Walk the animals every day before you reach for medicine

Small-farm health is mostly daily management. Medicine cannot permanently cover dirty water, missed appetite, or an animal that has been standing apart for two days. A short walk costs less than a late veterinary call.

What to look at

• Appetite and water: not eating or not drinking is often the first sign.
• Movement: limp, stiffness, weakness, or staying behind the group.
• Breathing: cough, discharge, open-mouth or fast breathing.
• Droppings: diarrhoea, blood, mucus, unusual smell or dryness.
• Coat, skin, wool, or feathers: dullness, mites, wounds, swelling.
• Production: a sudden drop in milk, eggs, growth, or fertility.

Wool, hair, and feathers hide thin animals. Part the coat and feel the back.

Write what you see on the existing health record the same day. This is not a diagnosis chart. Odd signs that worsen are a reason to call a veterinarian, not to stack products.

In this series

• Walk the animals every day before you reach for medicine
• Quarantine arrivals; do not walk disease into the main group
• Some signs are not a wait-and-see
• Dry, clean, and ventilated beats a warm damp shed
• Parasites live in the paddock, not only in the bottle
• A health log is cheaper than reconstructing last month