OK I am confused when I was younger I lived on a farm and we had to give our livestock antibiotics to keep?

Question

them from getting sick so how do they do it now? I mean I hear on the Tv that they want to do away with all animals that are treated with antibiotics and grow them naturaly so how will we keep the animals from getting diseases if we dont give them shots?

Answer 1

Like she said "free range" and "organic" is basically a bunch of hooey. But in small farms where every animal is cared for individually the animals that are all-natural are given remedies, most commonly based from herbs.

I would like to note to the person with the rabbits that, it is not called pneumonia in rabbits but snuffles- or pastuerella multicoda, and butchering them ASAP is key.

Answer 2

don't believe T.V there many microorganism in the nature .and some of them are pathogens so they may infect other living things we have some ways to prevent infection

1-vaccinate animals.

2-clean the living environment of animals.

3-produce some animals which are resistant against diseases.

4-give them medicin after infectiom.

Answer 3

There will be increased loss due to illness. This loss will include death and lower growth due to illness.

There will be a need for good sanitation practices, isolation of suspect animals, and proper feed/watering.

Notice how when repsonding to bird flu out breaks, flocks are distroyed, travel between farms is limited and they wash dust off cars and tractors that travel between farmss, markets etc.

Testing is still allowed so animals at auction will be tested before you purchase them.

Vaccines uisng dead germs will be allowed as they occur naturally and only stimulate the normal immune response.

Answer 4

Sickness in livestock on farms is almost always caused by improper conditions.  

There can be rare circumstances where a wild animal brings in a disease to your livestock, but most often it is because of sanitation, and/or overcrowing conditions on the farm.

I'm a small farmer.  I raise meat goats, and meat rabbits.  I also have working farm dogs, and horses.

My dogs live into their mid to late teens.  My horses live into their 30's.  I keep everyone in good health to begin with.

I've owned horses for over 30 years.  In all that time I've had to administer antibiotics to them exactly three times....all for wounds/injury.

If my rabbits were ever getting sick (has not happened yet) I'd change my management practices immediatly, rather than antibiotics.  Every sick rabbit would be immediatly butchered.  Hutches, water bottles, and feeders would be sterilized with a bleach and water sollution.  Better ventalation would be immediatly given to the rabbits.  Food would be checked to make sure their was zero mold.  Rabbits are terribly prone to pnuemonia.  I've never had pnuemonia in my rabbit herd yet.

I've given goats antibiotics a couple of times.  Not the entire herd, just an individual.  Goats are also terrible prone to pnuemonia.  

Does (female goats) that get pnuemonia are culled from the herd.  It leaves behind hardier stock, with better resistance to pnuemonia.  Same for the bucks.

Goats only have three sided shelters....this allows plenty of constant fresh air, and keeps them better adapted to the outside temperature, while still providing them shelter from wind/rain/snow/heat.

By continuing year after year to select the best stock, with great mother abilities, zero kidding problems, no health problems, good resistance to worms, great hooves, good teeth, ability to withstand the heat and cold (live in the desert), I continue to build a herd that is healthier, stornger and better adapted to my climate year after year.  

I vaccinate the adult does and bucks.  Kids are never vaccinated.

Vaccination (for CD&T) of course are NOT the same as antibiotics.  My livestock have developed immune systems.  They do not depend on antibiotics to keep them from dropping dead.

They are also fed "normal" and healthy diets.  I do not feed the goats grains of any kind.  They wouldn't normally eat grain in the wild.  The grain would mess with the PH of their rumen, and make them much more prone to contracting disease.  Instead they survive on pasture, clean hay, water, salt/mineral blocks.  No corn, no silage...nothing weird, or contrived.  Note: they do recieve squeezings from rapeseed once a year when we harvest and make our oil for out biofuel.

Animals that are fed un-natural diets, kept in close, stressful confinement, do not have access to fresh air, and sunshine, and have not been bred for health and vigor, but rather the fastest possible growth....well they just do not have a chance.

Mimic nature, feed your livestock naturally, keep them moving to new clean pastures, and they will THRIVE!

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

P.S.  If you are talking about animals like the commercially raised "free range" chickens, well they are a joke, and of course commercial producers have come up with ways to meet consumer demand.

The commercial producers had rules written so the "free range organic" chickens could be kept inside for the first 6 weeks of their life, under the therory they are too small, and might catch a chill.

So for the first six weeks of their life, they are raised exatly the same as any other mass produced chicken.  In giant, overcrowded chicken houses.  Only difference is they are reciving no antibiotics in their feed, so the producers pray they will not contract a disease, and of course they keep them in chicken houses that were very nearly sterile when they first put the chicks in.  They also only go into the chicken houses in bio-suits, and walk through foot baths.  Those chickens have no immune systems....they are just trying to make sure they have no germs/disease introduced.

Then at the end of the first 6 weeks of their life, they become "free range."  The little door to the chicken house is opened, so the chickens can take their first steps out onto the ground, and have access to sunshine, grasss, bugs, and room to roam.  Except chickens are suspicious creatures and creatures of habbit.  The producers know perfectly well that by the time a chicken reaches 6 weeks of age it's habbits are completely ingrained.  The chicken knows where the food and water are....inside the chicken house.  So the "free range" chickens NEVER set foot outside, even though the little door is open!  At eight weeks of age, they are done growing, and sent off for slaughter (that's how fast they grow).  They have never set foot outside...not even once....so much for "free range organic" chicken.

Instead of trying to build up herds and flocks with strong immune systems  commercial producers are doing the exact opposite.  They are taking extreme messures to make sure no germs or disease are introduced to the livestock.

Before the next flock of chicks are put in the chicken house, it will be stripped and sterilized.  Oh yes, they will also mow the grass in their free range area.  

Things like this are also done for the larger animals, like cattle and pigs.  Completely pathetic.

P.P.S.  I do know that pnuemonia in rabbits is called snuffles- or pastuerella.  However if you call it snuffles, the general public thinks your just talking cutsie bunny talk, and nobody knows what pasturella is.

Answer 5

Did you give you animals to keep them from getting sick or were they showing signs of sickness once the antibiotic was administered?

Animals raised for slaughter are not to be given an antibiotic within so many days of slaughter to ensure that no residual antibiotics are in the muscle.  Antibiotics should only be used as a treatment and not a preventative method.

Take poultry for example...they are given vaccinations at hatch and before hatch to keep them from getting viruses and antibiotics are hardly ever used once in the field unless the flock has come down with a bacterial disease.  THEY ARE NEVER USED AS A GROWTH PROMOTANT!!

Growth promoting antibiotics is what they are trying to prevent the use of.