Quantifying disease and production

There are various sources of information on the disease and production status of a farm.

a. On-farm observation:

• Observation of the disease conditions on a farm. For example, a prevalence of lameness can be assessed by observing a sample of the animals walking past an observer

b. Medicine records: records of medicine used for sick animals

c. Mortality records: records of any deaths of animals

d. Production records: records of production performance such as growth and fertility rates or milk yield

e. Abattoir findings: may give information on chronic husbandry conditions. For example, the prevalence of old fractures in laying hens is related to husbandry conditions