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How to Keep Your Farm Well-Maintained

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There are several responsibilities you should consider to keep your farm well-maintained. Most livestock duties occur throughout the year, but farming practices change each season due to temperature changes that affect crops and animals. Farmers should follow some basic tips to keep their farm running smoothly.

Photo by Hưng Nguyễn Việt on Unsplash

Keep Livestock Healthy

Livestock animals are useful in the farm ecosystem. Their waste is used as manure which helps fertilize the soil that contain several nutrients, which keeps the land moisten and nourished for weeks. Herbivores such as cattle rely on fertile soil to stay healthy and active. When managing the farmland, it’s important to prevent exposure to disease by quarantining sick animals and nursing them back to health. Regularly checking for unusual symptoms or behaviors is another crucial responsibility.

Check the Fence Line

Keeping a fence around the property keeps your animals safe and helps prevent theft. To prevent farm insurance Kaufman TX claims, you’ll need to take some basic precautions. Monitor the property often to scare off would-be thieves who want to steal your assets. Keep livestock away from the entrance as much as possible so they aren’t in clear visible view. Make sure to take rounds when walking the fence line to check for damages and keep the front gate locked when not in use.

Maintain Farm Property

It’s also crucial to check the barn or stable to see if the inside stalls can support the structure. In many ways, checking your animal’s quarters takes precedence since their lives could be in danger. Hidden predators such as pests can infect your animals and cause disease to spread. Other structural issues, such as a leaking roof, also require your attention.

Experienced farm managers know that each season leaves potential room for improvement as they’re constantly finding ways to keep their budget balanced while adapting to a changing labor market. Reviewing your current goals to achieve long-term success is usually a good idea. 

Maintaining your Livestock’s Health

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Whether your livestock animals are pets, for show or are raised for sustenance, their maintaining their health is important. Some livestock veterinarians still provide home service. You may also be able to do some of the maintenance, such as vaccinating your animals, yourself.

Home Visiting Veterinarians

If you have a large farm with dozens of livestock animals, it isn’t exactly possible to take them all to the vet. For some herds, it can look like a convoy heading down the roadway. While the cost of going to the vet’s office may be less, transporting all of the animals there can make the process more expensive.

When a vet can come to your home or farm, it is considered to be a convenience service. Some may charge a trip fee. When there are bulk services provided, you may want to inquire about a discounted rate due to the volume.

DIY Vaccinations

Some farmers and livestock owners prefer to administer their own vaccinations. It is important to read the instructions on the label to ensure that you are providing the right dose in the right area on the animal. It may be more cost effective to administer vaccinations yourself.

There may be an advantage if your get horse vaccines at vet products direct when buying in bulk. Some discounts may be offered. Make sure to order only what you will actually need as vaccinations do have shelf lives.

When you are administering vaccines to your livestock yourself, it is important to keep a log of vaccination dates. If your livestock are assigned names, make sure the name corresponds with the vaccination name and date. Keeping the vaccine’s batch number in those records is also ideal. When numbers, brands or tags are used as identification, ensure that the number matches the entry in the log. Keeping this list in a computer is ideal because it can be saved and backed up. It is also a good idea to create a master list to print out every time vaccinations are needed.

Quarantining Ailing Livestock

If you notice that one, or a few, of your livestock has fallen ill – quarantining them is a good idea. If the ailment is communicable, the entire herd or group can also fall ill. Herd illness can be expensive to treat.

Once the animal is well again, it can return to its previous habitat. If you notice that symptoms are still present, keep the animal in quarantine until you haven’t noticed symptoms for 2-3 days. This helps maintain the health of the rest of your livestock.

When you own a number of livestock animals, it is a good idea to have a dedicated “safe area” where animals that are ill can be quarantined. This may also be used as a birthing area since it should be separate from the rest of the animals. It should also be constructed to be cleaner and allow less passage of germs and bacteria.

Healthy Diets and Proper Exercise

Just like humans, livestock also need a healthy diet and enough exercise. A well-balanced diet helps the immune system of the animal stay strong and able to fight of germs/bacteria itself. Exercise helps keeps the animal’s body strong and toned. It also helps the animal properly digest its diet.

Some livestock owners elect to make their own feed. This has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are using your own crops as components, controlling the ingredients and customizing diets for each animal. A disadvantage is not mixing the right amount of ingredients to provide ideal nutrition for the animal.

Closing Thoughts

When you are maintaining the health of your livestock with healthy diets and a proper vaccination schedule, it can reduce the risk of mass illness. If you are a farmer that raises livestock for human consumption, reducing the risk for potential infections and communicable illnesses is important. Some illnesses may render the meat of the animal unfit for mass public consumption.