Animal Welfare: Tips for Successful Livestock Farming

By Kathryn Schneider
Published on October 7, 2014
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A herd of cattle at ease in a timbered pasture. Allowing livestock adequate space to graze and shade to escape  mid-day heat reduces stress.
A herd of cattle at ease in a timbered pasture. Allowing livestock adequate space to graze and shade to escape mid-day heat reduces stress.
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Animal welfare is an important part of reducing animal stress.
Animal welfare is an important part of reducing animal stress.
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Worker holding kid goat on farm.
Worker holding kid goat on farm.
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Keeping animal stress low through livestock training is key.
Keeping animal stress low through livestock training is key.

Since the domestication of livestock, animal husbands have been watching over their critters keenly for sign of disease, distress, and indications that animals are tired, thirsty, hot, you name it. And as we learned to read our stock, we’ve also come to understand them better, gaining valuable insight into the behavioral biology of the animals we tend, and especially new insights into how we can work best with them.

Down to a science

Stressors play an important role in livestock fertility, how quickly they put on weight, and how well they perform in a general sense. The effects of stressors, not surprisingly, are far-reaching.

In her essay, “Stress Management for Equine Athletes,” Karyn Malinowski, PhD., Rutgers University extension equine specialist, writes, “chronic stress and subsequent release of cortisol has been implicated in many deleterious conditions including aggressive behavior; decreased growth and reproductive capability; inhibition of the immune system; and increased risks of gastric ulceration, colic, and diarrhea.”

Cortisol, a steroid hormone, isn’t just unique to equines. Higher levels of cortisol indicate elevated stress levels, which have widespread malignant effects on most animals — from poor bone formation to more common problems.

In short, if you want to improve the performance of your livestock and keep healthier, higher-quality animals with improved fertility rates and a higher quality of milk, eggs, meat or other product, it is essential to pay attention to livestock stress levels. Finding ways to reduce those levels during everyday care and handling is a big part of the responsible animal husband’s job, and a subject that leading doctor of animal science Dr. Temple Grandin has spent years studying.

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