Benefits of Reduced or Low-Stress Livestock Handling

Handling livestock, to provide routine care or treatment of sickness, is a common and often unavoidable part of livestock production. However, there are instances where handling can be decreased to avoid performance effects on livestock. 

Why low stress and non-handling matters

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that cows are affected by the stress of handling, and this stress can greatly impact growth, health and reproduction and, ultimately, your bottom line.

• Conception rates may be lowered by as much as 6 to 12 percent*
• Immune function may be suppressed, resulting in greater chance for respiratory disease*
• Higher risk of lameness associated with stressful handling*
• Reduced efficiency when handling

The benefits of low-stress handling have also been documented, ranging from improved animal welfare to reduced injuries.

• Less chance of injury to both the animals and handlers
• Improved animal welfare meeting a consumer demand

• Enhanced quality of life for the cattle and their handlers

Tips for adopting low-stress or non-handling techniques

With all of this in mind, any methods that can be incorporated to reduce the risk of injury or stress on livestock should be considered. Best practices when handling cattle include:

• Understand behavior—An understanding of an animal’s behavior is a good first step towards developing an effective method of handling livestock.
• Slow and calm—A good livestock handler is always cool and patient. The golden rule of low-stress handling is slow and quiet; resulting in calmer animals.
• Consistency—Try to use low-stress handling methods every time you work with your animals.

• Begin early—Start with low-stress handling from birth and throughout the animal’s life. This sets a good working foundation for both the animal and the rancher.

Ensuring the health of your cattle in a non-handling or low-stress production system

Health problems can also lead to stressed cattle. Internal parasites can be stressful reducing feed intake, resulting in less consumption of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. This reduced nutrient intake and absorption contributes to their inability to respond to a disease challenge. Therefore, an effective parasite control program is a cornerstone to herd health. 

The good news is that you have several deworming options without having to handle cattle. SAFE-GUARD® (fenbendazole) offers plenty of feed and mineral formulations including blocks, pellets, free-choice-mineral and range cubes. It’s proven to be safe and goes straight to the gut, killing worms where they live, ultimately preventing pasture contamination. With SAFE-GUARD®, you can use a convenient, non-handling method while properly deworming your cattle on the pasture at the right time in the worm life cycle. 

A conversation with your veterinarian can help you plan and implement a program that provides the best parasite control over the long term with minimal disruption to the cattle. 

Low stress handling just makes sense

Ensuring that animals are well-cared-for and handled in a low-stress manner not only makes good business sense, it’s also the right thing to do. By adopting a reduced handling approach the easier it will be on the cattle, and on you.

Consult your local veterinarian for assistance in the diagnosis, treatment and control of parasitism.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:  Do not use in beef calves less than 2 months old, dairy calves and veal calves. A withdrawal period has not been established for this product in pre-ruminating calves. Additionally, the following meat withdrawal and milk discard times apply: 

SAFE-GUARD® ENPROAL® Type C Medicated Block: Cattle must not be slaughtered for 11 days. For use in beef cattle only.

SAFE-GUARD® 20% Protein Type C Medicated Block: Cattle must not be slaughtered for 16 days. For use in beef cattle only.

SAFE-GUARD® Type A and other medicated feed products (pellets, cubes, free-choice mineral, or free-choice liquid): Cattle must not be slaughtered for 13 days. For dairy cattle, the milk discard time is 60 hours.

© 2023 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

* Fields, Sarah, and George Perry. 2007. Effects of shipping and heat stress on embryonic mortality in cattle. South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service ExEx 2063.

* Hodgson, P. D. 2005. Effect of stress on viral-bacterial synergy in bovine respiratory disease. Comp. Funct. Genomics. 6:244-250.

* Terrell, S. P., D. U. Thomson, C. D. Reinhardt, M. D. Apley, C. K. Larson, and K. R. Stackhouse-Lawson. 2014. Perception of lameness management, education, and effects on animal welfare of feedlot cattle by consulting nutritionists, veterinarians, and feedlot managers. Bovine Practitioner. 48:53-60.