The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included. |
Alternative strategies to manage flystrike susceptibility may include: | flock husbandry practices, for example: timing of lambing, crutching and shearing good worm control breech clips culling sheep with high wrinkle scores culling of previously struck sheep tail docking at an appropriate length management of dag and stain on lambs chemical and non-chemical pest management paddock grazing management enhanced breeding for flystrike resistance selection for resistant conformation selection of replacement sheep with tail length and/or breech modification which will minimise susceptibility to flystrike consider removing skin from the tail and not the breach of the sheep where conformation of the sheep means that this would achieve sufficient protection from flystrike |
Key indicators for use of mulesing may include: | property where stock are farmed is regularly subject to a high risk of breech flystrike sheep have significant wrinkle (BRWR) or wool cover (BCOV) in breech area risk of dags lambs to be mulesed are intended to be farmed as adult sheep and satisfy the above criteria |
Pre-operative evaluation of sheep may include: | optimal seasonal conditions and age when lambs should be mulesed ensuring sheep are healthy and in the best condition possible, for example: showing sound BCS (weak lambs or lambs suffering from severe disease should not be mulesed) free from diarrhoea, dags and grass seeds availability of good nutritional feed considering past experience on the individual property |
Risks associated with mulesing procedures may include: | animals with poor BCS risk of post-operative tetanus extreme environmental conditions, for example: heat, cold, rain operator limitations for example: fatigue, lack of experience poor equipment, yards and other necessary infrastructure Where such risks exist, it is recommended that the overall risks be assessed and risk mitigation put in place in the interests of animal welfare. In some cases the situation will be significant enough to be unmanageable and require deferral of the procedure. |
Weather conditions | Weather conditions for operations should be a fine, mild day. Weather conditions to be avoided include: cold weather conditions which place additional stress on lambs wet or dusty conditions which increase the risk of wound contamination windy conditions that increase the chill factor and may interfere with mothering up excessively hot conditions which can increase bleeding and stress on lambs warm, humid and showery conditions which are ideal for sheep blowfly activity Consideration of ongoing weather conditions during the recovery phase is required. |
Yards, paddocks and pastures considerations may include: | using temporary yards to reduce the distance sheep have to travel before and after mulesing setting up yards on clean, well-drained areas in the paddock avoiding muddy, manure-laden and dry, dusty areas arranging yards to include pre-operative holding and work areas ensuring holding paddock is free of contamination hazards, has sufficient water and provides adequate shelter property has a well-planned animal health and vaccination program |
Equipment may include: | cradles mulesing shears containers for wash-down, soaking and disinfecting (stainless steel recommended) registered disinfectant solutions sharpening equipment, jigs and stones chemical application equipment chemical treatments including pain relief product stored appropriately and use by dates adhered to back up systems and equipment |
Cradles may include: | a single cradle sets of cradles mounted on a steel yard panel sets of cradles mounted on a rotating frame Cradles must be well-maintained to prevent injury to sheep and operator and must be designed to: hold the lamb securely in a symmetrical position position the hind legs close enough together so that folds of skin can easily be picked up expose the rear end of the lamb in a more horizontal than vertical position release the lamb on its feet to prevent contact of the wound with the ground to prevent contamination enable effective cleaning and disinfection |
workplace health and safety standards may include: | applying appropriate manual handling techniques when handling loads, including livestock and equipment following safe operating procedures for: cleaning, disinfecting and sharpening instruments following personal and workplace hygiene procedures hazard identification and risk minimisation: handling, use, storage, transport and disposal of chemicals handling and disposal of biological wastes livestock catching, handling, controlling and restraining methods avoiding risk of self injection with Gudair vaccine using materials and equipment in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions using infection control procedures to minimise risks associated with: infectious and zoonotic diseases release of infective agents (both animal and human) chemical spillage using personal protective equipment (PPE) including: clothing of a protective nature eye and ear protection masks for the protection of the respiratory system gloves items for sun and other protection safety footwear and leg protection |
Animal welfareconsiderations may include: | providing pain relief complying with current relevant legislation, regulations concerned with: animal welfare (eg. the most recent Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines) the prevention of cruelty to animals adopting best practice recommendations as relevant in the most recent Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines and in industry documents such as: industry codes of practice industry standards and protocols |
A high standard of hygiene will require: | equipment to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before initial use and each time they are changed for cleaning and sharpening registered disinfectant to be used in accordance to label instructions (MSDS) disinfecting mulesing shears between each animal procedure appropriate reprocessing of reusable equipment personal hygiene practices especially washing and drying hands (e.g. before and after animal contact) avoidance of wound contact by the operator and with applicators when applying pain relief and fly prevention chemicals appropriate application of fly prevention chemicals (wool areas only) and pain relief products (wound area only) safe handling and disposal of clinical, related and general waste surface cleaning and management of blood and bodily fluid spills techniques to limit contamination use of personal protective equipment |
Mulesing techniques include: | knowledge of the type of sheep, the environment of the area and only removing the minimum required wool bearing skin appropriate tail length in accordance with industry standard not cutting through the selvage (muscle fascia) or underlying muscle or bone not removing or cutting bare skin symmetry leaving a ‘V’ of wool-bearing skin between one-third to two-thirds of the length of the docked tail ensuring the stretching and size of the resulting wrinkle-free bare area is proportional to the wound size post-operative application of topical pain relief to entire wound plus insecticide to nearby wool-bearing skin as required |
Post-mulesing management requirements include: | observing lambs for 24 hours to ensure all lambs well-mothered recognising signs of post-mulesing complications including infection, septicaemia ensuring lambs are not disturbed, mustered or handled for at least four weeks after mulesing unless urgent intervention is required to assist wound healing observing lambs, without disturbance, at least every three days during the healing process to check for flystrike or other adverse reactions providing immediate treatment to lambs that are abandoned and/or unable to stand up and walk |
Documentation and records may include: | chemical usage data vaccination history of the flock evidence of the use of pain relief that can be provided to Wool Broker, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) for the National Wool Declaration (NWD) records (voluntary) Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) records of post-mulesing complications |