Protecting Your Livestock: Common Farm Animal Diseases

Healthy livestock forms the foundation of every successful farming operation. Whether you manage a poultry house, operate a swine barn, or run a dairy herd, keeping animals healthy is key to productivity, food safety, and profitability. Unfortunately, infectious diseases can spread rapidly through farms, especially when animals are kept in close quarters. Understanding the most common diseases and how to prevent them is one of the best investments poultry, swine, and dairy producers can make.

Below is an overview of some of the most frequently encountered diseases affecting birds, pigs, and dairy cattle, along with practical steps to keep your operation disease-free.

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Avian influenza, often called “bird flu,” is one of the most serious diseases in poultry production. It is caused by influenza type A viruses, which vary in severity. Highly pathogenic strains can spread quickly and cause sudden death in flocks.
Common signs include coughing, nasal discharge, swelling around the head and eyes, and a sharp drop in egg production.

Prevention:

• Minimize contact between domestic birds and wild waterfowl.
• Rodents can transport avian influenza from the outside into your building. Maintain a rodent control program that involves 2-3 active ingredient rotation and fresh rodenticide placements both interior & exterior. For more information read our Rodent Control Best Practices.
• Seal up buildings using Xcluder Rodent Proofing products to prevent or reduce unwanted vectors from entering your buildings.
• Enforce strict biosecurity practices, including disinfecting footwear, clothing, and equipment.
• Report any sudden or unexplained deaths to veterinary authorities immediately.

Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)
Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by influenza A viruses, like those that infect humans and birds. It spreads through direct contact or airborne droplets. Symptoms in pigs include coughing, nasal discharge, fever, and reduced appetite. While most pigs recover, outbreaks can reduce growth rates, increase feed costs, and impact overall productivity. Because rodents can spread contaminated feed and waste between pens, they can indirectly help move respiratory pathogens throughout a facility, reinforcing the need for consistent rodent management.

Prevention:

• Implement all-in/all-out management systems. This means moving groups of pigs in and out of facilities together, followed by thorough cleaning and disinfection before introducing new animals. This approach helps break the disease cycle and reduces viral persistence between groups.
• Maintain proper ventilation and avoid overcrowding to reduce stress and improve air quality, which lowers respiratory infections.
• Implement vaccination programs recommended by your veterinarian.
• Ensure staff follow hygiene protocols between barns, including disinfecting boots, clothing, and equipment to prevent cross-contamination.
• Integrate rodent control as part of herd health management. Rodents can spread contaminated material such as dust, feces, and feed between pens, indirectly transmitting respiratory pathogens like influenza. Regular monitoring, bait station maintenance, and removal of feed spillage will help reduce rodent activity and limit cross-contamination.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)
Foot-and-Mouth is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, pigs, and goats. It causes fever and painful blisters on the mouth, tongue, and feet, leading to drooling and lameness, and production loss. While it rarely kills animals, FMD can devastate dairy milk yield and swine weight gain, leading to major economic losses. Rodents, while not direct carriers of the FMD virus, can mechanically transport the pathogen on their fur, feet, or droppings, spreading it from contaminated to clean areas, highlighting the importance of rodent control within FMD prevention programs.

Prevention:

• Maintain strict biosecurity practices and isolate new or returning animals and ensure they come from reputable sources with verified health status.
• Restrict movement of people, vehicles, and feed between farms to minimize chance of virus introduction and spread.
• Ensure disinfection of equipment, clothing, and footwear when moving between animal areas.
• Include rodents in your overall biosecurity plan. Implement perimeter baiting, eliminate clutter and vegetation around buildings, and inspect feed storage areas regularly. Use rodent-proof materials to block access points and maintain a clean environment that discourages nesting.
• Report any suspected cases immediately – early detection limits spread.

Protecting poultry, swine, and dairy animals from diseases starts with knowledge and proactive care. Strong biosecurity practices such as controlling farm access, disinfecting equipment, and isolating new or sick animals, form the first line of defense. An often-overlooked aspect of biosecurity is rodent control. Rodents can spread disease-causing pathogens and create unsanitary conditions for livestock. Including a rodent management program as part of your overall biosecurity plan helps prevent unnecessary illnesses and protects animal health. Alongside these measures, vaccination programs play a vital role in building herd immunity and preventing major outbreaks before they begin. For more information regarding what a rodent management program should look like for your operation, read our Rodent Control Reference Guide.

Even well-managed farms can face health challenges. That’s why maintaining a close partnership with a veterinarian or animal health specialist is essential. Routine herd and flock health checks, lab testing, and early intervention not only reduce losses but also safeguard the wider agricultural community. Should you lose your flock or herd to a disease, following our Downtime Baiting Procedures can help keep rodents at bay when barns are not occupied by production animals.

By combining preventive practices, professional guidance, and a commitment to animal welfare, poultry, swine, and dairy producers can create healthier, more resilient operations. Healthy animals lead to higher productivity, better food quality, and a stronger, more sustainable livestock industry for everyone.

Visit our resource page to learn more about keeping your animals healthy or contact us to connect with an animal health expert.