Animal behaviorist and Colorado State University professor
Temple Grandin has built a career on sensing how livestock react
when being handled. Here’s her quick list of do’s and don’ts for
you and your crew when you are rounding up the herd:
Do Calm Down
Temple advocates that her number one rule around livestock is to
remain quiet. She reports that research has shown loud voices
and yelling scares animals more than clanging gates and chains.
Along with that, cattle that become agitated have been shown to
have lower weight gains and marbling scores – because they end
up putting energy into recovering instead of into performance.
Grandin says, “Animals are sensory thinkers. They have great
memories, but they don’t store words. They store sounds and
pictures.” Thus, she suggests when handling livestock, crews
need to get away from language and make it a quiet and calm
experience for the cattle.
Along with this she advocates low stress handling practices like
fenceline weaning, which allows cattle to get on feed faster
because they’ve experienced minimal stress.
Do Make First Experiences Pleasant
Temple advocates that an important livestock handling principle
is to make animals’ first experiences with a new place, piece of
equipment or person a favorable one. “They don’t forget,” she
say, and adds, “An initial experience that is averse can create
a permanent fear memory in that animal.”
Temple explains that new things are both scary and attractive to
an animal. The experience is scary if it is forced or suddenly
introduced. But the experience can be made attractive, if the
animal is allowed to investigate it on its own.
Therefore, she suggests introducing new steps gradually. For
instance a guy on a horse and a guy on the ground are two
different things to an animal. So if cattle are used to seeing a
horse and rider, slowly introduce them to a person walking
through the herd on the ground, and vice versa. Don’t introduce
that person on the ground the very day you try to move the
animals.
Likewise, show animals should be habituated to flags, strange
people, noise, etc before they go to an event.
Don’t Keep Animals Penned Alone
“One of the most dangerous animals is the lone animal,” says
Temple. Being alone is highly stressful, so bring some other
animals in with it, she suggests.
Don’t Select For Temperament Only
Temple cautions that single trait selection is never a good
idea. As an example, she says if you select only for calm
cattle, you’ll likely get cows who aren’t good mothers in caring
for their calf. That said, wild animals don’t habituate,but just
get more scared and probably need to be culled, says Temple. So
seek some middle ground in selecting for disposition.
Do Move Animals at a Walk or Trot
Getting animals too excited and moving too fast can again negate
health and performance.
Don’t Use a Hot Shot
A flag can drive cattle effectively, says Temple.
Don’t Fill the Crowd Pen Too Full
When working animals through a chute. Temple suggests filling
the crowd pen only half full and leaving the tub gate on the
first notch. “Don’t squish them in there. Animals have to be
able to move freely and see where they are going,” she says.
To get a firsthand experience, she also suggests walking through
the crowd pen and chute yourself when it’s empty and pretend you
are the animal. See what details you notice at their eye level.
“They’ve got to be able to see the entrance, so sometimes
switching the side you work from in the pen makes a difference,”
she suggests.
Also note any items on the ground –such as a pipe or board in
the alley- that cattle may balk at. Either remove it, or cover
it with dirt so they don’t notice it. If the open sides along
the alley or chute bother them, consider covering those with
plywood as well.
For more about Grandin’s books and livestock handling techniques
visit
www.grandin.com. |
