GPP 1 - Accurate Record Keeping & GPP 4 - Proper Care and Handling

1. GPP 1 - Accurate Record Keeping& GPP 4 - Proper Care and Handling Dean Fish Arizona Cooperative Extension Santa Cruz County

2. Good Production Practice #1 Keeping Accurate Records

3. 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.

4. 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

5. Animal Identification

6. Keeping Accurate Records Three main areas of record keeping • Individual Animal Records • Process Verification • Production Records

7. 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

8. 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)

12. Feed Records • It is 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)

13. Production Records • Production records let you measure animal and business performance. Examples: • Average daily gain • Weaning weights • Litter weights • Pounds of milk in dairy cattle

14. 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.

15. Good Production Practice #4 Proper Care and Handling

16. 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.

17. Animal Needs • Three basic needs all animals have. • Feed • Water • Environment

18. 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.

19. 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.

21. Environment • Animal Environment Includes: • Space • Temperature • Cleanliness

22. Environment Space • Is there 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

23. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. The Flight Zone

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. Conclusion • Accurate records are essential for tracking medications given and performance characteristics in livestock projects. • Proper care and handling of livestock animals ensures the safety and well being of both you and your animal.