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Stock Vulnerable In Bleak Weather

With the current wintry conditions, it’s important to ensure the welfare of stock to keep them in good condition and avoid serious ill health or death.

By Department of Primary Industries - 27th August 2008 - Back to News

Animals that are spring calving, lambing or early lactation are particularly vulnerable.

Under difficult conditions, the risk of pregnancy toxaemia is also high and can be caused through a combination of factors. Examples include starvation through insufficient feed supplies; bad weather causing reduced grazing; ill health through such things as footrot, foot abscess or perennial ryegrass staggers; and stress from rough handling and/or winter shearing.

Careful management and planning is needed to ensure that they have access to or are provided with shelter and enough food of adequate quality to maintain their well being.

Cold wet, windy weather can expose animals to acute hypothermia or cold stress occurs especially in recently shorn sheep. Although, it can occur in sheep shorn within the previous month, it is more common when sheep are only a few days ‘off-shears’.

If feed is limited, even with the best stocking rates, an animal may expend more energy searching for feed than it manages to consume leading to a nutritional deficit.

It is a legal and moral responsibility to ensure livestock do not starve and Codes of Acceptable Farming Practice for the Welfare of Cattle and Sheep and other livestock species have set industry standards that define minimum acceptable livestock management practices.

Specifically the codes require that feed management strategies should take into account the nutritional requirements of maintenance, growth, pregnancy and lactation, and provide for any extra demands such as exercise or cold stress.

In times of feed shortage, arrangements should be made to ensure that the quality and quantity of feed is sufficient to maintain health and adequate body condition. I

It is unacceptable for animals to be allowed to starve to death or reach the stage requiring destruction because of weakness caused by food depravation. In certain cases, the Codes of Practice can be used in conjunction with animal cruelty legislation to deter and prosecute cases of extreme or significant welfare abuse, including failure to feed livestock.

Where minimal feed and water requirements cannot be met, cattle should be moved or agisted to a place where feed and water is adequate, or they should be sold or humanely slaughtered.

Livestock being fed for survival should be inspected regularly, at least twice per week. Where possible they should be grouped appropriately by sex, age and size to reduce competition.

Shy feeders require special attention and treatment depending on the type of feed offered, method of feeding and strength of competing stock.

For feeding strategies, the Department of Primary Industry has a useful publication entitled Drought Feeding Sheep and Cattle and copies are available free of charge. For more information, contact your nearest Animal Health Officer at DPI Ellinbank on 5624 2222, DPI Leongatha on 5622 9900, DPI Maffra on 5147 0800 or DPI Bairnsdale on 5152 0600.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com