Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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Sheep are small, defenceless animals. Their domestication has been dependent on us protecting them from predators. So, when approaching sheep whether it be on motorbike or on foot ensure that you do it in such a way it doesn’t startle them.

Before you approach the sheep stand back and observe their normal behaviour, this will help you determine their flight zone. So, that when you approach the sheep and they move away their reaction will tell you how you need to handle them and more importantly how much pressure to apply to get them and more importantly how much pressure to apply to get them to do what you want them to do.

Observing livestock is an essential skill that good stock people need to have, taking care of them is also very important. Make sure that you have a good attitude when handling livestock and this is good for them and also good for the people that you’re working with.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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It is instinctive for herd animals to curve around us. So, use this when moving sheep from yard to yard. Make sure that you are inside the curve and that they curve around you through the gateway and into the yard.

They curve around us and unfamiliar objects so they can always see us, they want to see us for as long as possible and keep us out of their blind spot.

To fill the race use parallel movement. Parallel movement in the opposite direction to the sheep moves them forward. It is our direction and movement which moves the sheep forward.

To do this you can use a livestock talker or just use your body and movement to move the sheep. Knowing the number of sheep that fit in the race and using parallel movement you can now comfortably close the gate without harming the sheep.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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Now that you’ve gathered the sheep into a herd, make sure that everybody knows what their positions are. Moving the sheep at a good steady pace like a walk is far better for the sheep and you than running because when the sheep arrive at the yards they’ll be far more relaxed and easier to handle.

To help you to do this have someone in the lead, they will set direction and help with the pace of the livestock. The person at the rear will use position and movement to help with direction and maintain a steady flow.

When approaching gateways consider how you are going to set your gates. Ensure that the gates do not either cause injury or interrupt the flow of the livestock. The position of people when approaching gates needs to be such that not everybody is at the back of the flock or herd, someone needs to go up the front to influence the first four or five animals through the gateway and then step back in such a position using parallel movement to regulate the flow and pace of the livestock through the gate.

Apply enough pressure to the sheep in the yard to create a leader. Once you have a leader, step back into position where you can use parallel movement to regulate the flow and pace of the sheep so that you can count them from yard to yard. It is important that you know how many sheep are in each section of the yard. That is how many sheep do I fit in the race, how many sheep do I fit in the force, this will help you work the sheep effectively and safely.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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The reason we put sheep in the race is to carry out routine management procedures. They can include: drenching, backlining, ear tagging, vaccinating and drafting. When using products make sure that you read the label before use.

When drenching make sure that you use the correct technique so that you get maximum efficiency for either controlling internal or external parasites. When backlining make sure you use the right technique so that you get maximum control of lice and flies. When inspecting sheep see that they have an ear tag that clearly identifies their property of origin. They may also have ear tags for management purposes.

After you’ve carried out some of these routine management procedures you may want to draft the sheep into different groups. Do this quietly and calmly so that you can draft the sheep safely. When drafting the sheep avoid isolating individual animals, they seek comfort and protection by being with each other. The V Race can assist you in performing some of these routine management procedures such as: foot paring, vaccinating, ear tagging or even mouthing the sheep.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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The flight zone is the distance that the sheep want to maintain between us and them. We can influence this on the way that we approach the animals and the amount of movement that we use.

As you can see when we walk through the sheep quietly and calmly that they move away from us. This distance is referred to as a flight zone.

You can clearly see that the flight zone around us is perfectly round. By increasing our movement we can increase the distance of the flight zone between us and the animals.

The more movement, the bigger the distance. If we take the movement away, the distance will get smaller. The flight zone is always round and this helps us to understand that sheep move around us in a curve.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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Hello, I’m Boyd Holden, a Livestock Handling Consultant and I’m here at Trangie Research Station to share with you the tools that we are going to use for livestock handling. We’re here creating a learning resource about handling sheep and cattle.

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Sheep are small, defenceless animals. Their domestication and survival has been dependent on man as their protector. Sheep are herding animals which means that they seek comfort and protection by being with each other and preferably in large numbers. Understanding their instinctive behaviour is an essential part of handling sheep. Because of their small size and vulnerability they have a greater tendency than cattle to want to be with and follow their own kind. So, when handling and moving sheep remember the simple fact that sheep like following other sheep. This underpins efficient and humane handling.

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Before you head off to get the livestock you must have a plan, have the yards and equipment prepared and communicate clearly with your fellow workers their roles and responsibilities. Remember, we are not chasing the sheep, we are communicating with them by applying pressure and releasing it and using their flight zone.

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It is our movement and position that stimulates individual and herd movement. Vision is the main sense which livestock use to communicate with each other and it is the one that we are using to move livestock. Always remember if they can see you, you can influence them.

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Okay, Hannah if you go around to your right and open the gate up please, just open the gates just like we’ve done every day.

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You right there Aaron?

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Just give me a little jump, don’t go forward to your right, just give me a jump.

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Just stay there Hannah, that’s good.

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Give me a jump Hannah. Bigger jump than that. Bigger jump Hannah.

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Just take them back to the gate so they can see where they came from.

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A good stock person knows how many sheep can comfortably fit in each yard force or race. This is important because it ensures efficient and safe handling and maximises animal welfare. To help you do this count the number of sheep as you move them from yard to yard, yard to force and force to race. Yep, that’s it, great, fantastic. Understanding how sheep respond to us helps us understand how to move them. By using the instinctive behaviour of sheep to curve around us and our parallel movement to speed up or to slow them down we can easily count sheep, move them from yard to yard and along the race. We can use aids like a livestock talker, a dog or by simply increasing our body movement to help us get the response we want.

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As you can see when we walk through the sheep quietly and calmly that they move away from us. This distance is referred to as a flight zone. You can clearly see that the flight zone around us is perfectly round. By increasing our movement we can increase the distance of the flight zone between us and the animals. The more movement, the bigger the distance. If we take the movement away, the distance will get smaller. The flight zone is always round and this helps us to understand that sheep move around us in a curve. Sheep should be returned to their paddocks in the same quiet, steady manner that they were moved from their paddock.

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It is a good idea moving stock to the same or different paddock to take them to water before you leave them. Before you leave them make sure that the livestock are calm and settled. This is very important.

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Narrator: Boyd Holden – livestock handler

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Having an understanding of livestock behaviour and the principles that influence their movement is the primary driver in communicating with animals. There are many aids to assist you in moving livestock.

These aids are commonly referred to as goads, implements or tools. Their purpose is to help you move the livestock to where you want them to go. They should not be the primary means of moving the livestock.

These aids include paddles, flappers, flags and dogs. While some aids make noise, a good livestock aid’s primary effect should be visual. This is referring to the position of the aid in relation to the animal’s point of balance and flight zones, individually and as a herd.

The aid is an extension of the handler’s body so it can assist in applying and releasing pressure to the animal by its proximity to the animal. Increased movement of the aid can also assist to increase the movement and flow of the livestock.

The visual aid can be used to accentuate the handler’s position when using parallel movement to move stock along the race.

Dogs are a great tool to help move livestock from mustering in the paddock, moving stock from yard to yard, into sheds and along races. Good working dogs have natural instinctive ability to work livestock effectively. These dogs have been selected for these desirable characteristics providing valuable assistance to the livestock industry. Dogs influence or move livestock in several ways.

Firstly, they influence livestock by being a predator. This means that by their mere presence they can influence the behaviour of animals. In addition an effective dog uses movement, applying and releasing pressure and parallel movement to influence livestock to where we want them to go. Remember, the handler must always remain in control of the dog.

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