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CATTLE SAFETY AND WORKING FACILITIES

CATTLE SAFETY AND WORKING FACILITIES. Tommy Waldrop South Region Area Livestock Teacher May 2007. Cow Sense. Reduce Employee injuries Reduce Cattle injuries Well designed facilities will not make up for lack of cow sense

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CATTLE SAFETY AND WORKING FACILITIES

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  1. CATTLE SAFETY AND WORKING FACILITIES Tommy Waldrop South Region Area Livestock Teacher May 2007

  2. Cow Sense • Reduce Employee injuries • Reduce Cattle injuries • Well designed facilities will not make up for lack of cow sense • If you are having trouble working cattle try looking at the world from their perspective

  3. Cattle See the World Differently • Cattle can see 300 degrees with a blind spot directly behind them • Cattle have poor depth perception • Cattle have 60 degrees of vertical vision as compared to 140 for humans • A shadow on the ground may look to be a deep crevasse to them

  4. The Sight Zone

  5. Cattle Hearing • Cattle can hear lower and higher tones than humans • It may be the sound of your truck with feed in it rather than the sight of your truck • Cattle can only isolate sound source down to 30 degrees compared to humans 5 degrees

  6. Flight Zone • The Animals Personal Space (comfort zone) • May be 5 feet for tame cattle to 300 feet for wild cattle • Increases when approached from the head • Increases when cattle are excited

  7. The Flight Zone

  8. Behavior Classification • 1- Docile – Gentle; handles quietly; slightly elevated respiration • 2- Restless- More Active; elevated respirations but settles after joining group • 3- Nervous- Constant movement bumps fences and gates occasionally • 4- Flighty- Agitated by handlers; bumps fence and gates; watches handlers

  9. 5- Aggressive – willing to challenge handlers; attempts to jump fence • 6- Very Aggressive – jumps and bellows; aggressive to handlers; frantically exits chute and still aggressive

  10. Cattle are Round House kickers

  11. Diseases • Lepto • Rabies • Brucellosis • Salmonellosis • Ringworm

  12. Livestock Accident or Illness • Understand Animal Behavior • Provide Proper and Safe Facilities • Protect against Diseases • Wear Appropriate Attire

  13. Curved Working Chutes • Prevent the animal from seeing the chute or truck • Cattle like to follow each other • If animal views dead end it will balk • Single file chutes should be 20 feet long

  14. Response to Movement or Strange Sights • Styrofoam cup in chute will cause a entire herd to balk • A jacket hung on the wrong post will cause balk • Use solid chute sides where cattle cannot see through the fence • Stand back from head gate

  15. Planning Your Facilities • Accommodates your working cattle and safe to humans • Accessible to people, trucks and trailers • Electricity and water

  16. Factors to Consider • Accessibility in various weather conditions • Proximity to pastures • Conditions of pasture fence • Drainage • Electricity and lighting • Proximity to neighbors

  17. A Well Designed Facility • Holding pens • Alley from pens to working area • Crowding pen/tub • Working alley • Restraining area/squeeze chute • Loading area

  18. Basic Corral Design

  19. Common Design Flaws • Pens to Large • Inadequate number of pens for sorting • Poor placement of gates • Not enough gates • Confusing animal flow

  20. How Much Space in Holding Area • 20 Sq. Ft. per Cow • 14 Sq. Ft. per Calf • An area 30’ by 40’ equals 1200 Sq. Ft. • Will hold 35 cows and calves • Alleys should be 10’ to 12’ wide

  21. Livestock Facility Tips • All working facilities should be planned and well organized. • Lighting should be even and constant. No harsh contrasts of light. • Eliminate shadows • Noise reduction. Rubber stops and sliding gates.

  22. Livestock Facility Tips • Design chutes either working or loading to be single file. • Keep floor level or texture consistent. • Reduce all foreign or moving objects from the working area. • Create shields or blinds for workers to stand behind.

  23. Livestock Facility Tips • Locate drains and metal grates outside working area. • Working alleys need to have solid sides. The animal should see only one way out. Cut gates should be see through. • Concrete surfaces should be deeply grooved and level to prevent slippage.

  24. Livestock Wisdom • Animals have very little patience you should have more. • Stress is a major contributor to economic losses. • All animals are potentially dangerous. For every livestock death there are 400 disabling injuries.

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