Anywhere Animal Science Activities Michigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development Copyright 2013 Michigan State University Board of Trustees DRAFT Importance of Animal Identification Identifying Apples Julie Thelen MSU Extension Educator 4-H Livestock and Veterinary Science Overview: Objectives: Skill Level: Life Skills: Setting: Time: As a way to engage 4-H youth at club meetings or events, the Anywhere Animal Science Activities lesson series is designed to aid leaders in providing sciencebased curriculum that is adaptable to 4-H youth. Youth are able to work in teams or individually to accomplish the lesson objectives while learning more about the science and life skills involved in animal and veterinary science projects. The Importance of Animal Identification Identifying Apples lesson is designed to teach youth about basic requirements for animal identification. In the interactive lesson, youth will also learn the importance of properly identification while reviewing state and federal requirements for proper animal identification. Participants will improve their observation and documentation skills. Participants will explain the importance of identifying and tracking animals. Beginner to Intermediate Communication, Keeping Records, Decision Making and Problem Solving Room with chairs arranged in a half circle and a table in the front. 20-30 minutes Materials: - One apple per participant (all apples should be similar in size and color) - Basket or box for collecting apples - Notebook paper (one piece per participant) - Writing utensil (one per participant) - Markers (two or three of different colors) - Large paper such as a poster board or three lengths of parchment paper - Easel or something to hold the large paper - Stopwatch or clock - Paper towel (optional) - Hand sanitizer (optional) Preparation: Figure 1: Sample cow ear drawing. 1. Draw a large cow ear on the piece of paper using one of the colored markers (Figure 1). 2. Place the cow drawn ear drawing on the easel or something solid to hold the image. 3. Set all apples out on the table (or hard surface) at the front of the room. 4. Make sure that each participant has a piece of notebook paper and writing utensil. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress, protected by code 18 USC 707.
Procedures: 1. Introduction: Today we are going to play a short game and review some procedures for properly identifying livestock. Through this, we will learn about the requirements and reasons that livestock need to be identified. 2. Gather participants in one area so that all participants can see the table with the apples. Pass around hand sanitizer for participants to use or have participants wash their hands. 3. Round 1: Pass out one apple to each participant. Tell them they can look at and touch their apple, but they cannot eat or puncture the apple in any way. 4. Inform the participants that they need to place their name on the paper and that they have four minutes to describe their apple on a piece of notebook paper. They may draw and/or describe in words their apple to aid in identifying it. Make sure to time the participants so that they do not go over on time. 5. Once time is up, go around to each participant and have them place their apple in the basket or box. Collect all of the apples. 6. Then, spread out all of the apples on the table (or hard surface). 7. Have about four participants at a time come up to find their apple and take it back to their seat. Rotate through to have the entire group come up to select their apple. 8. Once everyone has an apple, ask participants: Does everyone have their apple? 9. If someone responds that they do not have theirs, have the individual walk around the group and look at every apple until they think that they have found theirs. Repeat until each person is confident they have their original apple. 10. Ask participants the following question: What helped you to be able to identify your apple? 11. Have participants share their responses and then collect all of the apples again and spread them out on the table. 12. Round 2: Have participants pass their notes about their apple to the person next to them (for example: everyone passes their notes to the person to the left). Allow participants one minute to read the notes. Provide assistance to younger participants if necessary. 13. Once everyone has read the description, have four participants come up to the table to search for the apple that is described in their notes. Once the person thinks that they have the correct apple, they may return to their seat and another person can come up to try to find the apple described in the notes they were given. Repeat until all participants have an apple. 14. Once all apples are taken, have the participants ask the person whose notes they used if they have the correct apple. If they do not, have the participant who wrote the notes go attempt to find the correct apple (repeating step 9). 15. Return the notes and apple to the original owner. 16. Provide paper towel and hand sanitizer if desired. Participants may then eat their apple. 17. While participants are eating, ask a selection of the following questions to reinforce concepts (focus at least one question on a-c and two questions on d-g): 2
a. What did it feel like to not be able to find your apple? b. What did it feel like to rely on someone else s description to find their apple? c. What changed in your ability to select the correct apple? Was it easier or harder in the second round? Why? d. Why are detailed descriptions important? e. How does being able to find an apple relate to animal identification? f. What are the methods used to help identify animals? g. Why is it important to accurately identify animals? 18. Based on the discussion responses to question f, paraphrase or read to the group, the General Information about Animal Identification and General Methods of Animal Identification sections. 19. Announce to the group that now we are going to specifically look at cattle identification. 20. Select five participants to come up and draw where they think the RFID tag should go in the cow s ear you drew on the paper. Participants do not need to place their name by the mark; just an X will be fine. 21. With a different color marker, mark correctly where the tag should go using Figure 2 in the section titled, Special Mandatory Requirements for Cattle. 22. Discuss with participants why they think the tag would go there. 23. Based on the previous discussion, read or paraphrase the section titled Special Mandatory Requirements for Cattle. 24. Once the reading is complete, ask participants if they have any questions about the section. If the participants are specie specific, consider adding current news articles to strengthen the discussion. 25. Transitioning to the next specie, sheep and goat identification, ask participants the following question: What is Scrapie? 26. Select participants to share their input and then follow-up with the following or similar definition. Scrapie is a disease affecting sheep and goats that is fatal. It affects the nervous system and generally results in loss of muscle control. 27. Once participants know the definition of the disease, ask participants Why do we have to tag sheep and goats for it? 28. Based on their discussion, make sure to highlight the concept of traceability and disease eradication. Additionally, inform participants that over the last several years, great progress has been made in eradicating Scrapie through the process of properly identifying sheep and goats. 29. Once the discussion has concluded, share through paraphrasing details about identification requirements for sheep found in the Special Mandatory Requirements for Sheep section. 30. To continue, if participants are also interested in learning about pig identification, paraphrase the Ear Notching for Swine section. Additional details about ear notching can be found in the Youth Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus manual found online. 3
31. As a closing, ask participants, In addition to meeting county fair, state and federal identification requirements, how else could animal identification be utilized? 32. Responses will vary, but make sure to emphasize the importance of record keeping. For example, animal identification is needed for keeping track of treatments, breeding dates and parturition dates. With proper animal identification, general animal production practices become easier to manage. 33. As a wrap-up, challenge participants to go home and look at their own animals to make sure that they all have the proper identification requirements in Michigan. Lesson Adaptations and Extensions: 1. Advanced Participants: Challenge them to consider why animal identification is so important for cattle and sheep. Consider bringing a recent news article discussing zoonotic disease for the advanced participants. 2. Younger Participants: Allow younger participants to complete the activity in a small group where there are a fewer number of apples being searched through. Additionally, consider pairing younger youth so that they can work together. 3. Other Alternatives: a. Challenge participants to consider why animal identification is so important for cattle and sheep. Use news articles and social media to help recognize the importance of traceability. b. Consider making copies of the General Information about Animal Identification resource sheet for each participant. c. Consider using cotton balls and having participants put them in a pile and then complete procedures steps 5-10 relating to the cotton ball. In this case, participants would be given one minute to alter their cotton ball. d. To make the identification process easier, use different types of apples. e. If a snack is part of the meeting, consider using the snack provided as a way to reduce costs. Make sure all participants wash their hands before completing the activity. References and Resources: Images from: o Beef images courtesy of Dr. Dan Buskirk, MSU Department of Animal Science. o Lamb image courtesy of Brianna Matchett, Matchett Sheep Farm, Charlevoix, MI. 4
General Information about Animal Identification Animal identification is an important management tool in raising and caring for livestock. Records allow producers to track animal growth, treatment records and movement as well as respond to disease outbreak if needed. Because some animal diseases have human health implications, it is essential to properly identify animals to help prevent and eradicate diseases. Raising and caring for 4-H livestock projects require the animals to be properly identified. Most county fairs will require a tag placed in the ear of all market animals. In addition, some fairs may even pull a hair sample, take a nose print or take other means to permanently identify the animal. In addition to what the fair requires, both sheep and cattle have state and federal requirements that must be followed no matter the age of the owner. Swine projects are also unique in that most hogs are permanently identified using ear notches. Proper animal identification is more than just a requirement, it is essential in providing animal traceability. With an ever growing number of zoonotic disease (diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans), there is an increased need for livestock producers to be accountable for the locations of animals raised, purchased and sold. When identification guidelines are properly followed, like the efforts of the Scrapie program, great progress is made to eradicate diseases. General Methods of Animal Identification: In general, there are two methods of animal identification, permanent and temporary. Permanent Ear notches (Swine only) Tattoos (Cattle, Sheep and Swine) Hot Iron or Freeze Branding (Cattle only) Temporary (for Cattle, Sheep and Swine) Ear tags Paint brands Marking crayon/paint marks Back tags Special Mandatory Requirements for Cattle: Since 2007, all cattle moving to a show, sale or exhibition, are required to have an official radiofrequency identification (RFID) ear tag. This includes all out-of-state cattle exhibited in Michigan. Official RFID ear tags should never be removed from the animal except at harvest and should never be reused. If an official RFID ear tag is lost and it is necessary to retag an animal with a new official number (assigned to that premises), every effort should be made to correlate the new official number with the previous official number of the animal. When identifying cattle, the tag placement is an essential part of the identification process. When tagging cattle, the official RFID ear tag should be placed in the left ear (left side of the animal when viewed from behind). The tag should be placed between the cartilage ribs about one-fourth of the distance from the head. This site will result in the greatest retention, yet will allow for growth of the ear in immature animals. Additionally, this location will best allow for the ear to heal while decreasing probability of the animal losing the tag. Figure 2: Proper RFID placement. 5
Proper tag placement increases the ability for the tag to be read by reading devices while also reducing the possibility of animal injury as a result of tagging. Michigan RIFD Education Task Force. (2006, July) Radio Frequency Identification Ear Tag Application and Management. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from Michigan State University Extension Beef Team Website: http://beef.msu.edu/linkclick.aspx?fileticket=kdwanzul91i%3d&tabid=576. Special Mandatory Requirements for Sheep: All sheep moved within or outside of Michigan are required to be identified with an official United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Scrapie program identification tag prior to movement off the farm. It is illegal to remove official USDA individual animal identification so therefore do not remove tags prior to sale, weigh-in or exhibition. To be in compliance, sheep must have one of the following official Scrapie identifiers: A. USDA approved Scrapie tag. B. The premises ID and a unique alphanumeric individual animal ID, legibly tattooed in the ear (right ear-premises ID; left ear-individual ID) or flank. Tattoos in the tail web are permissible in earless sheep. C. A tattoo of the registration number from an approved breed registry, only if the number is printed on the registration certificate, and the Figure 3: Scrapie tag in sheep. registration certificate is with the animal. Also, USDA must be contacted to link the registration preface with the premises ID. D. Electronic ID implants are allowed, but only in registered animals from an approved breed registry, where the ID number is printed on the registration certificate. The owner must present the registration certificate and have a reader present with the animal. If the scrapie identification is not present, the exhibitor will not be able to exhibit their project. For additional questions, about scrapie identification, contact the USDA at 1-866-873-2824. Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development. Animal Industry Division. (2013, January) 2013 Health Requirements for Native Michigan Livestock Exhibited in Michigan. Retrieved September 24, 2013, from the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development website: http://www.michigan.gov/mda-exhibitinfo. Ear Notching for Swine: Although Michigan does not have a statewide required identification method for swine, ear notching is the most common practice to permanently identify pigs. Ear notching can vary from farm to farm, but is most commonly represented with the right ear identifying the litter number and the left ear identifying the individual pig number. The ears are identified by looking at the face of the pig. The notches, each symbolizing specific numbers, are added together in each ear to identify a litter number followed by an individual number. For more information about ear notching, visit the Pork Checkoff website and click on the Youth PQA Plus: Youth Manual (http://www.pork.org/filelibrary/youthpqaplus/ypqamanual.pdf). 6