How do we identify sick animals
Answers
Answered by
1
Appetite. Most of the time, when a farm animal isn’t feeling well, she will not eat as much as normal, or may even stop eating. In a herd, it can be difficult to tell if one animal is not eating their fair share. This is where it helps to get to know your animals. Make a habit of watching all the animals at feeding time, and you should start to notice some patterns. There is probably one (or two) “boss” animals who are always up to eat first, and tend to push some of the others out of their way. There will be the “middle of the pack” eaters, and then one or two “clean up” eaters who tend to sit back and wait for the initial pushing to stop before they come up to get their meal. Any changes in behavior around feeding time or food can indicate that one of your animals isn’t feeling well.
Weight. Because it can be difficult to monitor the eating habits of a large group of animals, you may not notice any differences in how much they are eating. But you might notice that one of your animals has lost a lot of weight recently. (In cats and dogs weight loss or weight gain can be a sign of illness. In farm animals, weight loss is a much more common sign of illness, but sudden weight gain can also be a sign that something isn’t right.) Keep an eye on the body condition scores of all your animals on a regular basis. In some animals with fluffy hair coats (like sheep, alpacas, and llamas) it can be very difficult to tell just by looking at them if they have lost weight. Make a routine of running your hands along the backbones and ribs of every animal at least once a week to keep an eye on their weight and body condition score.
Drinking. Drinking can also be difficult to monitor, especially if you have automatic waterers set up for your farm animals. Keep an eye on how much time your animals spend around the water troughs (as a group, and individually). Any increase or decrease in time spent around the water trough can indicate that they are feeling sick.
Activity. Most animals will cut back on their activity levels when they are feeling sick. This may mean they spend more time in their shady shelter instead of lying out in the sunshine during the day, it may mean they spend most of the day near their feed and water sources instead of roaming the pasture, or it may mean they hang back when the rest of their herd wanders off to look for a new spot in the pasture to graze. Any change in activity can be a sign that something isn’t right.
Alone time. Because farm animals are herd animals, they really enjoy spending time with their friends. Any farm animal who starts spending time alone (away from the rest of the herd) is probably already pretty sick. Staying with the herd is their best form of protection from predators, and this is the very last behavior that changes when they are sick.
Weight. Because it can be difficult to monitor the eating habits of a large group of animals, you may not notice any differences in how much they are eating. But you might notice that one of your animals has lost a lot of weight recently. (In cats and dogs weight loss or weight gain can be a sign of illness. In farm animals, weight loss is a much more common sign of illness, but sudden weight gain can also be a sign that something isn’t right.) Keep an eye on the body condition scores of all your animals on a regular basis. In some animals with fluffy hair coats (like sheep, alpacas, and llamas) it can be very difficult to tell just by looking at them if they have lost weight. Make a routine of running your hands along the backbones and ribs of every animal at least once a week to keep an eye on their weight and body condition score.
Drinking. Drinking can also be difficult to monitor, especially if you have automatic waterers set up for your farm animals. Keep an eye on how much time your animals spend around the water troughs (as a group, and individually). Any increase or decrease in time spent around the water trough can indicate that they are feeling sick.
Activity. Most animals will cut back on their activity levels when they are feeling sick. This may mean they spend more time in their shady shelter instead of lying out in the sunshine during the day, it may mean they spend most of the day near their feed and water sources instead of roaming the pasture, or it may mean they hang back when the rest of their herd wanders off to look for a new spot in the pasture to graze. Any change in activity can be a sign that something isn’t right.
Alone time. Because farm animals are herd animals, they really enjoy spending time with their friends. Any farm animal who starts spending time alone (away from the rest of the herd) is probably already pretty sick. Staying with the herd is their best form of protection from predators, and this is the very last behavior that changes when they are sick.
Similar questions