Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
flexibility during freezing and thawing. Treat these pipes the same as you would water pipes
or garden hoses around your house to protect from freezing — drain the pipe before freezing
so it does not split when ice expands, or leave your water source on a slow drip. You can bury
these pipes if you want, but for a novice farmer, it is probably better to leave them above
ground to give you flexibility to make adjustments in your grazing scheme.
There are also different ways to pump water into these systems. Water pumps can be powered
by electricity, gas, wind, solar energy, or gravity, if the water source is above or below the
tank. There are also pumps powered by the cattle's noses — as the animals reach for water,
they hit a lever that pumps water into the tank. You can buy full-flow valves, which monitor
water levels and automatically refill the tank, for less than $30.
How to Introduce New Animals
You should have a plan for bringing new animals, such as new bulls, replacement heifers, or
stockers, onto your farm. A term for this type of plan is
biosecurity
, which means preventive
steps you take to keep new illnesses from infecting your animals. When you purchase new an-
imals, make sure they are transported to your farm in a clean vehicle and kept in a designated
training pen. You should keep the new animals in the training pen, or quarantine pen, for at
least two weeks — 30 days is optimal — before letting them in with the rest of your herd. If
you notice that some of your new animals are sick, you can further isolate them in a sick pen.
It is permissible for the new animals to be visible to the animals that are not quarantined, but
they should not be able to touch or to even get within a few feet of each other so potentially
sick animals do not infect the animals that have been on your farm a while. These pens should
have their own feeders or water troughs to prevent contamination of the food and water of the
rest of your herd.
You should move any animals showing signs of sickness into the sick area. If they show signs
of sickness, take their temperature, and if any of them develop a fever or other illnesses, have
your veterinarian check the animal. While these animals are quarantined, you should vaccin-
ate them, treat them for parasites, or worm them.
Other strategies for preventing new animals from potentially infecting your herd include milk-
ing new animals last and sanitizing the equipment afterward, which you would do anyway.
You also can choose to wear different boots and clothing when working with animals in the
quarantine pen. You can graze your animals near the sick corral, but you should not introduce
