New animals on the farm? Twenty eight days apart

The most expensive animal on your farm can be the one you just bought. Not because of its price, but because of what it might carry.

Most livestock disease shows itself within about four weeks. An animal can look perfect on sale day and be incubating something that a fortnight later is in your whole herd. The protection is old, simple and free: keep new arrivals separate from your herd for 28 days.

How to do it with what you have

• A separate kraal or camp, as far from your herd as your land allows, with no shared fence line if possible.
• Their own water and feed. Disease travels through a shared trough as easily as through a shared kraal.
• Work with them last. Tend your own herd first, the newcomers at the end of the day, so your boots and hands do not carry anything backwards.

What to watch for

Appetite, first and always. Then discharge from eyes or nose, coughing, lameness, lumps and swelling, scouring, and any animal standing apart from the others. If something looks wrong, call your vet or animal health technician before it can spread; one consultation is cheaper than a herd.

The habit that pays twice

Isolation does not only protect your herd. When you sell later, a herd with a clean health history and a farmer known for careful biosecurity is worth more, because buyers pay for confidence.