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How To Check That Cattle Are Healthy

17th February 2019
How To Check That Cattle Are Healthy
Tags: Farm News

How To Check That Cattle Are Healthy

 

Here at The Organic Butchery, we respect the land, conserve wildlife and – perhaps most importantly – adhere to the highest standards of animal husbandry. Our trusted organic beef suppliers works with and checks their cattle every day. Knowing the animals and understanding their natural activities and behaviour is important for every stockperson. If you see them leaning on a gate checking out the herd, they’re not having a sneaky break, they’re actually sizing up the animals. But how do they know when everything’s OK and what are they looking that flags up a problem? 

 

Overall appearance: cattle should be generally clean (within reason!), have perky rather than floppy ears and be bright-eyed. Sunken eyes are a sign of dehydration and cloudy patches or gunky bits suggest the animal isn’t 100%. As with humans, the nose should be clean, not green and snotty.
 
Mobility: lameness can be a big problem in a herd, especially when the ground is very wet and muddy or very hard and dry. Cattle should move by using all four legs and feet correctly and bearing weight evenly.
 
Breathing: should be even, regular and comfortable. Laboured breathing and coughing can be a sign of pneumonia, especially in young animals. 
 
Sociability: as cattle are herd animals, it’s natural for them to want to be together. If an animal doesn’t hang out with the group or gets left behind, it’s usually a sign that it’s under the weather or something’s wrong.  
 
There are five basic freedoms that all farm animals should enjoy:
Freedom from hunger and thirst
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury and disease
Freedom to express normal behaviour
Freedom from fear and distress

How To Keep Happy Pigs

Pigs are well known as probably the smartest animals on the farm. They have tremendous character and are inquisitive and frisky, making them a real joy to work with. Living in sociable groups is important to pigs – they enjoy the security of a family hierarchy and are sensitive to stress brought on by isolation or constant change.

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