WHS Considerations before handling Farm Animals

This Animal Handling guide will teach you how to handle farm animals such as Chicken, Fish, Sheep, Pigs and Cattle humanely and treat them in an ethical fashion.

However your own safety is most important when handling such animals.

Work Health Safety will vary with different production systems so it is important to be proactive and check with the managing authority to determine their standards and procedures when handling animals on their property.

Here are some generic tips on safely handling the animals discussed in this guide. Please familiarise yourself with these basic precautions before working with these animals.

Chicken
As chickens are fairly small and typically passive or intimidated by humans they pose very little physical threat.

However there are many avian zoonotic diseases so always check up with management and the news about any outbreaks of such infections.

Remember, if you are to undertake formal placements or work on chicken farms you are always entitled to protective equipment such as face-masks and gloves when handling animals (as with all the other animals).

Cattle
Both dairy and beef cattle may grow to hundreds or even over a thousand kilograms and can therefore pose a physical threat if disturbed suddenly or scared in any other fashion. Always be aware of the animal's flight zone and always make yourself heard when approaching them to avoid surprises.We recommend wearing steel-capped boots to avoid painful bruised toes from being stepped on!

You should only ever practice stressful operations such as vaccinating, teeth assessment and other such tasks when the animal is properly restrained (even then you must give have the appropriate knowledge to deal with them safely).

Fish
As fish exist in a different environment and require less manual handling than other animals, they present very little threat to the individual handler.

However waterborne diseases are easily spread between aquariums on human/clothing vectors, so to avoid being responsible for such outbreaks, it is best to wear clean clothes between visits to different systems (or you may be liable for production costs).

Sheep
Sheep are typically extremely docile and passive and therefore pose very little risk to human handlers.Rams may be more aggressive than ewes and large groups of sheep may be difficult to manage.

Pigs
Pigs have been selected to be docile when farrowing (their most stressful time) but individuals may still be particularly protective of their young which can lead to high aggression.Hence always check with management before entering any pig pens and only those whith a pig of known temperament. Also always have your legs close together as they may be tempted to charge through them.

Pigs can grow to be many hundreds of kilograms. Therefore their position relative to yours must be continually monitored as they have the capacity to crush human handlers. Juveniles also posses extremely sharp needle teeth (that are used to fight one another) that can pierce human skin and flesh easily so large gumboots are ideal.Yards may also be slippery with mud/faeces, so never jump/run in a pig pen.