35'042 Animal Biology

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35.042 Animal Biology Nutrition
Working Safely With Livestock
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Content

• Introduction - Agriculture
• Establishing an Agricultural Safety Program
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Zoonotic Hazards
• Injection Safety
• Safe Handling of Cattle
• Safety with Livestock
• Hazards in Animal Housings
• Complexity of Beef Cattle Handling Facilities
• Handling Swine

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Agriculture

• One of the Most Hazardous Industries in the World
• Type of operation
• cause stress
• distraction
• illnesses
• Type of equipment used for production
• injuries
• non-fatal
• fatal

Individuals must know the conditions in which
they work and the hazards they face
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• Farm machinery
• Farm buildings
• Confined spaces
• animal handling facilities
• manure - toxic gases
• grain handling facilities
• dust - asphyxiation
• Large animals
• Use of fertilizers
• Use of pesticides

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Farm Safety in Manitoba an important issue!

• Direct links to the Agricultural industry
• 1 out of every 7 jobs are agriculture related
• 100,000 people exposed daily to the agriculture
  industry operations
• 79,000 people living on the farm
• 11, 000 people work a portion of the year as farm
  workers
• 5,000 people are full time farm workers
• Agricultural related injuries and illnesses are
  costly (daily)
• At the Brandon General Hospital 560
• At the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg 1000

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Farm Safety in Manitoba an important
issue!(continued)

• Statistics tell us that for every person
  hospitalized, there are 20 to 25 persons that are
  injured but not hospitalized
• Approximately 6 persons are killed in farm
  activities each year in Manitoba
• Include children, adults and seniors
• Causes of deaths range
• from drowning
• to machinery
• to entanglements
• to pesticide poisoning
• to livestock

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Farm Safety for Kids

• Children must have a safe, easily supervised play
  area
• Hazards should be securely fenced and chemicals
  kept locked away
• Spare equipment should be stored securely
• Keep aggressive animals in childproof enclosures
• Dont allow child passengers
• Children should never help with
• hazardous machinery
• dangerous animals
• dangerous chemical

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Farmers should establish an effective
agricultural safety program
Management must have an active participation in
establishing this program 1. Commitment to the
program 2. Communication with employees 3.
Train old and new employees 4. Investigate all
accidents 5. Evaluate policies to reduce
hazardous situations
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1. Commitment

• Develop and commit to the implementation of a
  safety program
• Support the safety and health policies
• Allocate resources to support the program
• Be accountable for policy compliance

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• 2. Communication
• Communication must be bi-directional
• - safety policies must be known and understood
  by employees
• - management must be aware of employee safety
  concerns
• Communicate farm policies to everyone
• - including visitors
• - have accountability for policy compliance
• Management must look after their employees
• - employees in turn look after the farms
  interests

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• 3. Training
• All new workers should have an orientation
• Train supervisors and workers
• Train to recognize hazards
• indicate areas of possible injuries
• Know where every first aid kit is on the farm
• Know what to do in case of an emergency

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• 4. Investigation
• Develop a protocol for investigation
• Ensure that all accidents are reported
  internally
• Develop remedial measures to each reported
  accident
• 5. Evaluation
• Farms objectives on safety and health must be
  met
• Incorporate additional strategies to address
  new concerns

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Personal Protective Equipment

• Head Protection
• Eye Safety
• Respiratory Protection
• Hearing Protection
• Hand Protection
• Body Coverings
• Foot Protection
• First Aid

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• Head Protection Hard hats
• from impacts or flying or falling objects
• machinery maintenance
• construction (electrical work, demolition)
• horse back riding
• enclosed spaces with low ceilings
• chemical splashes
• Eye Safety Safety glasses, goggles, face
  shields
• when handling or applying pesticides
• when working in dust, chaff or other flying
  particles
• when working around trees
• particularly under low-hanging branches

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• Hearing Protection Earmuffs and Ear plugs
• from noise produced from farm machinery and hogs
• tractors, combines, augers, blowers, chainsaws
• hogs screaming at feeding time
• Sound - measured in decibels (dB) 85 dB is the
  loudest sound workers should be exposed to for 8
  hours or more.
• Examples Normal conversation 60 dB
• John Deer Tractor 8560 tractor 76 dB
• Massey Ferguson 750 combine 90 dB
• Swine confinement at feeding 133 dB
• Reduce indoor noise levels
• install low noise fans, rubber fan mounts
• use automated feeding systems
• reduce animal produced noise by feeding all the
  animals at once
• Wear protective equipment
• disposable foam or reusable rubber earplugs
• hearing protector earmuffs

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• Respiratory Protection Masks and Respirators
• From dust and chaff
• Toxic gases and chemicals
• Welding fumes and low oxygen atmospheres
• Silos and animal confinements
• large livestock waste and manure dust
• Effective respiratory hazard control in animal
  housings
• Use NIOSH approved respiratory protection
  appropriate for the situation
• Implement a respiratory control program that
  includes
• evaluation of workers ability to work with the
  respirator
• regular training of personnel
• routinely monitoring air quality
• selection of appropriate NIOSH approved
  respirators
• respirator fit testing
• medical evaluations
• maintenance, cleaning and storage of respirators

NIOSH (National Institute of Organizational
Safety and Health)
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Respirators used in animal housing facilities

• Disposable dust / mist masks
• Reusable dust / mist masks
• Chemical cartridge respirators
• which can include particulate matter prefilters
• Powered air-purifying respirators
• provide eye protection as well
• Self-contain respirators
• for dangerous gases - hydrogen sulfide or carbon
  monoxide

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• Hand Protection Gloves - fabric, leather,
  rubber, cut resistant
• Fabric protects from minor cuts and scrapes
• inexpensive
• could be laundered to extend its life
• Leather best choice for protection, cuts,
  scrapes, friction
• inexpensive, breathable, tough and flexible
• treat with leather care product to extend its
  life
• Rubber protects from the use of chemicals
• choose the appropriate rubber glove for the task
• while still on, wash with warm water and soap,
  hang to dry
• Cut resistant protects from handling glass and
  sharp objects

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• Body Covering Aprons (leather and rubber),
  chemical resistant coveralls and chainsaw safety
  chaps
• Leather aprons used when welding
• protects from burns from splattering molten
  metals and slag
• Rubber aprons needed when handling liquids or
  concentrated chemicals
• protects the groin area from chemical splashes
• this area absorbs chemical 10x faster than
  through the forearm
• Chemical resistant coveralls excellent
  protection from pesticide dusts and mists
• Chainsaw safety chaps minimize the risk of
  cutting the legs
• when handling square bales
• reduce scratches and scrapes on the legs

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• Foot Protection Steel toe safety shoes and boots
  (rubber or leather) with puncture resistant soles
• from sharp objects
• dropped heavy objects
• heavy livestock stepping on your feet
• chemical hazards (steel toe safety rubber boots)
• First Aid (FA) all vehicles and buildings
  should have a first aid kit
• get appropriate first aid training
• FA kits should include emergency numbers
• FA kits content must be checked every three
  months
• FA kits should all be labeled
• FA kits must have flares and a flashlight
• emergency signals
• for extra help

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What to pack in your first aid kit?
For more information visit the NASD (National Ag
Safety Database) (National Ag Safety
Database) http//www.cdc.gov/nasd/menu/topic/first
aid.html For emergencies call 911 Poison
Control Center Winnipeg [phone]
Regina [phone] Toll free
1-800-667-4545 Manitoba Environment Spills
944-4888
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CSA approved safety equipment could be purchase
at
1. Implement dealerships 2. Farm supply
stores 3. Safety supply companies 4. Pharmacies
5. Agriculture chemical dealers 6. Hardware
stores
Check the yellow pages under SAFETY EQUIP
CLOTHING
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Zoonotic Hazards

• 1. Zoonotics are infectious diseases transmitted
  between
• vertebrates animals and humans
• 2. Responsible for thousands of deaths each year
  worldwide
• 3. Professions associated with zoonotic
  infections
• livestock management
• waste management
• recreation management

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Diseases Type and Transmission
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Transmission, Prevention and Control of Zoonotic
Hazards
1. Skin Contact From animal bites and
scratches Wearing protective gloves and
clothing (long sleeves shirts and long
pants) prevents the transfer of the disease
responsible for ringworm and sporotrichosis
Donning waders or full suits before entering
contaminated water prevents
Schistosomiasis Wearing shoes prevents
Cutaneous Larva Migrans
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2. Penetration From accidental puncture wounds
and cuts, animal bites and scratches Wearing
leather or mesh gloves prevents Cat Scratch Fever
from the bites and scratches of feral
cats Wearing a heavy glove or gauntlet
prevents Herpes B from the bite of a rabies
infected animal
a suspected rabid animal should be put to sleep
careful not to damage the head - the brain
is needed to establish a diagnosis

• Not recapping needles or using forceps to
  remove the needle prevents
• a variety of infectious agents on
  veterinarians
• needles used to treat infected animals

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3. Inhalation Inhaling infectious aerosols
Wearing NIOSH-approved face mask prevents users
from inhaling infectious diseases such as
Tuberculosis, Q-fever, and brucellosis in
high risk situations 4. Insect Bites
Arthropods Covering exposed skin and applying
insect repellents to clothing and exposed
skin prevents the transmission of many
insect-borne diseases
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5. Ingestion Ingesting contaminated food and
water Personal hygiene is very important to
break the oral-fecal cycle Washing your hands
before handling food or touching your mouth
prevents diseases spread by ingesting
pathogens Boiling, filtering, or adding iodine
tablets to water decontaminates it for safe
drinking
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Injection Safety

• Preventing Needlestick Injuries
• Do not recap needles
• Do not bend needles
• Do not transport dirty needles without sharp
  containers or safety boxes
• Disposal of Injection Wastes and Sharps
• Use sharp containers for syringes and needles
• Sharp containers
• Safety boxes

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Sharp Containers Should Be

• Leak-proof
• Puncture-proof
• Clearly labeled with warning signs (easy for
  people to understand)
• Do not transfer contents to other containers
• Do not overfill (only 3/4 is safe)

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Destroying Syringes and Needles

• Incineration, Burial, and Burning
• Incineration
• Best method
• The high temperature kills microorganisms
• Completely destroys needles and syringes by
  burning at high temperature (800 0C)
• Minimal toxic fumes from incinerator, less air
  pollution
• Reduce volume of waste to minimum

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• Burning
• Combustion is at lower temperature
• May not destroy injection equipment completely
• More toxic emission
• chances of more waste scatter
• Usually done in open pit or metal drums
• Fence off, clear area, and warn people to stay
  away from site
• Make sure that fire is not left unattended
• Prevent waste from scattering and littering

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• Burial
• Used only for industrial operations
• Can be for unburned injection waste or waste
  generated by burning
• The pit should be at least 1 meter in depth
• It should be cordoned off to prevent access to
  site by people / children
• If possible, covered with concrete when full

Waste Burial Pit
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Safe Handling of Cattle
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Working Safely With Dairy Cattle

• Dairy cattle are generally more nervous than
  other animals
• Use a gently approach to avoid startling them
• When moved to the milking stalls
• allow them to adapt to the new environment before
  the operation

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Approach Cattle Safely

• Large animals can see at wide angles
• But there is a blind spot
• any movement in this area makes the animal uneasy
  and nervous
• Announce your approach
• touching the animals front or side
• Most large animals will kick in an arch
• beginning toward the front and moving toward the
  back
• Avoid this kicking region when approaching the
  animal

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Separate Cattle Safely

• A large cow weights 1500 lbs
• Its not a good idea to separate them manually
• They may run you over
• It is safer to use proper handling facilities
• Use a chute that has minimal distractions

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Leave Yourself An Out

• If you are inside a handling facility or milking
  lane
• Leave a way to get out
• Avoid entering a small enclosed area with large
  animals
• Use it only if equipped with an easily accessed
  mangate

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Be Careful Around Sick /Hurt Animals

• Protect yourself from any animal borne disease
• Undulant fever
• Tetanus
• Rabies
• wear personal protective equipment or clothing
• practice good hygiene
• wash your hands and face after handling animals

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Practice Good House Keeping

• Keep the work area clean and free of debris
• Eliminate any sharp corners in walkways
• Ensure that all latches and levers cannot fly
  open easily
• Clean concrete floors and ramps regularly
• prevents slips and trips
• Store properly out of the way
• pitch forks and other sharp tools

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Maintain Even Lighting

• Shadows mixed with light spots inside handling
  facilities
• Increase the animals
• fear
• tension

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Safety with Livestock

• About a quarter of all accidents on the farm are
  livestock related
• 1/3 result in serious injury
• lengthy hospital stay or death
• Serious accidents occur when
• crushing against walls and fittings in buildings
• particularly by bulls or cows at calving time
• loading animals onto trailers or releasing
  trapped animals
• goring
• bulls in fields

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Farm injuries sustained by livestock

• 1991 Alabama
• A study of agricultural injuries found farm
  animals, mostly cattle, responsible for 13 of
  the farm injuries among a sample of 1000 farm
  operators
• 1983-1997 Wisconsin
• 134 people required hospitalization from farm
  animal related injuries
• Fall from a horse 33
• Kicked by a cow 21
• Bovine assault 19
• Equine assault 13
• Kicked by a horse 8
• Animal-drawn vehicle 6

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Cattle PsychologyHow cattle sense and react to
the world around them
1. Sense of sight 2. Sense of hearing 3. Sense of
smell 4. Herd instinct 5. Maternal instinct
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1. Sense of Sight

• Cattle have a wide angle view and a narrow blind
  spot behind them
• everything appears bent and distorted
• Example a fence post that looks straight to us,
  appears curved to cattle
• Cattle will balk when approaching bright sunlight
  or shadows
• a shadow on the ground, appears like a big hole
• Cattle dont like quick movements
• clapping hands, waving arms, to move cattle
• tarp blowing in the wind
• spook the animals

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2. Sense of Hearing

• Noise is very stressful to cattle
• cattle are disturbed by loud, abrupt noises new
  to them
• gate slamming, telephone ring, crack of a whip,
  bleeding of a hydraulic line
• 3. Sense of Smell
• Cattle have an excellent sense of smell, scent
  will often be the dominant factor affecting
  cattle behavior
• a cow will sense she is being separated from her
  calf
• this will often cause her to become stressed and
  dangerous
• odors provide sexual communication between cows
  and bulls

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4. Herd Instinct

• Cattle are social animals
• feel comfortable and safe in a group
• from predators and pests
• isolated from the rest of the herd
• a single animal will become stressed and easily
  upset
• Two characteristics about cattle herd instinct
• follow the leader
• the leader is almost always the first member of
  the group
• herd social order
• one animal asserts dominance over a weaker member
• when grazing, dominant cattle are usually in the
  middle of the group
• at the feeder, dominant cattle will get at the
  food by pushing subordinate cattle away

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5. Maternal Instinct

• Maternal instinct in cattle is very strong
• a cow will be wary of people, specially strangers
• will be protective of her young
• most protective during the first two weeks after
  the calf is born
• Restrain the cow to avoid injuries when handling
  the calf
• assisting in delivery
• examining the newborn
• castrating
• ear tagging

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Handling Beef Cattle Safely

• Flight zone
• - A term used to describe an animals personal
  space
• handler enters the flight zone - animal moves
  away
• handler exits the flight zone - animal will
  stop
• If the flight zone is penetrated too deeply, the
  animal will often panic
• Blind spot
• - Is the area where the handler cannot be seen as
  they approach the
• animal
• entering an animals flight zone by its blind
  spot
• agitates the animal and causes it to kick

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Understand the concept of flight zone and
point of balance

• Animals will move more easily
• reducing stress
• - preventing injuries to
• animals and handlers

• Move Forward
• stand in the dark shaded area marked in the
  flight zone diagram
• Move Backwards
• stand in front of the point of balance marked in
  the diagram

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Using Flight Zone and Point of Balance concepts

• Moving Cattle Forward
• The handler should approach the animal from
  behind the point of balance
• When entering the animals flight zone, the
  animal will look at the handler and will begin to
  move
• The handler must not penetrate the animals zone
  too deep
• The handler must always be alert to the animals
  reaction to his or her presence
• Once an animal begins to move, the handler can
  keep it moving straight ahead by entering and
  exiting the flight zone
• To stop the animals forward progress, the
  handler should move out of the fight zone.

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Using Flight Zone and Point of Balance
concepts(continued)

• Moving Cattle Backward
• The handler should place himself or herself in
  front of the animals point of balance
• Careful not to cut across the fly zone
• if the animals personal space is invaded too
  deeply, it will be spooked and run or turn back
• Follow the previous instructions

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Things to keep in mind when handling cattle

• Avoid approaching cattle from behind
• Do not use quick movements
• Cattle are very sensitive to abrupt movements and
  sounds
• Do not move cattle by whooping, hollering, or
  screaming
• Better handle them deliberately, confidently and
  calmly
• getting them excited makes the job more difficult
• Very little noise is needed to move cattle
• Rustle a stick with plastic strips attached
• enough to guide the animals
• Working cattle in groups, is easier than managing
  them alone
• Separate a cow from the calf before handling the
  calf

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Hazards in Animal Housing

• Air Pollutants in Animal Housing
• Dust and Other Aerosols
• Ammonia
• Hydrogen Sulfide
• Other Gases
• Odors
• Air Quality Control and Management
• Children in Buildings
• Mechanical Hazards
• Electrical Hazards
• Safety Signs
• Noise
• Fire

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Air Pollutants in Animal Housing

• Dust and Other Aerosols
• Dust found in animal housing is primarily
  composed of
• Feed components
• Dry fecal material
• Dander (hair and skin cells)
• Molds
• Pollen
• Grains
• Insect parts
• Mineral ash
• some components may cause allergic responses
• an important air quality problem in poultry and
  livestock housing

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Dust Control

• Proper waste management and ventilation
• Minimize poor indoor quality - animals and
  workers
• workers are required to wear appropriate personal
  protective equipment when entering these
  facilities
• particularly mask or respirators
• Several methods of reducing dust are under
  evaluation
• Wet , electrostatic, cyclonic and dry dust
  filters
• Oil sprays
• spraying vegetable oil
• bind up the dust particles and keep them out of
  suspension

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Oil Sprinkling

• Oil concentration in the oil-water mixture -
  should be gt 20
• Droplet sizes should be gt 150 µm (microns) to
  achieve rapid deposition of droplets on available
  surface
• Things to considered when choosing a vegetable
  oil (VO)
• It is not necessary to use refined VO
• oil should be free of particles
• VO with strong odor are not suitable
• potential effect of the oil affects animal
  behavior
• Use VO with low iodine value
• in respect to the risk of self-ignition
• Dust binding effect of oil remains for many days
• consider designing spraying strategies accordingly

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Results of Oil Sprinkling

• Several methods for reduction of aerial dust in
  pig houses have been examined over the last 20
  years
• To date the most promising method appears to be
  Oil Sprinkling
• Sprinkling undiluted Canola Oil in a
  grower-finisher room
• Reduced dust by 79
• Respirable dust particles - reduced by 73
• Inhalable dust particles - reduced by 80

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Ammonia ( NH3 )

• Ammonia is produced by bacterial action on urine
  and feces during decomposition
• Comes off of the floors and from the manure pits
• Levels in animal buildings can be sufficiently
  high to affect human health
• Ammonia control
• Frequent removal of waste
• Management of indoor moisture
• Adequate ventilation
• ventilation dilutes ammonia concentration and
  tends to dry floors and litter
• reduces the rate of ammonia release

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Hydrogen Sulfide ( HS )

• Is an acutely toxic gas produced by the
  decomposition of animal manure
• Often released into the air when liquid manure is
  agitated
• Its odor is not an indication of its
  concentration
• Above 6 ppm the odor increases as concentration
  also increases
• The OSHA limits exposure to 10 ppm for an 8 hour,
  5 day exposure
• At levels above 50 ppm human evacuation is
  recommended
• Levels above 500 ppm cause unconsciousness and
  death
• Levels increase to 1500 ppm when swine pit manure
  is agitated

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Hydrogen Sulfide ( HS )(continued)

• Workers should wear a self contained respirator
  if exposure to HS is expected
• Hazards created during manure agitation can be
  controlled by
• Providing ventilation during manure pumping
• Removing the manure
• Preferable when
• people and animals are absent from the building

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Other Gases

• Methane ( CH4 )
• A natural product of manure decomposition
• nontoxic
• High concentrations produces
• dizziness and even asphyxiation
• Flammability of methane Main Safety Concern
• CH4 can be explosive at concentrations over
  50,000 ppm
• valuable as an energy source
• NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety
  and Health) recommended Daily exposure
• 1,000 ppm per 8 hour work period
• Control
• proper ventilation generally dissipates methane
  from animal housings

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• Carbon Dioxide ( CO2 )
• Produced by manure decomposition and animal
  respiration
• nontoxic gas
• High concentrations can cause
• asphyxiation by reducing available oxygen
• Concentrations in well ventilated buildings can
  range
• 1,000 ppm during summer
• 10,000 ppm during winter
• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration) permissible exposure level for
  CO2
• 10,000 and 30,000 ppm respectively per 8 hour
  and 15 minutes work period
• Control
• proper ventilation
• CO2 control is important in cold climates

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• Carbon Monoxide ( CO )
• Product of the incomplete combustion of
  hydrocarbons
• its colorless, odorless, and has nearly the same
  density as air
• CO hazards in animal production operations caused
  by
• combustion heaters malfunction
• operational heaters or internal combustion
  engines
• without venting the combustion products outdoors
• Winter Most dangerous period
• buildings are usually closed and ventilation
  rates are at its lowest
• OSHA and NIOSH recommended threshold limit values
• 40mg/m3 or 35 ppm for an 8 hour work period
• Control
• combustion heaters and engines should always be
  vented to the outside

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Odors

• Air Quality Control and Management
• Unpleasant odors have long been associated with
  domestic animal production
• Installation and operation of a well-designed
  ventilation system is the producers best
  assurance of adequate indoor air quality
• provides thorough air mixing
• eliminates dead spaces having stagnant air
• moves fresh air through the housing facility
• Ventilation vents should open enough to provide
  high velocity jets to ensure thorough air mixing
• Summer months
• evaporative cooling is needed using misting
  systems to reduce the indoor air temperature
• Winter months
• supplemental mixing fans are needed because
  ventilation rates are reduced to a minimum

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Air Quality Control and Management(continued)

• Prevention and early detection of toxic gas
  levels reduces health risks
• installs CO detectors near combustion heaters
• the heater should be vented to the outside
• clean the heater thoroughly at the beginning of
  each heating season
• while in use, monitor the heaters daily to ensure
  that they burn efficiently and produce minimal
  levels of CO
• Use extreme caution during manure removal
• manure slurries will release hydrogen sulfide
  rotten eggs
• cause for concern
• HS can quickly inure the sense of smell as
  concentrations increase and become deadly
• Control dusts
• during cold weather, use feed additives (oil,
  fat, and lecithin) to help reduce dust emission
  from feed meals.

67
Children in Buildings

• Animal production facilities are attractive
  playgrounds to children
• Because of their complexity and potential for
  danger
• no one should treat animal production facilities
  as play areas
• lack of experience
• makes children vulnerable to injuries in
  agricultural environments
• young children visiting these facilities
• should be supervised by trained production
  personnel
• older children should be allowed to work in these
  environments
• providing adequate training and with parental
  supervision

68
Mechanical Hazards

• Fans
• unguarded fans are dangerous, must have guards or
  screens so people cannot touch any moving parts
• Winches
• workers operating winches must be careful to
  avoid releasing the winch before the object is
  fully raised or lowered
• accidentally striking a winch under tension can
  cause it to release
• Augers
• must be properly guarded
• before any maintenance the equipment must be
  unplugged, or switched off at the control and
  breaker box
• Steel Cables
• worn or frayed could produce gashes and puncture
  wounds on hands
• wear a sturdy pair of work gloves to prevent
  these wounds
• Housing Floors
• can be slippery and obstructed by equipment and
  railings
• use a good pair of work boots to prevent falls
  and foot injuries

69
Electrical Hazards

• Due to faulty electrical wiring
• Risk of shock
• Potential for fire
• Destruction of good equipment
• motors and pumps
• Use wiring practices that protects electrical
  cable and system components
• from abuse by livestock and rodents
• avoid exposure to tractors and feeding equipment
• Appropriate design and reliable installation of
  electrical systems are crucial to
• use electricity efficiently
• provide a safe environment for workers and
  animals
• minimize the potential for fire loss

70
Safety SignsClassified according to the use
hazards and risks involved
The categories of hazard are Toxicity /
Poison Explosive Potential Flammability
Corrosive The categories of risk are
Danger Warning Caution
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Toxicity of Pesticides!

• The LD50 refers to the dose of pesticide (in mg
  per kg of the test animals body weight) that is
  lethal to 50 of the group of test animals.
• Example If a pesticide has an LD50 value of
  10mg/kg, and the test animals each weight 1kg,
  then 50 of the animals will die if they each
  ate 10 mg of the pesticide
• Oral LD50 values as they relate to the Risk /
  Hazard Symbols

Danger Poison LD50 less than 500 mg/kg
indicates high toxicity
Caution Poison LD50 1000-2500 mg/kg indicates
low toxicity
72
Noise

• Sound levels are measured in decibels (dB)
• Soft whisper is about 30 dB while a 120 dB will
  cause pain
• OSHA limits noise exposure to 90 dB over an 8
  hour shift
• Tractors and other farm machinery cause the most
  noise
• in livestock housing - animals and machinery
  produce significant noise
• swine buildings - at feeding time 115 dB can be
  reached

73
Fire

• Factors that facilitate fire in livestock
  buildings
• Poor management and maintenance, improper storage
  of combustibles, unsafe electrical wiring and
  lightning
• Reduce fire incidents
• Construct building with fire retardant materials
• Combustibles - discard from building those not
  frequently used
• stored frequently used in a fire retardant
  compartment
• Use wiring material and equipment meeting the
  requirements of the National Electric Code
• Electrical equipment should be installed
  according to manufacturers specifications
• All electrical equipment (fuses, junctions, and
  outlet boxes) should be kept free of grease and
  dust
• Place 10 lb ABC type fire extinguishers in all
  major buildings near exits

74
The size and complexity of a cattle handling
facility will depend on

• The number of cattle that need to be managed
• The financial resources available to the producer
• The management practices that will be performed
• Vaccinating
• Identifying
• Castrating
• Dehorning
• Implanting
• Deworming
• Pregnancy testing

75
Components of Beef Cattle Handling Facilities

• Headgate
• Holding or Squeeze Chute
• Working Chute
• Crowding Pen
• Holding Pen(s)
• Scales
• Loading Chute

With an inadequate facility, the risk of injury
to themselves and others is increased and
productivity is diminished
76
Headgate

• Primary piece of equipment for restraining cattle
  must be
• Strong
• Safe
• Quiet
• Easy to operate
• Work smoothly

77
Headgate(continued)

• Headgate comes in four different designs
• Self-catching
• closes automatically as the animals head enters
  through it
• Scissors-stanchion
• incorporate two biparting halves that pivot at
  the bottom
• Positive-control
• locks tightly around the animals neck
• greatest threat of choking cattle and putting
  pressure on their carotid arteries
• Full-opening stanchion
• it has two biparting halves that open and close
  like a pair of sliding doors

78
Holding or Squeeze Chute

• It is directly attached to the headgate
• Useful design parameters include
• Squeeze action
• Removable side panels
• for safe and easy access to different parts of
  the animal
• Non-slip floor
• Use moderate pressure to provide a feeling of
  being held

79
Holding or Squeeze Chute(continued)

• Equip the chute with a blocking gate or bar
• To prevent the animal from backing up before
  their head is caught
• Will also prevent the next animal in line from
  entering the chute before the first animal is
  released
• Install a service gate at the back of the chute
• Provides ready access to the animals rear
• allows castration
• pregnancy testing

80
Working Chute

• Leads cattle from the crowding pen to the holding
  chute
• Must be of sufficient length to hold four to five
  animals at one time
• Back up bars should be placed at intervals
  within the chute
• To prevent animals from moving backwards
• A chute with slopped sides has the advantage of
• Restricting an animals feet to a narrow path
• prevents them from turning around
• allows the chute to accommodate animals of
  different sizes

81
Crowding Pen

• Used to easily move cattle from the holding pen
  to the working chute
• It should be about 150 square feet in area
• Should have enough space to hold five or six
  animals
• Should form a gradual V shape as it approaches
  the working chute
• Install a solid crowding gate of about 10 to 12
  feet
• Allows handlers to push animals from the crowding
  pen into the working chute

82
Holding Pen

• The size of the beef cattle operation will
  influence the number and size of holding pens
  that are installed
• Each pen should at minimum, provide 20 square
  feet per animal
• Should be conveniently located
• Allow smooth transfer of cattle from pasture to
  the crowding pen
• For handlers moving cattle on foot
• Install safety posts or safety passes ( in the
  corners of pens) or step-overs and at 40 to 50
  foot intervals along the side of large pens

83
Scales

• Scales should be located just off the working
  chute
• Have a gate directing cattle over the scale only
  when the animals need to be weighted
• If scales are placed within the working chute
• Cattle must cross over them every time they are
  worked
• reduces the scales service life
• increase repair costs

84
Loading Chute

• Chutes for loading and unloading cattle need to
  be designed and constructed properly
• To be positioned in an are where the driver can
  see the chute from the driver side of the vehicle
• There should not be any gaps between the trailer
  and the chute
• Gaps can cause foot and leg injuries if an
  animals leg slip into it
• injuries can also occur when the incline of the
  chute is too steep
• portable chutes should not be steeper than 25
  degrees
• permanent chutes should not be steeper than 20
  degrees

85
Loading Chute(continued)

• Chutes should have solid sides and a floor that
  is stair-stepped or cleated for sure footing
• The loading chute should not be located near the
  squeeze chute or headgate
• Cattle will balk if they associate loading with
  the discomfort of being restrained

86

• Select materials and equipment for durability
• Inferior products save a few dollars in the
  beginning
• In the long run cost more
• repairs
• injuries to handlers and cattle
• Use a flexible design
• As cattle operations grow, the facility should be
  able to grow along with it
• Use measures to prevent balking
• Solid fencing or chutes reducing shadows
• Avoid using drainage grates, used slopped floors
• A curved chute works better than a straight chute
• Avoid contrast lighting from bright to dark
  areas or vice versa
• Avoid solid gates

87
Handling Swine

• Understand behavioral characteristics of pigs for
  easy handling
• Pigs angle vision is gt300 degrees
• able to see behind them without turning their
  heads
• Pigs are sensitive to sharp contrasts in light
  and dark
• Pigs will balk or be reluctant to move if
• encounter shades
• puddles
• bright spots
• change in flooring type or texture
• metal grates
• flapping objects

88
Moving Hogs

• Loading from inside a building
• Line hogs single file or in pairs before going
  outside
• Lights inside a building or truck will attracts
  them
• tendency to move from a darker to a bright area
• Pigs stops at solid barriers placed in front of
  them
• Use a small portable panel to efficiently move
  and sort them
• wood, plastic or light aluminum
• block the hogs view
• prevents hogs from going in to the wrong
  direction
• Sorting panels should be the same width as the
  alley or chute (minus an inch) and 36-42 inches
  high

89
Moving Hogs

• Alleys should have solid sides and gradual
  corners
• open sides distract hogs
• blind corners confuse them
• Loading chutes are usually wide enough for one
  hog
• work better if they are wider for two hogs to
  walk side by side
• Squeeze pen located between the alley and the
  chute or truck makes loading easier
• should hold 10 to 20 hogs
• circular design is preferred

90
Herdsmanship

• Know where to tap a hog to direct its motion
• Moving the hog forward
• tap him with your hand on top of its back
• just in front of its tail
• use a firm tap, but dont hit the pig - a love
  tap
• To turn the hog direction
• tap should be placed just behind the hogs ear
• to turn left
• tap behind the hogs right ear
• to turn right
• tap behind the hogs left ear
• Hollering is very useful
• not screaming, not cursinghollering
• hey or whew
• hogs dont like it when humans holler