How to Reduce Animal Stress When Livestock Handling?

When working with animals it’s important to consider their stress levels, both for the animal’s welfare, but also to make your job as manageable as possible. As you know even just one stressed member of the group can make it a long day, which is why we are bringing you our top tips for reducing stress in livestock.

First Impressions Matter

It is important that when you put your animals through the system for the first time, you create as smooth a process as possible. This means the next time you take them through, they will know what to expect and know that it is okay for them to go through. Being consistent with creating this environment for the animals, means the handling will get easier and easier over time.

Work with the Flight Zone

Dr Temple Gradin, an expert in cattle handling, strongly believes in the flight zone, emphasizing that working with it makes it much easier to move animals. The flight zone represents the animal’s personal space, with its size varying according to the temperament of the animal. There are several different ways to incorporate this principle into your handling; for instance, you should stand behind the point of balance to encourage them to move forward.

Reduce noise

Minimising noise is essential when handling livestock, as animals are often more sensitive to sound than humans. Sudden loud noises can startle them, leading to unnecessary stress and unpredictable behaviour that may put both the animals and handlers at risk.

Investing in the right equipment

Whether you’re working with cattle or sheep, there is always equipment you could be adding to your farm to make your job easier, while reducing the stress on the animal.

Cattle Crushes

It has been found through extensive research that applying pressure to cattle lowers their stress, meaning you can work safely on a calm animal when using a Cattle Crush. As well as this, the crush allows you to create the perfect balance of control. The animal feels they are in control, as they enter on their own accord, but ultimately you have full control.

Here at Thorburns, we stock brands Clipex and Premier, giving you a full range of Crushes making it easier to find one with all the features you require. If you have something truly bespoke in mind, we actually manufacture all the Premier crushes in our workshop in the Scottish Borders, so get in touch with our livestock experts, and we may be able to help.

View Clipex Crushes Range

View Premier Livestock Crushes

Sheep Handler

If it’s sheep you’re working on, then the Clipex Automatic Sheep Handler is for you. An innovative piece of kit designed to revolutionise the sheep industry. The 3-way draft helps make the shepherd’s job safer and quicker, while the clamp catches the sheep and helps to calm them, meaning they will be less stressed during handling in the future, as they know and remember the process is not scary or painful.

Non-Slip Flooring

Livestock panic when they slip in the slightest, so ensuring your system has some form of non-slip flooring is crucial, whether you use rubber or something else. Almost all our animal-handling products feature rubber flooring, for this exact reason.

Livestock Handling System

Having a full handling system in place will lower the animal’s stress, as they will know what to expect each time you work on them. As well as this, you can incorporate features that keep them calm, such as quiet latches, boarded passageways and installing the system in a bright area, to name a few.

Depending on your budget, you can either go for a fully bespoke permanent system, allowing you to design every detail of your farm’s layout and your working habits. Or you can choose something more flexible, such as a Mobile Handling Trailer, allowing you to work wherever the livestock are.

Fortunately, our livestock expert can meet with you to discuss your needs and design a system that fits your budget. With over 30 years of experience in designing, manufacturing, and installing handling systems, we are fully prepared to create whatever you require. Get in touch today, for your free, no obligations quote.

Working with animals doesn’t need to be stressful, and your animals certainly don’t need to be stressed during the process. We hope you will be able to utilise these tips and make the handling process smoother. If you have any questions about the equipment mentioned in this blog post, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our livestock experts, who can chat through your problems and find the right solutions.