Faster versus Safer – a livestock handling tale
An old stockman once told us “If you work livestock like you gotta get it done fast, it takes all day; but if you work like you got all day, you get it done fast.”
A seemingly counter-intuitive concept but it has proven itself true many a time.
A common practice in working livestock is to bring as many people possible and work as quickly as you can to get the job done.
There are reasons for this thought process; animals can get too hot, may be away from water or their offspring for too long. However, forcing livestock to move quicker than they want to or are able to move, will often result in people or animals getting injured, ultimately slowing down progress.
By being aware of the animals behaviour, we can monitor the success of this tactic as it can be a tale-tell sign of their stress level.
If you are working livestock that is handled infrequently, has a calf, lamb or kid at foot, or needs treatment, a calm and considered handling process is key to a successful outcome.
Take your time and have only as many people involved as needed and the job will get done quicker, smoother, and with less stress.
Most importantly in low-stress livestock handling, keep your people calm to ensure the stock are calm.
How does the Ultimate Meat Sheep Handling System make difference?
By bringing together all the elements of our handling equipment, the Ultimate gives you the ability to do all the handling as a lone worker, safely and calmly.
With the ability to pen up 40 sheep in the bugle, flowing them through the Double Feed Up Race with Anti-Backing bars, meaning you don’t have the animals backing up and stopping the flow, keeping them calm individually and as a group. Then the Meat Sheep Handler allows you to safely restrain the sheep, alone, without having to use physical strength. You can then treat, trim and weigh, releasing your sheep through the 3 way drafter, to a preselected yard location.
One person, safely, calmly working methodically and intentionally, doing the work of 3 or more people.