Accurate Record Keeping

&
Proper Care and Handling

Dr. Qazi Muhammad Awais

RCVetS, Lahore.
 Keeping Records
Keeping records is an important part of
any livestock operation/project.
Accurate records let you identify
specific animals for medication, analyze
your efficiency, and find changes you
could make to improve your
operation/project.
Any records kept are better than no
records at all.
 Animal Identification
Proper identification is key to good
management. If each animal is clearly
identified, keeping records on
treatments becomes a lot easier.
 Ear tag at county weight in
 Ear notch and/or tag – Swine
 Tattoo – Breeding Beef
Animal Identification
 Keeping Accurate Records

Three main areas of record keeping

Individual Animal Records

Process Verification

Production Records
Individual Animal Records
Lets you know which animal belongs
to whom.
Allows you compare performance of
these animals:
Selecting replacement females
Selecting animals for your project
Determining rate of gain
Process Verification
 Any time you use medications or growth
promotants in your livestock project, it is
important identify the individual animal and
their treatments.
Animal ID
Date
Product
Dosage
Method of treatment (I.M., S.Q., I.V.)
Location of injection (neck)
Who administered it
Withdrawal times (label)
 Feed Records

 Itis very important to read your feed

labels and keep copies of your feed
labels.
 Keep records on how much you feed an
individual animal. (production records)
Production Records
Productionrecords let you
measure animal and business
performance.
Examples:
Average daily gain
Weaning weights
Litter weights
Pounds of milk in dairy cattle
 Production Records

Business records can show how

profitable the operation is.

Records from different years can be

compared to see how your livestock
project has progressed.
 Care and Handling

The way you care for your animals can

have a big impact on how they will
grow and how they will behave.
 Animal Needs

Three basic needs all animals

have.
Feed
Water
Environment
Feed
Feed will be covered in more
detail a little later, but you need to
be sure they have the proper
ration for the kind of growth you
expect.
Water
Make sure water is clean and
fresh.
Would you rather drink clean or
muddy water?
Make sure they have enough
water everyday.
Water is critical for survival and
growth.
Environment
Animal Environment Includes:
Space

Temperature

Cleanliness
 Environment
Space
Isthere enough space for the
animal to eat, sleep and exercise?
Use space requirement tables to
determine how much space an
animal needs.references upon request
 Environment
Temperature
Different animals prefer different
temperatures, this is called their
comfort zone.
Production variables can decline if
an animal is outside it’s comfort zone
for too long.
Ways To Control Temperature
 Heat
Misting systems
Sprinkle area (evaporative cooling)
Fans (air movement)
Shade (prevents radiation)
 Cold
Deeper bedding (insulation)
Shelter (prevent drafts)
House animals together to increase body
heat exchange.
 Environment
Cleanliness
Clean environment reduces the amount
and spread of disease organisms.
Regular removal of waste doesn’t allow
for the growth of microorganisms which
may lead to digestive or respiratory
problems.
Manure build up also provides an
environment for fly populations to
multiply.
 Handling
Handling animals carefully is another
way to prevent injury or physical
contamination of meat (bruising,etc.).
Animals two main instincts are fight or
flight.
Slow quiet movements.
Reduce the use of buzzers and prods.
Interaction at feeding time.
The Flight Zone
Stress
Heat, cold or excitement can all cause
stress.
Changes in feed, illness or movement
can also cause stress.
Stress can ultimately reduce appetite,
production and also effect the quality
of meat they produce.
Reducing Stress
Have animal well broke to reduce
excitement of the show.
Keep animals on regular feeding and
exercise schedule.
Get animals accustomed to strange or
flavored water.
Try not to mix animals at shows to
avoid fighting.
 Conclusion
1. Accurate records are essential for
tracking medications given and
performance characteristics in
livestock projects.

2. Proper care and handling of livestock

animals ensures the safety and well
being of both you and your animal.