Safe & Effective Handling of Cattle
September 26, 2024
Miriam Parker MBE joined the team at Wyvern Farm Vets and a group of eager farmers to discuss the safe handling of cattle. See notes from the meeting below:
It is worth starting at the basics and that is thinking of the:
- COW
- PERSON(S)
- HANDLING FACILITIES
Consider the dominance of animals within the herd and ask the question, are animals unpredictable?
- A bull with surging testosterone- Unpredictable
- Group of cycling heifers- very unpredictable
- In-calf cows- more predictable
- Yearling steers- fairly predictable- no testosterone surging!
Always consider cows due to calve or freshly calved as HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE!
Instinct
TIP: At TB testing consider putting the bull through early in the test with groups of in-calf cows. He is a dominant figure in the herd so if you relate to the wild, he would be near the front 1/3 of the pack but protected by “leaders” in front of him.
Cows are herd animals so they naturally want to be with each other. There is a social order within the established herd/group.
TIP: It is far easier to divide cattle up into smaller groups to move and handle as they have more space and there is less likely to be a dominant figure as they don’t have time to “reorder/regroup”.
Learnt behaviour
Cattle are creatures of comfort and routine. They have strong “place association” so they will remember for example if each time they go through the crush they have a negative experience e.g. injected or poked.
TIP: Consider running animals through the handling system/crush regularly so they don’t always associate it with something negative.
Senses
Smell: studies show that animals can smell adrenaline and cortisol (released when stressed) in the urine and dung of other animals.
Hearing: Any novel sounds are likely to alarm cattle but particularly higher pitched sounds.
TOUCH: Positive touch points are: head, neck and tail head (think about where animals touch each other). Animals can be desensitised by touching too much so consider backing off.
Petting animals can seem cute but these animals are not so cute when they grow and try to bowl you over. Every time you touch a “pet” you should ensure that you put down a marker to make them stop on your terms so that you remain as the “dominant”.
Vision: Dichromatic= two colour receptors: yellow and blue with good night vision. Monocular vision with limited binocular vision at the front causing poor depth perception. They are usually 0.75cm away from an object/wall when they think they are right next to it. That is why a longer crush is beneficial- a cow will think it has reached the end before it has!
There is a blind spot right behind the cow- so consider this when walking up behind a cow!
Cattle have left eye lateralisation: meaning they prefer to move and turn to their left.
TIP: When adding heifers to the parlour they may well prefer the right side so that they can keep an eye on the handler and pit with their preferred LEFT eye.
Person
Cattle can differentiate between people/handlers.
TIP: Keep calm, don’t rush, avoid complacency and follow your instincts.
Clear differences in behaviour towards animals when expecting a different outcome e.g. call cattle to you but do not use the same behaviour to move them away from you when in handling system.
High pitched sounds in particular are alarming to cows: Miriam did ask us to bear this in mind if arguing before or during a test as our voices will naturally become more shrill as we get more agitated!
Handling facilities:
Race and handling systems should be designed to allow the natural flow to the left. Stockboard or sheeted gates help to focus and direct the animal and reduce distractions.
Holding pens should be long and narrow and lead on to circular crowd pens with solid sides allowing cattle plenty of room to turn and follow one another up the race. It is good to have the handler on the left of the animals as this works with their left eye preference.
TIP: Race entry should have one straight side and the other at 30° to aid vision up the race.
Raceways should be built on a gentle curve or in a straight line with at least two straight cattle lengths before the first turn.
Handling systems should be tall enough to keep cattle in safely, Miriam suggests the rule:
“Over the head of the biggest animal in the herd with their head in an upright position”
Animals should not be kept in a race for longer than 8 minutes so consider the number of cattle you load up in the race compared to the time it will take to complete the task.
Whenever handling cattle make sure you consider your EXIT strategy:
- UNDER,
- OVER,
- BETWEEN or
- BEHIND
Take time to look at your handling system and watch the cattle moving through it. Note areas where animals stop or are difficult to move; Is the floor uneven, is the turn too sharp? Consider how and where changes can be made to improve the overall cattle flow.