Genuine closed herds are uncommon as most producers have purchased or agisted livestock at some time.
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If you consider the time and money spent keeping your herd healthy, add up the investment you have made and consider the steps you should take to protect this investment and prevent the introduction of disease.
Diseases are commonly introduced into herds by the introduction of livestock. Once introduced, they can potentially have a major impact on the health and saleability of the herd, as well as take time, effort and money to control or eradicate.
Practicing good farm hygiene and biosecurity assists to keep diseases off your property.
It also assists to prevent the spread of disease from your herd to another.
If your herd is known or suspected to have an infectious disease, you have a duty of care to ensure that other herds are not placed at risk of infection through your action or inaction.
The risk of introducing a disease can be minimised by obtaining a thorough history of the livestock to be introduced.
Background inquiries could include: Did the vendor breed them? Is the vendor's herd closed? Has the vendor provided a declaration relating to the disease status of the properties on which the livestock have been kept? Are the livestock derived from a tested or accredited herd? What is their drenching and vaccination history?
Once the livestock are on your property, it is highly recommended that you quarantine the newly purchased livestock in a separate area.
During the quarantine period, the introduced livestock can be monitored for diseases, including parasites.
It also offers you the ideal time to drench and vaccinate before introduction to the rest of your property and your herd.
To help manage your property's biosecurity risks, it is essential to have your boundary securely fenced.