Lesson Twelve

Good agricultural practices

To prevent pests and diseases in sheep, the following management practices should be used.

 Animals are housed in clean, sanitized pens and stalls.

 Feeders, waterers and stalls are cleaned daily.
 Dung and soiled bedding material are removed.
 Nutritious feed and clean drinking water are provided at all times.
 Animals are dewormed regularly.
 Wheel baths and footbaths are used on farms.
 Animals’ hooves are trimmed regularly.
 Animals are sprayed or dusted to remove external parasites.
 Pastures are sprayed to control parasites, such as intestinal worms, ticks and mites.
 Animals are inoculated against tetanus.
 Sheep are protected from dogs.
 Sick animals are isolated and treated.

Common sheep infections

Foot rot is a disease caused by both fungi and bacteria. It causes lameness because the soft
tissues become swollen and inflamed. Infected tissue should be removed, the hoof washed in
antiseptic solution (such as Dettol) and a solution of copper sulphate applied. The animal should
then be kept on a dry floor until the hoof is completely healed. Foot rot can be avoided by
providing well-drained pastures and exercise areas.

Nutritional scours can be caused by overfeeding and unsanitary conditions. The animals
produce watery faeces with no offensive smell. This can be treated by giving the animals cod
liver oil, mineral oil or baking soda. White scours is caused by bacteria and animals become
listless, lie down and produce yellowish white, smelly faeces. Affected animals should be
isolated, pens and all equipment should be sterilized, and the hooves should be washed in
antiseptic solution.

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Disease management in pigs

Major problems, such as scouring and parasites, can be avoided by good management practices.
Pens, feeding troughs and equipment should be cleaned and sanitized regularly. The removal of
faeces and soiled bedding should be carried out daily. Many pigs reared in intensive systems are
given antibiotics and medication in their feed to prevent infections, but this is not permitted if
animals are organically reared.

Scouring is more common in piglets and may be caused by bacteria such as E. coli. Infected
animals should be isolated and treated with antibiotics.

Animals kept outdoors are more prone to worms and parasites. Dips, sprays and dusting powders
can control external parasites. Rotational grazing can be used for animals kept outdoors. Resting
pasture should be sprayed to control parasites such as ticks.

Pigs can be affected by respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and swine influenza. Affected
animals are separated from the herd, kept warm and dry and given antibiotics.

Health conditions in cattle

The following pests and diseases affect cattle.

 External parasites: Lice, ticks and mites cause irritation, suck blood and may cause
mange. They can be treated or prevented using sprays or dips. Good housing and
hygienic conditions can prevent infestations.
 Bacterial infections: Mastitis causes sore, inflamed udders and affects the milk. It is
treated with antibiotics.
 Foot and mouth disease: This is caused by a virus and affected animals have to be
slaughtered. The disease can be prevented by vaccination.
 Coccidiosis: This disease is caused by a protozoan and it can spread from adults to
calves. The disease causes diarrhoea in young cattle. It is treated with sulphur drugs and
good hygiene.

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Antibiotic and hormone use

Agricultural practices such as the use of antibiotics and hormones will help to prevent animals
becoming infected and diseases spreading. Often antibiotics are put into animal feed or drinking
troughs to protect the animal from the many diseases that thrive in intensive farming systems.

Control measures for pests and diseases

Pest and disease prevention control

Isolation

If an animal is suspected to have a contagious infection it should be put in isolation to prevent

the infection spreading to other animals, and to allow the animal to rest and recover during the
treatment.

Quarantine

The most likely way for disease outbreaks to occur on a farm is through the arrival of new
animals or the return of the farmer’s animals from elsewhere. Quarantine protects animals
already on the farm against disease by keeping the arriving animals separate from the other
animals on the farm for a period, or until the farmer is certain the new arrivals are not carrying
diseases. Areas used for isolation and quarantine should:

 be as far as possible from all other animals

 be completely separate buildings with separate airspaces and double-fenced grazing
areas
 use separate equipment, if possible
 have separate feed, water, drainage supplies and bedding
 be adequately lit so that the animals can be inspected properly
 have disinfectant footbaths placed at the isolation area entrance to make a barrier to
disease. Footbaths should be kept clean and topped up regularly with approved
disinfectant at the correct dilution. They should also be covered to protect them from
dilution by rainwater or contamination.

Day-to-day management of animals in isolation or quarantine

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All farm staff should be fully aware of recommended separation procedures. The best practice is
to use different staff to manage the quarantined and no quarantined animals. Where it is not
possible to use separate employees, the following procedures should be carried out.

 Use separate personal protective equipment.

 Tend to the isolated and quarantined animals last, after the healthy animals.
 Always disinfect or change personal protective equipment after the tending routine is
complete.
 Inspect animals in quarantine regularly and look closely for signs of disease.
 If signs of disease are seen, contact the vet immediately regarding diagnosis, treatment
and future management.
 Inspect animals in isolation regularly, monitor closely and report progress to the vet.
 Take care when handling and disposing of contaminated bedding, waste and feed.

Biosecurity measures

Disease control through biosecurity measures focuses on controlling and reducing movements of
animals, people and vehicles to and from areas where livestock is kept.

Biosecurity measures can help to prevent the spread of farm diseases. They also protect
agricultural workers and visitors. There are different levels of biosecurity procedures for animals
on farms, and for animals being moved, for example, to markets and agricultural shows.

On-farm biosecurity measures include:

 cleaning and disinfecting protective clothing and vehicles before and after contact with
animals
 Using disposable protective clothing.

During an outbreak of a serious disease, such as foot and mouth disease, the following
biosecurity measures should be used:

 banning vehicles, equipment and clothing contaminated with animal excreta, except
vehicle interiors and protective clothing taken off the farm for laundering
 cleaning contamination from clothes before leaving animal areas

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  Cleaning and disinfecting boots before leaving animal areas.

Keep animals that cannot develop the disease, such as dogs and wild animals, away from the
farm as these animals may become carriers and transmit the infection to the healthy stock.

Make sure that animals that die on the farm (deadstock) are removed to be incinerated (burned)
to prevent the spread of the disease. If the animals cannot be incinerated, deadstock should be
buried at least 50 m from a watercourse, where the grave will not be disturbed. This is to prevent
the infection that killed the animal from infecting the rest of the livestock or the farmer through
contaminated water.

Prophylactic use of antibiotics

Prophylactic or routine use of antibiotics is one method of preventing disease from spreading
around livestock units.

Deworming

Deworming, also known as worming or drenching, is the process of giving an anthelmintic drug
(a dewormer or drench) to a person or animal to get rid of helminth parasites, such as
roundworm, flukes and tapeworm. Purge dewormers for livestock can be given as a feed
supplement, a paste or gel that is deposited at the back of the animal’s mouth, a liquid drench
that is given orally, an injection or as a pour-on that can be applied to the animal’s topline.

Spraying livestock

Parasiticides are sprayed on livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry to protect
them against external parasites such as flies, ticks, mites, lice, mosquitoes and fleas. For cattle
and sheep on small farms, spraying can be done instead of plunge dipping if the farms do not
have the equipment for dipping. Livestock that are housed indoors need to be sprayed regularly
to keep the parasites away.

Vaccinations

Vaccines are given to animals to prevent diseases. They are part of a category of animal
medicines known as veterinary biologics, which work by stimulating an animal’s immune
system to prevent or treat diseases. Vaccinating animals reduces animal suffering and reduces the

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transmission of micro-organisms in the animal population. It is often cheaper to vaccinate the
animals than it is to treat the animals when they get sick. Livestock animals such as turkeys,
chickens, cattle and pigs are vaccinated to protect against diseases such as rotavirus, E. coli,
pinkeye and brucellosis. Vaccinations keep individual animals, flocks and herds healthy

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