Keeping Your Livestock Safe

If you’ve ever managed livestock, you know how important—and difficult—it is to keep them safe. We here at Double B Trailer Sales want to help your livestock stay healthy and happy, so we’ve put together some tips for keeping your livestock safe below. For more information, or to see the livestock trailers we have for sale, contact our stores in Centerville and Hurricane, Utah, today!

What Causes Accidents

First, it’s important to understand what causes most livestock accidents. Most times, it can be traced back to human errors, such as:

• A temporary lapse in judgement.
• Inexperience with animals.
• A lack of preparation (like not properly maintaining or using farm equipment).
• Rushing through a process.
• Trying to tackle a complicated job solo.

Livestock Behavior

Next, you need to make sure you understand the behavior of your livestock.

Habit

Livestock animals are creatures of habit. Things like regular routines keep them feeling secure and stress-free, which helps you keep control of them. Try to maintain a consistent schedule with them.

Social Animals

Most animals also prefer to be among their own kind. Isolation from the herd can cause stress and agitation, which in turn leads to safety issues. Try to keep animals together whenever possible. If you need to move animals, move the herd’s leader and the rest should follow.

Cautious

Most livestock are prey animals, like horses, cattle, and sheep. They’ve evolved to always be on guard for predators and threats. Even if you know they’re safe from wolves, they don’t. 

As a result, most livestock have a “flight zone,” most often directly behind them where they can’t see clearly. Doing just about anything in this zone can result in a fight or flight response, leading to bolting or kicking. Both results can be dangerous for animals and workers. Try to avoid this zone at all times, either on foot or when using farm equipment.

Designed For Them

When you set up the area your livestock will spend time in, try to design it for their safety and comfort. First, ensure all surface have enough traction using things like:

• Rough-finish concrete.
• Grooved walkways in high-traffic areas.
• Proper drainage to avoid moisture buildup.

Second, try to minimize the number of shadows in the area. They can spook livestock and cause safety issues, so keep the area well-lit when livestock are nearby.

Finally, avoid any sharp objects or protruding pieces and remove or adjust any you find.

Worker Training

The last and most important thing is to ensure each and every employee who will handle livestock knows all of this, as well as to avoid sudden moves or loud noises, including from poorly-maintained equipment. And always have an escape plan if you’ll be in a confined space with livestock, just to be safe.

We hope these tips help keep you and your animals safe! To learn more, or to see the livestock trailers we have available, contact us at Double B Trailer Sales. We proudly serve Salt Lake City, St. George, Ogden, and Washington, Utah—let us serve you today!