With calving about to get into full swing in the coming weeks, we take a look at some important safety points to take note of. Every year, fatal accidents occur at calving time and in 2017, three of the 24 fatalities on farms involved livestock and 14 of these fatal accidents involved people over the age of 65.

Facilities

Talking to vets on the ground, facilities have improved on Irish farms. However, some farms are still lacking basic restraining facilities around calving. A cow during calving is one of the most dangerous animals you could deal with and in many cases too many chances are taken with freshly calved cows.

Having an escape route planned in your head is important so if you need to escape some day from a pen, you will have already simulated it in your head and this should speed up your response. Take a look around your calving shed before calving starts and simulate a few different scenarios.

Having a step to get across a wall can be useful. A good idea is to leave some five-gallon drums filled with water alongside walls to step up on to get over the wall quickly.

Keep your mobile phone with you so if you need help quickly you can ring someone. If there is an issue with a cow, don’t take any chances breeding her again and cull her at the first chance. One calving gate per farm is an absolute must for that difficult calving or C-section.

Stress and sleep

Calving can be a very stressful time, especially if it’s a one-man show and you have just completed a few nights with little sleep. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to flick a switch in your head and think that everything is going against you.

Losing a calf, an outbreak of scour, a couple of difficult calvings and you think it’s all going wrong. This can increase mental stress and alter logical thinking.

If things are going wrong, take a step back and ask yourself, is it really that bad? Talk to someone you trust or seek some extra help for the few busy weeks.

Can someone come in and check cows at night? Often a day away from the farm can be a cure in itself as it clears the head and puts things in perspective again. Make sure to get adequate rest and if up at night calving, make sure to try and take it easy the next day.

Older people in yard

It’s a fact of life that as we get older our response and reaction times get slower. Getting into pens around livestock, especially freshly calved cows, can sometimes be very dangerous.

With many beef farmers working off-farm, it’s often the father or mother who is around the yard holding the fort during the day. This help is invaluable to someone working off-farm but should probably be on an eyes-and-ears basis only.

It’s better to have them available in the yard to ring you or a neighbour if needed than being housebound due to an injury attained on the farm.

Take extra care foddering or moving machinery, especially at nighttime as it can be difficult to see others in the yard. Some yards now make hi-vis vests mandatory when working around yards. Keep dogs away from calving sheds as cows see the dog as a threat and can charge. If the dog seeks shelter behind you, you can get caught up in the charge and get seriously injured.

Loading cattle

Every year, we hear of injuries associated with loading and unloading cattle. Make sure you have a secure area for loading cattle that matches the size of the trailer and that there are side gates on the trailer to aid in loading animals.

Having patience and keeping calm is key to successfully loading animals. Animals will generally not like being loaded and may take coercion in some cases.

Take particular care when closing the back door or ramp as animals can kick out very quickly at the ramp, putting the operator in a compromised position. Always carry a stick when loading cattle as it can be used to protect yourself if animals turn on you.

Zoonotic diseases

Take care around calving and lambing time for zoonotic diseases like leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis.

These diseases are very dangerous to humans and could require hospitalisation in some cases.

Always wear gloves when handling cows at calving and wash hands, etc, thoroughly before returning to the dwelling house. Disinfect calving areas to reduce disease pressure and try to isolate any sick animals from the rest of the herd.