Animals are part of the wider whenua system, not separate from it. Their wellbeing reflects the feed, water, shelter and handling around them - and it flows back the other way: well-cared-for stock grow better, get sick less, damage pasture and wai less, and are easier on the people working with them.
The best welfare tool is your own eye, used daily. Animals tell you how they are - these checks help you read them.
Your ticks are saved on this device, so you can check things off as you go.
Good stockmanship is mostly rhythm: the same checks, done often, by people who know what normal looks like for this mob on this whenua.
A regular routine - daily look, weekly closer check, seasonal hands-on scoring - catches problems while they're still cheap and small.
Diverse pastures feed the animal and the soil at once. Herbs and legumes lift minerals and protein, and some (like chicory) measurably reduce worm burdens in young stock.
Reticulated troughs beat stream access for stock and wai alike. Check them like you check feed - clean, flowing and one in every paddock of the rotation.
Plant for the animals of ten years from now: shelterbelts across the prevailing wind, shade trees in the big paddocks, and yards that aren't a heat trap in summer.
Combine egg counts, grazing management (rest breaks worm cycles too) and targeted drenching of the animals that need it - rather than blanket-drenching the whole mob.
Records turn one person's memory into whānau knowledge. They also make vet conversations, audits and handovers between workers far easier.
Tap a practice to see how and why it works.
The assessments and practice guides that support Tiaki Kararehe live in our resources library.