first time they will be weighed to check on their growth rate and to dip and vaccinate them
• The handling facilities are relatively far away from the camp; thus the cow and calf herd must be herded in the correct direction for a distance
• It is still early in the morning, so the task can take place without the animals experiencing heat stress or too much dustiness
• The size of the handling facility is adequate for the herd to be processed
• The self-locking mechanism of the one sorting gate will need to be repaired before the animals are brought to the handling facility
• The two drinking troughs that are broken can be repaired after the animals have been handled, since there are two drinking troughs that are working which will be adequate to water the animals
• The garbage in the handling facility must be removed including the orange baling cord which is holding the sorting gate
• All the labourers are wearing overalls, boots with reinforced toes, peak caps and he notices that each have a pair of thick workman’s gloves sticking out of their pockets
• He determines the direction in which the animals should be herded, which gates should be left open before they are brought closer to the handling facility and which sorting gates within the facility should remain closed until the animals are sorted.
• He decides that the calves will need to be separated from their mothers when they are processed since there is the risk that they could be crushed in the chute if they are handled with the larger animals. To do this, the labourers will need to manage the sorting gates in such a way that each calf and dam are separated as they enter the handling facility. Two sorting gates will be used to allow the mothers into the central large area of the handling facility while the calves can be herded into either the left or right side (from where they can be moved to the crush and weighing scale). The handling facility is designed in such a way that the females will be able to see their young, and the labourers will be on the outside of the crush (in other words the labourers will not come between the dams and their calves).
• The railings of the facility are sturdy enough that the labourers can stand on the railings to pour on the dip and vaccinate the calves (intramuscular – in the rump) while they are standing in the crush.
• The weighing scale is a walk-on scale within the crush where a gate is kept open so that it appears as if the chute is clear ahead, but as soon as the animal enters the scale the gate in front and the gate at the back of the animal is closed, so that weighing can take place.
• Themba has two working pens and his record keeping sheets on a clipboard on a working surface specifically built into the side of the weighing scale area of the crush.

Responding to the Assessment Or Reporting To The Manager

Once an assessment has been made of the circumstances of the activities that must take place, matters that are of concern should be reported to the manager, or should be responded to in the appropriate manner.

Using the above scenario as an example, Themba decides to instruct the labourers to do the following:

• One labourer is called on to pick up the garbage in the handling facility after which he should ensure that all the dip, needles, vaccine and syringes are placed on the work table next to the scale.
• One labourer is instructed to fix the gate latch.
• Three labourers are instructed to fetch the cattle. They will be expected to walk to the side of the herd and will use the principles of the “flight zone” to move the herd towards the handling facility. They have been specifically instructed not to shout or prod the animals in any way. The idea is that the herd should remain especially calm while they are walking to the handling facility because the Brahman cows should not feel that their calves are being threatened. Furthermore, a quiet walk will also allow the calves to feel less threatened by this new activity.
• Themba uses this time to sort his record keeping sheets, to read the labels of the vaccination to ensure that he knows what the administration rate should be, ensures that the pour-on dip bottles are working properly, that there is a container in which he can dispose of the used needles, that the correct sorting gates are open or closed, and that the scale is working
• Themba decides that he and his team will be able to handle the processing activity, but he makes a few notes to himself to report the following issues to the manager at the end of the task:
• That the two drinking troughs within the handling facility need to be fixed.
• Whether there are any underweight calves or calves with lesions or signs of disease.
• Whether there are any cows that have lesions or signs of disease.
• Provide the manager with the weights of the calves as captured on the record sheets.
• Whether the labourers worked well as individuals and as a team.
• Any circumstances which caused problems during the activity and how they were resolved.

Here are some suggestions for improving safety in cattle handling.

• Discuss safety concerns in regard to various tasks.
• Always plan ahead. Prepare and communicate safe work practices. Get assistance if necessary.
• Wear appropriate clothing, including protective footwear and a hat for sun protection.
• Make use of facilities and aids - head rails, branding cradles, whips, drafting canes, dogs etc.
• Know the limitations of yourself and others - work within those limitations.
• Lastly, respect cattle - they have the strength and speed to cause injury.

Safe Management of Animals

At this level you should be one of the employees in a production system that can make recommendations to your superiors regarding how to improve a system which may be defective. Managers are always looking for better and more efficient methods of doing things. If these new methods mean that there will be less damage to humans, animals and facilities managers will probably be most eager to make the changes. However, most changes carry a cost. When motivating for a change in a production system you should be able to show the cost benefits of the change also.

Problems that May Occur in a Production Unit

In a production system the following problems may occur:

• Animals break out of confinement and stray.
• Animals break the equipment, facilities and infrastructure (and it is not fixed immediately thereafter).
• Animals refuse to enter buildings / facilities / cages / transportation / confined areas etc.
• Animals struggle during handling.
• Animals threaten and / or attacking humans or other animals. x Animals are deliberately hurting /harming themselves.
• Animals are accidentally harming themselves.
• Animals are becoming injured due to competition and pecking-order fights.
• Animals are exhibiting abnormal defensive behaviour (possibly due to some disease such as rabies or mad cow disease).