Livestock Safety and Handling

What are some drugs that we as humans should be cautious of and why?

Ketamine, xylazine (inhalant) - they can cause abortion if absorbed through the skin

What are the causes for injuries when working with large animals?

Being tired, not paying attention, using poor judgement

What are other precautions we can take when working with large animals?

Chemical safety

Environmental safety

Animal disease

Gain handling

Building problems

Fire safety

What should we do when it comes to environmental safety?

Do not handle livestock in unfavorable weather conditions without appropriate protection

why is animal diseases important to us?

It has zoonotic potential → important for biosecurity → wear proper PPE (mask, gown, disinfectant foot baths to prevent transmission)

what are the 4 ways to fix fraying of ropes?

Melting the end of rope with fire

Tying overhand knot at the end

Coating the end of a rope with a stop fray product

Whipping

What is a knot?

intertwining of one or two ropes on which the pressure of the standing part of the robe alone prevents from slipping

What is a hitch?

temporary fastening of a rope to a hook, post or other object which the rope arranged so that the standing part forces the end against the object with sufficient pressure to prevent slipping

What is the standing part?

the longer strand of rope and is usually attached to an animal

What is a bight?

Sharp bend in the rope

What is the loop or half hitch?

Complete circle formed in the rope

What is a throw?

One rope is wrapped around another to make part of a knot

What is a quick-release knot?

Highwayman’s hitch → tie it so when the animal tugs at the knot, it tightens, but when you pull on the knot, it quickly releases it

What is a sheet bend?

It’s used to two ropes together

What is a half hitch used for?

To tie in surgery patients

What is a tail tie?

Used to hold the tail out of the way during veterinary procedures

what should you not do with a tail tie?

Tie to an immovable object - dont do this

No part of vertebral column should be tied into the tie, only hair (NO SPINE)

What is physical restraint (the definition)?

Methods applied to the animal with or without use of special equipment

What is chemical restraint?

Use of pharmaceuticals to alter the animal’s mental or physical abilities

What are some points of livestock restraint?

Use the least amount of restraint to do the job safely

Don’t apply restraint any longer than necessary

What are the types of equine restraint?*

Halter and lead rope

Chain shanks

Elevating a leg

Twitches

What are chain shanks?

Chain portion can be placed over the nose, under the nose, or in the mouth to increase restraint

What is elevating a leg used for?

Mild form of restraint - good for placing leg bandages, radiographs, or clipping hair

Discourages a horse from moving around or kicking

What are the 2 types of twitches?

Mechanical

Natural

What are mechanical twitches?

Can be homemade or commercially bought

Ex: Traditional twitch or humane twitch - designed to pinch lip

What are natural twitches?

No special equipment, just use your hands

Ex: Shoulder twitch or lip twitch

What should we not do with horses when it comes to restraint

Place them in cattle chutes - horses do not like the tight, rigid confinement

When restraining a foal, what should you do first?

Capture nad control the mare first

How do we restrain a foal?

Approach slowly, place one arm around the foal’s shoulders or neck

control hind end by placing arm around hindquarters or holding the tail

avoid putting your head above theirs

What is the main thing about bovine restraint?

“never turn your back on a bull”

What are the types of bovine restraint we can use?

Alleyway and chutes

Tail restraint

Leg restraint

Casting

What is tail restraint?

Lifting up the cows tail

Stand behind the cow but off to one side so you dont get kicked

What does leg restraint do for cows?

Prevents them from kicking

What is casting?

Method of forcing an animal to the ground usually with ropes

How do we restrain sheep?

Use alleyways and chutes

Hurdles

Rumbling - backing sheep into a corner and straddling the animal between your knees

“Setting up”

Halters

How can we restrain a goat?

Can be restrained by the beard if present

Leg restraint - elevate by grabbing the leg at fetlock and lifting it so it bends

Kids - held in laps

what are some particular things about restraining pigs?

Pigs are stubborn but smart

Very vocal while expressing fear

Can be aggressive and can bite

easily stressed by environmental heat*

What types of swine restraint can we use?

hurdles, pig boards, or hog panels to move swine

Carry lightweight cane to tap in pig to get them to move in direction you want

Blindfolding a pig → they move backwards

Tugging on tail from side to side - makes them move

Hog snare

Rope harness

Casting

What is a hog snare?

Consists of a pipe sleeve and a rope or cable that runs through it

Most common form of restraint

Why do hurdles, pig boards, or hog panels work when moving swine?

Pigs respect solid barriers so they will try to move away from the barriers like boards or panels

What should we never do with hog snares?

Never snare the mandible

Don’t keep for any longer than 20-30 mins

How should we use a rope harness for a pig?

Form a simple loop with a rope and pass it over the neck

Fee end if loosely placed on the ground in front of pig

When pig steps forward through loop, pass the free end under the rope to form a half hitch that circles the pig’s body and pull tight

How do we restraint piglets?

Hold gently but firmly - they are wiggly