How to keep farm animals healthy?

Undiagnosed diseases, frequent sickness, and irregular behavior are the signs that animals are suffering from a disease or the symptoms of an underlying disease, resulting in decreased production & hence loss in the business. 

It may be slightly tricky to care for the animals if you run a multiple animal farm due to different requirements. 

On the contrary, single livestock such as chickens farm is easier to handle. 

Nevertheless, below are some tips that will guide you in keeping the farm animals healthy.

1. Vaccination

Animals also require vaccinations just like humans because vaccinated animals are easy to prevent from pathogen attacks, thus the diseases. Therefore, to ensure regular vaccinations, you must keep in touch with the local veterinarian. 

2. Feeding 

Suppose you put Red Angus for sale on board. When a buyer enters, the foremost thing he will notice is the animal’s size. 

If the animal is malnourished, he might not want to deal with you. Therefore, it is essential to give proper nourishment to the animals. Plus, each animal has different requirements.

For example, a Red Angus eats an average of 2 pounds of its body weight with quality grains but limit on oats & corn. However, the chickens will eat 1/5 pounds in a week. Precisely, water requirements also vary. 

3. Inspect their bodies 

If you own a farm, you know how crucial it is to protect the animals from pathogen attacks. 

Thus, the clever trick is to inspect the animal’s bodies once a week or two weeks, and if you own goats, horses, cattle, or pigs, you need to trim their hooves regularly so they don’t catch infections. 

4. Work gently 

Animal behavior is affected by their master’s behavior. So, if you are impatient or treat them recklessly, you will develop negativity in them, leading to mental health destructions and an increased probability of sickness. Thus, it is essential to handle the animals with gentle behavior. Animal babies also require extra care as they learn to adapt to the new environment. 

5. Barns & shelters 

In addition to adequate food and water, just as humans, animals also require good sleep because if they lack quality sleep, they tend to lose weight in dramatic figures and develop infections. In cases like rats, animals also die without proper sleep. 

Therefore, it is essential to focus on their barns and shelters or sleep places and provide the best possible environment. 

6. Amenities 

Apart from the feeding & watering bowl, animals require plenty of other facilities, such as litter cleaning facilities, heating systems when the weather is freezing and vice versa.

Apart from the earlier mentioned facilities, it would be best to give them the ideal temperature according to their needs. 

For example, the ideal temperature of a chicken is 90 degrees Celsius, and it’s not hard to achieve one. 

In addition, it is essential to keep the farm environment hygienic because 90% of the animals get infections from their unmanaged litter. 

7. Dehorning & dock 

You might not have heard of dehorning & docking practices, but it is one of the standard practices that farm owners do. 

Cattle are dehorned most of the time to prevent fellow cattle and the farmer from injuries. Plus, docking pigs and sheep tails is highly advisable to avoid infecting the hand wool.

8. Work with professionals 

If you’re unsure about something, consult an expert so that your animals don’t suffer. Such as consulting a nutritionist for food and a veterinarian for proper medications to ensure the healthy raising of animals.