Reduce Noise Whenever You Are Handling Livestock

Livestock raisers and meat processors know for a fact that stress could adversely affect overall meat quality. It is now a common knowledge that to be able to produce better quality of meat, farmers should significantly trim down if not totally eliminate stress levels of animals they handle. Perhaps, this is the reason why many livestock farms and facilities play sweet and relaxing music all the time. This practice has been proven to help relax animals and make their moods good all the time. Animal rights advocates agree that this practice is putting more humanity into the industry, somehow.

Livestock handling facilities practice several basic procedures for proper handling of farm animals, which are raised for food consumption. First, they make sure pens and animal houses are comfortable and spacious enough. Second, they make sure the concepts of point of balance and flight zones would not be breached. Third, non-slip flooring is required in ranches and livestock facilities. And lastly, animals should be kept calm at all times. It is a logical fact that quiet and calm animals move more easily and freely. As mentioned, music could help constantly calm animals. Be sure to distinguish between music and noise, though.

It is very important to lower or totally eliminate noise whenever you are handling livestock. Be reminded that animals are naturally more sensitive to high frequency noise compared to humans. Livestock and other farm animals could even hear high-pitched noise that is not usually detected and sensed by human ears. For instance, sheep and cattle have auditory sensitivity of about 7,000 Hz to 8,000 Hz compared to human hearing sensitivity of just about 1,000 Hz to 3,000 Hz. Thus, people should be careful when producing different types of noises inside livestock farms and facilities.

Specifically, noise should be avoided when moving animals. Whip cracking and whistling could make them more excited. All equipment used should also reduce noise. Banging and clanging metal parts of machines should be silenced strategically through the use of rubber pads. Hydraulic tools must be specially engineered for noise minimization. Take note that some hydraulic pumps could produce more noise than the others. In this regard, high-pitched noise produced by hydraulic pumps is naturally disturbing. Air hissing is particularly more stressful to livestock. Thus, air-operated tools must be equipped with special mufflers to minimize unlikely noise when handling and moving livestock animals.

Calm pigs and cattle are noticeably much easier to move and handle than excited animals. Excited and agitated animals are harder to sort and separate. They must be calmed down even for just a few minutes before you resume handling and moving them. It usually takes about 20 minutes for severely agitated animals to return to normal. Do not whistle and yell when handling livestock animals. You should also try your best not to slam the gate.

Raisers of farm animals should learn how to be quiet and relaxed when handling livestock. This could help make sure the animals remain calm, quiet, and manageable.