Livestock auctions are a cornerstone of local agricultural commerce. They are not just a place to buy and sell livestock but also serve as a point of access to the larger national marketplace for the local producer. Collectively, livestock auctions provide legal security for financial transactions. They also become the point of price discovery to determine the real value of the livestock marketed.
However, much like travelers in an airport, bringing together animals from many different locations can result in the spread of bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Additionally, the process of trucking animals to the facility, comingling them with animals from other locations, and then transporting them to their next destination creates stress that increases their susceptibility to new pathogens. This fact sheet provides general recommendations on the initial management of newly acquired livestock purchased from a local livestock auction. Included are specific recommendations for the different species of livestock/poultry may be implemented after consultation with your veterinarian.
Work with Your Veterinarian
Whether it is your first time purchasing an animal from a local livestock auction, or it is your common practice, work with your veterinarian to develop a plan to manage the health of newly acquired animals. A veterinarian knows the risks associated with introducing a new animal into your herd or flock and can guide you on implementing vaccination and preventative medicine programs that help integrate new animals into your management style. Although all livestock sold through auction markets are inspected by animal health technicians, it is best to have your veterinarian follow up with their own evaluation.
Quarantine New Arrivals
You should assume that any animal new to your farm can transmit an illness or pest to your resident herd or flock. Although an animal may appear healthy, they may not show signs of a newly acquired disease for some time. Quarantine of new animals provides time to evaluate the new animals’ health status, integrate them into your management system, acclimate them to your feeding program, and implement your herd/flock health program. Quarantine involves isolation, separation, and traffic control to ensure that pathogens and pests are not transmitted to your resident livestock. A 30-day quarantine is generally recommended to allow enough time for animals to show signs of any illness/disease they have been exposed to since leaving their farm of origin.
The quarantine area can be a pen or pasture where the new animal is separated from the rest of the herd or flock. It should prevent physical contact between other animals and ideally be downwind to prevent environmental transfer. Pens and all animal husbandry supplies should be prepared before new animals arrive at the farm. All feed pans and feeding equipment, waterers, and other livestock supplies should be washed and sanitized before use. Once the new animal(s) arrive they should be the last group worked during daily chores, and you should change clothes and clean your boots after attending to them.
Provide Fresh Water Immediately
Once a new animal is home, the first priority should be to give them access to fresh, clean water. Accounting for the transport time to the sale barn, time spent at the sale barn, and transport back to your farm, some animals may spend 48 hours or more without drinking. Even short-term water restriction can cause severe dehydration and compromise an animal’s health. Lack of water suppresses their body’s normal biological activity and increases their risk of illness.
You may not know the last time an animal had a drink, or how water was supplied at its previous home. Young calves, foals, kids, and lambs may have drunk only from a bottle and may not be familiar with drinking water from a bucket or a pan. Older animals may never have drunk from an automatic waterer. Closely monitor new animals—if they are not drinking, offer them water in a different way or add electrolytes to the water to encourage drinking. More information on the importance of water in livestock production along with estimated water needs is available in the Ohio State University Extension fact sheet, Water Effects and Livestock Performance (ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ANR-13) (Landefeld & Bettinger, 2003).
It is important to be able to recognize the signs of dehydration. Pigs, chickens, and horses are most susceptible to dehydration followed closely by ruminant livestock like cows, sheep, and goats.
Signs of dehydration
- Tight skin
If you pinch and tent the skin on the neck of a dehydrated animal, it will remain tented for longer (3–4 seconds) instead of quickly returning to a smooth state. - Dry mucous membranes
The nose and eyes of the animal will be tacky or dry. - Sunken eyes
- Lethargic
The animal may stand with their head and ears down. They will generally look depressed.
Introduce Your Feed
It is unlikely that you will know what your new animal was eating prior to purchase. Ruminant animals and horses are most sensitive to abrupt changes in the ingredients and quality of their feed. This is even true of the quality of the pasture they may have been grazing. Consider if they were provided with grain at their previous home.
If new animals are allowed to graze, all new cattle, horses, sheep, and goats should be restricted to quality, long-stem hay at arrival. They may be very hungry and the dry hay will prevent them from overeating on grain or lush pastures and limit their digestive upsets. Once you have observed them eating, turn them out to pasture, provided they remain quarantined for the first 30 days. In the case of horses, it may be necessary to restrict the initial amount of time they are allowed to graze. They can be turned out three to four times each day, for one to two hours at a time, or you can put a grazing muzzle on them to control when they graze (Hiney & Gilliam, 2017). Also provide a species-appropriate mineral mix. Ideally this is a loose mineral where you can monitor consumption.
If the animal has a low body-condition score, gradually introduce a grain supplement. Start with a small amount of supplement and gradually increase the amount offered. If transitioning to a full grain diet, the transition should take place over a two-week period. It is important to know how to determine the body-condition score for the species you raise. The goal is for the animals to be well fleshed, with adequate muscle mass, and an alert disposition.
Pigs and poultry should be fed a complete feed, appropriate for their size and stage of production. If they are being transitioned to a self-feeder, offer them smaller meals for the first week before allowing them continuous access to grain. Hand feeding smaller meals for the first few days will allow you to monitor if they are eating.
Vaccination and Internal/External Parasite Control
Work with your veterinarian to develop a health plan for new animals. Animals should be transitioned to the same health program as the rest of your livestock. This requires you to administer the same vaccines to new animals as are being administered to resident animals. The timing of vaccinations is very important. Vaccines are intended to be given to healthy animals to build their immune system. Stressed animals or those with compromised health will have a poor response to vaccines. Work with your veterinarian to develop a plan that details the vaccines to use and when to administer them.
A program should be implemented for control of internal and external parasites. Your veterinarian can develop a plan for parasite control specific to your farm that may include topical, systemic, or a combination of products to treat new arrivals for intestinal worms and protozoa, as well as controlling flies, lice, and other external parasites.
New Animal Presale Checklist
- Work with your veterinarian to develop a new animal health/management plan.
- Identify a quarantine area (pen or pasture).
- Sanitize the pen floor with hydrated lime and a bed pen.
- Clean and sanitize all feeders, waterers, and other animal husbandry supplies.
New Animal Arriving Home Checklist (upon arrival or within first seven days)
- Immediately place new animals in quarantine area.
- Upon arrival, provide fresh, clean, accessible water.
- Upon arrival, provide ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) and horses with quality, long-stemmed hay. Provide pigs and poultry complete feed.
- Provide a complete mineral appropriate for the type of animal.
- Provide a permanent identification tag. Do not remove any official identification (i.e., 840 EID tags) already in place.
- Collect any samples for health testing (blood, urine, fecal) if necessary. FAMACHA score small ruminants (sheep and goats).
- Wash and sanitize the truck and trailer prior to hauling other livestock.
- Change clothing and footwear prior to working with other animals. Wash clothing separate from other laundry.
Checklist for Tasks Needed Prior to Introducing New Animals to Resident Livestock
- Quarantine for 30 days (or as directed by your veterinarian) and maintain strict traffic control.
- Monitor eating, drinking, and behavior of new livestock.
- Monitor for illness and parasite infestation.
- Have your veterinarian perform a physical examination.
- Vaccinate and administer animal health products for treating internal/external parasites.
References
Hiney, K., & Gilliam, L. (2017). Refeeding the poorly conditioned horse [Fact sheet]. Oklahoma State University Extension.
extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/refeeding-the-poorly-conditioned-horse.html
Landefeld, M., & Bettinger, J. (2003). Water effects and livestock performance [Fact sheet]. Ohioline, Ohio State University Extension.
ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ANR-13