Elements and Performance Criteria

The Range of Variables explains the contexts within which the performance and knowledge requirements of this standard may be assessed. The scope of variables chosen in training and assessment requirements may depend on the work situations available.

What practices can influence diseases?
Disease may be influenced by management practices such as wild bird exclusion, vaccination, maintaining bait stations for rodents, replacing sanitisers in footbaths, laundering protective clothing, maintaining truck and other vehicle wash facilities, maintaining fencing and maintaining personal hygiene.

What practices can influence welfare?
Welfare may be influenced by management practices such as handling of livestock, water suitable for their needs, food appropriate for the physiological requirements of livestock, vaccination, and prevailing weather conditions.

What does optimal environment involve?
It involves accommodation, group sizes, stocking rates, temperature, ventilation, and sick bay.

What does temperature control equipment involve?
It may involve spray cooling, heating, and ventilation.

What are the occupational health and safety hazards that might exist?
Hazards might include:
accidental infection of skin lacerations by employees handling livestock
accidental inoculation or stabbing with needles or scalpels
accidental poisoning or burning with hygiene agents
cleaning areas above head level
killed vaccines may cause severe tissue reactions in humans if accidentally injected.
These may be eliminated or minimised through:
safe operating procedures
safe manual handling systems and procedures
safe systems and procedures for outdoor work, including protection from solar radiation.

What personal protective clothing and equipment may be relevant to this standard?
This may include boots, helmet, overalls, gloves, protective eyewear, hearing protection, respirator or face mask, and sun protection (sun hat, sunscreen).

What is involved in livestock cleanliness?
It involves the hygiene of amenities and facilities, fly control and tidiness, sweeping, dusting in all work areas, lawn and environment maintenance, checking incoming equipment for cleanliness (such as hatchery fillers).

What dictates the outbreak of exotic diseases and what determines quarantine and control strategies?
In the case of emergency disease outbreaks, legislative requirements will dictate the quarantine and control strategies that must be implemented. Some sheds draw product and materials from several locations and can spread disease back to organisations if equipment is not cleaned adequately.

What pests and vermin might need to be controlled?
Pests and vermin may include flies, other insects, birds and other vertebrate pests such as mice, rats, feral cats, foxes and dogs.

What agents do disease prevention procedures use?
Such agents as vaccines, sprays, medicated feed and water, nutrient drenches and injections, antibiotics and therapeutic drugs.

What medications may be administered?
Medications include vaccines, antibiotics and other prescribed medicines.

What forms may vaccination include?
Vaccination is carried out by several methods, depending on the disease, including injection, water, spraying, stabbing.

What is required to enable laboratory testing?
Swabs and samples for laboratory testing are collected and packed as required including blood and tissue together with routine swabs.

How is treatment of disease determined?
The primary cause of disease may be difficult to detect and the symptoms are often treated. Treatments may include vaccination, medicating water, adding medication to feed, euthanasia.

What relevant information might be recorded and reported?
Dates, times and periods of operation and maintenance, livestock numbers, chemicals and other substances used, including quantities and methods, and readings from temperature and flow-rate gauges.

Why is sample collection necessary?
Sample collection is often a result of verbal instructions from employer, unit manager or veterinary staff. Samples required for disease diagnosis may vary depending upon the disease, and livestock type or breed.

How might information be documented?
Recordkeeping systems used may be either paper-based or digital, and information will be recorded into logbooks or other records.

What evidence is required to demonstrate competence for this standard as a whole?
Competence in maintaining health of livestock in an intensive production environment requires evidence that livestock remain at optimum health and that outbreaks of disease are minimised through the effective use of hygiene and quarantine procedures. Competence in maintaining welfare of livestock in intensive production environments requires evidence that livestock are looked after and that problems are minimised through effective use of livestock knowledge and handling skills.
The skills and knowledge required to maintain good health and welfare of livestock in an intensive production environment must be transferable to a different work environment. For example, across a range of breeds and classes of livestock, and a range of shed and production system types.
What specific knowledge is needed to achieve the performance criteria?

Knowledge and understanding are essential to apply this standard in the workplace, to transfer the skills to other contexts and to deal with unplanned events. The knowledge requirements for this competency standard are listed below:

symptoms of ill-health in livestock
the range of diseases affecting the class and age of livestock
vaccination programs, vaccines and mode of action in use in the organisation
zoonotic diseases and mode of transmission
environmental controls and codes of practice applicable to the enterprise
relevant occupational health and safety legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
portability of water
quality of feed
how to handle livestock
signs of fear/aggression in livestock
signs of stress in livestock
safe handling of sick and dead livestock
euthanasia of livestock

What specific skills are needed to achieve the performance criteria?

To achieve the performance criteria, appropriate literacy and numeracy levels as well as some complementary skills are required. These include the ability to:

accurately assess livestock numbers
complete worksheets clearly and accurately
detect possibility of disease through livestock behaviour and appetite
recognise clinical symptoms (normal vs. abnormal)
recognise symptoms of fear, aggression and stress
survey workplace for hygiene and occupational health and safety issues
observe, identify and react appropriately to environmental implications and occupational health and safety hazards.

Are there other competency standards that could be assessed with this one?
This competency standard

Essential Assessment Information
There is essential information about

There are a number of processes that are learnt throughout work and life which are required in all jobs. They are fundamental processes and generally transferable to other work functions. Some of these are covered by the key competencies, although others may be added. The questions below highlight how these processes are applied in this competency standard. Following each question a number in brackets indicates the level to which the key competency needs to be demonstrated where 0 = not required, 1 = perform the process, 2 = perform and administer the process and 3 = perform, administer and design the process.
Communicating ideas and information
In interpreting and clarifying the work that is to be done and the specific requirements that there are for a particular situation. (1)

Collecting analysing and organising information
In working with information that details feed amounts and times of feeding, medication records, livestock losses, stocking rates, shed temperatures, stocking rates, and other details critical to the health and welfare of the livestock. (2)

Planning and organising activities
In preparing to administer medications according to the schedules provided. (1)

Working with others and in teams
When working alongside other operators to ensure that required team outcomes are achieved. (1)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
In calculating ratios, percentages, and amounts required when dealing with medications and other chemical compounds. (2)

Solving problems
In providing an optimal environment including temperature control and ventilation rates. Also to ensure that stocking rates for the season are adjusted appropriately. (2)

Using technology
In measuring and calculating amounts required when dealing with either medications or cleaning compounds. (1)