Do you keep or plan to keep animals in your home? If so, there are many things you may need to understand about animal management. Animal management involves taking care of the animals as per their required needs. It consists of providing the right environment, housing, and also their wellbeing. According to statistics, most people who keep these animals do not understand how to manage them well. They don’t provide the proper housing, the right food, and other services as required. This article will discuss some impact facts that are essential in animal management. Please read on to find out more.
1. The physical environment
When rearing an animal, you have to consider its immediate physical environment. The microenvironment refers to the primary enclosure, which needs to accommodate the animal comfortably. It needs to have the right temperature, air, humidity, and a good air composition to enable the animal to thrive well in that environment.
The macro-environment represents the barn, room, or outside environment accessed by the animal. The professionals behind tepari.com explain that your animal should have a structure that provides all these essentials and must fit the animal’s behavior. If your pet is a climbing animal, the facility must provide this movement and so on. You have to ensure the micro and the macro environment in your homestead are suitable for the animal at all times. When it comes to housing, you have to follow the below rules:
- It should allow an animal’s specific behavioral and physiological needs to occur, including urination and defecation.
- It should allow social interaction between animals
- Animals should remain clean and dry
- There should be no sharp edges or projections that may cause injuries to the animals
- The structure should allow close monitoring of the animal without causing much disturbance.
The folks over at happyfarmyard.com say that the animals at home must have a proper structure that provides naturalistic environments and must have an excellent space to fit the animals comfortably. The structures should also be well illuminated and must be free from any noise.
2. Behavioral Management
Depending on the animal you are rearing, you should do the structure to enhance its behavioral management. For example, depending on the animal, the structure should have cages, perches, nesting materials, foraging devices, swings, and much more. The environment must be conducive for the species to exhibit their natural behavior for their wellbeing. Also, it would be best if you took care of the animal’s social needs. This might include social contacts and communication with other members of the same species and so on. However, not all animals are put together. Some might end up fighting, causing wounds and injuries which will hinder animal development.
Please give this a priority for activities since every animal requires physical activities to improve cognitive and social interaction. Constricted animals tend to have a more restricted activity than those left free. Ensure you give them an opportunity of exercising or being free as required.
3. Husbandry
All domesticated animals need to feed at all times with the proper feeds. Their food should be palatable, nutritious, and non-contaminated and must be given daily or according to the animal’s feeding habits. Their food should be of high quality and must not contain chemicals or other microbial elements that can affect the animal’s health. Also, it would be best if you fed the animal with feeds that correspond with their being.
Also, all animals should have access to clean, uncontaminated drinking water at all times, except for animals that don’t take water. Besides being clean and non-contaminated, the water should have the required PH, hardness, and other factors, which you must regularly check. If the water in the areas isn’t fit for animal consumption, it has to get treated before given to animals. Also, watering devices, including automatic water machines and drinking tubes, should get checked daily. They need to be clean and well maintained to ensure the animals don’t suffer inconveniences and diseases.
The animals should also have the right bedding. Beddings are among the controllable factors that can affect the animals’ well-being and growth if not taken care of. It is essential to select the suitable bedding material as per the animal and make sure their sleeping place is secured and comfortable. Also, the beddings should be removed or stored safely during cleaning to ensure they aren’t contaminated. They should also be maintained dry at all times and changed regularly.
Other things you need to consider in animal management are their sanitation, cleaning, and disinfection of their structures, waste disposal, and much more. You need to ensure the animals are healthy and comfortable under your care. It is also important to contact experts on some of the measures to ensure you get everything right.