pre practical lessons

Question 1

what aspects of facilities improve pig handling?

Answer 1

keeping the floor surface the same, not leaving items in the walkways

Question 2

advantages of pig boards?

Answer 2

• brightly coloured, so easily seen by the pig
• solid, good visual barrier and also physical barrier if needed
• not frequently used, so they’re unfamiliar enough to get a response but don’t trigger stress

Question 3

safe handling techniques for pigs?

Answer 3

low stress handling (they have really good memory).
moving them in small groups (individually = stressful, big groups = increased heart rate/respiration rate/fighting and injuries etc)

Question 4

why do you want to avoid changes in flooring or objects on the floor of an alley when moving pigs?

Answer 4

poor depth perception, their binocular vision (straight ahead) is questionable - they also use smell, and will need a moment to smell things before moving past it to ensure it’s not a threat

Question 5

what does it mean when a pig has it’s ears raised?

Answer 5

that it’s actively tracking a potential threat, pigs point their ears at what they’re paying attention to

Question 6

common pig moving tools?

Answer 6

pig boards (hold tight to the ground) and pig paddles - both create visual barriers

Question 7

two of the most common causes of aggression?

Answer 7

fear, primarily, and pain

Question 8

what could happen if low stress handling is not used?

Answer 8

• injury to yourself and others (loss of money and work days)
• the animal’s behaviour being made worse, not better
• the animal’s life being endangered (euthanasia is used as a result of behavioural issues sometimes)

Question 8

true or false - do non force based methods of training and restraint work better and last longer, with an added bonus of making it easier to do your job?

Answer 8

yupppp :)

Question 8

visual cat communication - what is it mainly used for?

Answer 8

regulating aggressive behaviour, whether that be offensive or defensive. also used in friendly interactions

Question 9

vocal cat interactions - what are the four main types

Answer 9

1. agonistic (growls yowls snarls hisses etc, typical angry cat
2. sexual? okay then
3. mother-young (usually trills or chirrups, aww)
4. cat-human (miaows, and/or trills and chirrups)

Question 10

what is the main role of purring in cat communication?

Answer 10

it indicates that the cat is asking for contact and care.
other uses, not primary - friendly greetings, or when seriously ill or in extreme pain. might still purr with bad welfare :(

Question 11

what are olfactory (sense of smell) messages in cats?

Answer 11

urine spraying, claw scratching, tactile rubbing.
these last over a period of time and give messages to other cats remotely.

Question 12

what is the social system in domesticated cats, and issues with this?

Answer 12

domestic cats have a simple, female based, semi-social system.
this means the default is to show hostility towards unfamiliar cats (interpreted as a threat to resource availability)

Question 13

what is affiliative behaviours in cats, and what do they do?

Answer 13

mixing scents, in particular, to create a social group odour, are likely to be stable and relaxed individually. it helps cement their relationship with each other

Question 14

true or false - do cats avoid situations that may result in physical aggression and DO NOT have obvious signs for diffusing conflict and reconciling?

Answer 14

true

Question 15

what do cats do in conflict situations, as a first choice?

Answer 15

they choose to use distance maintaining behaviours to diffuse tension and keep strangers at bay

Question 16

is aggression a sign, and an outward manifestation of an emotional state experienced by the animal, or an emotion itself?

Answer 16

it’s a sign

Question 17

what is the sequence of aggression in cats? in order

Answer 17

1. escape or avoidance
2. freeze/inhibition
3. threatening behaviours
4. attack

Question 18

what are five signs of aggression in cats?

Answer 18

• tail twitching
• flattening of the ears
• stiffening
• dilation of pupils/narrowing of pupils
• hissing and or spitting

Question 19

in regard to cats, what do the following have in common? semi social, hostile towards unfamiliar cats, intense aggression towards strangers, do not have obvious signals for diffusing conflict/reconciling, distance maintaining behaviours, affiliative behaviours

Answer 19

these are features of normal cat behaviour that dictate how we handle them

Question 20

when should you assess the behaviour of a cat?

Answer 20

prior to handling them

Question 21

in cats, what is slight or major crouching, dilated eyes, eyes turned back with a furrowed brow, staring and focused on an object, hiding and looks half asleep, laying on side with tail flicking, hair raised staring with ears turned back, walking with flat back tail down head down, ready to jump off perch, and suddenly excessively grooming all a sign of?

Answer 21

body language of feline anxiety

Question 22

what are the two most common uses for cephalic venepuncture?

Answer 22

giving drugs into the vein, and placing a catheter

Question 23

what is the lateral saphenous vein in cats used for?

Answer 23

catheter placement

Question 24

what is the medial saphenous vein used for?

Answer 24

blood collection

Question 25

when should a scarf wrap be used for a cat?

Answer 25

for cats who don’t like having their heads covered, have respiratory difficulties or are stressed

Question 26

when should a full burrito wrap be used for cats?

Answer 26

for cats that like to hide, ie more timid cats that feel safer with their heads covered

Question 27

what does the full burrito wrap allow you to do?

Answer 27

listen to the cat’s heart, palpate the abdomen, perform a cystocentesis, perform a medial saphenous venepuncture, or examine a cat’s back end

Question 28

how can a sheep’s vision help a handler restrain it?

Answer 28

sheep have a blind spot of 90 degrees behind their head, the handler can use it to approach a sheep to get close enough to catch it and restrain it

Question 29

where are the two balance points of sheep?

Answer 29

one runs across the sheep’s shoulders, one along it’s spine

Question 30

true or false - do sheep tend to move in the opposite direction to handler movement?

Answer 30

true

Question 31

what are the four principles of working with sheep?

Answer 31

1. position (always working animals on the side …of the mob?)
2. pressure - whatever pressure is applied must be released
3. movement (increasing or decreasing)
4. communication (both with the sheep and other handlers

Question 32

what can you use parallel movement for? sheep :)

Answer 32

drafting animals from pen to pen, to count animals and to move animals along a race

Question 33

true or false - does walking alongside sheep slow them down and walking in the same direction speed them up?

Answer 33

true (surprisingly?)

Question 34

what are sheep described to do instinctively (parallel movement?), and why do they do it?

Answer 34

curve around us, so they can always see us/keep us out of their blind spot for as long as possible

Question 35

how can you make a sheep walk backwards?

Answer 35

by putting a hand under their chin and lifting their head up (a hand under the chin is restraint)

Question 36

what makes the sheep try and fight you while training to restrain it?

Answer 36

putting your thumb over their nose, they are obligate nose breathers (can only breathe through their nose)

Question 37

what piece of blood sampling equipment can be resused?

Answer 37

the needle holder

Question 37

at what angle should the needle be when inserting it into the vein of the sheep?

Answer 37

20-30 degrees

Question 37

what angle can a sheep see when it has it’s head down grazing?

Answer 37

360 degrees

Question 38

most commonly used injection to give vaccinations in sheep?

Answer 38

subcutaneous

Question 39

what age is weaning for lambs usually?

Answer 39

12-14 weeks

Question 40

what age is tailing, castration, ear nocking usually done in lambs?

Answer 40

3-6 weeks

Question 41

what are the six ways to tell the difference between alpacas and llamas?

Answer 41

1. size (llamas are much bigger)
2. ears (alpacas have straight, pointed ears, llamas have long banana shaped ones
3. face (alpacas have blunt noses with lots of fur, llamas have longer noses and much less fur on their faces
4. personality (alpacas - shy flock animals, llamas are independent and confident)
5. fleece (alpaca - fine, soft. llama - course)
6. purpose (alpacas bred for fleece, llamas are work/pack/guard animals)