[Music] dairy cattle Stockman ship is brought to you by the National dairy farm program and national beef Quality Assurance program in partnership with the u.s. dairy education and training consortium the skilful safe effective and efficient handling of cows based on understanding cattles natural behavior is referred to as document shift when dealing with cattle there are several traits handlers should possess a handler must like working with animals and be willing to learn a handler must be a good observer and always remain calm the handler should recognize that fear is a powerful emotion experienced by animals which can trigger the fight-or-flight instinct cows have good memories and remember both good and bad experiences they learn quickly and soon recognize people that treat them well understanding what triggers fear in cattle and preventing that fear prevents injuries to the cattle and their handlers select which of the following important traits cow handlers must possess a handler must like working with animals a handler must be a patient person and always remain calm a handler must be a good observer of animal behavior all of these above traits are very important for an animal handler you [Music] what is natural behavior in cattle cattle or animals but demonstrate a herding behavior as animals of prey they try to avoid predators and look for strength in the group they behave in a way that protects the individuals in the herd there is always an established hierarchy in the herd with more dominant animals leading and less dominant animals following the leaders therefore the sight of a cow in front keeps animals moving forwards this is an important concept to remember when moving animals and shoot into the barn parlor or loading to mantua trucks cattle prefer to be loose in groups they don't like to be singled out and like to keep other cattle in sight because of the herding instinct cows pushed in a certain direction tend to want to go back to the place they just came from understanding this trade is critical when trying to separate a few animals from a larger group [Music] notice how the handler moves a grip to a new place then separates individuals within sight of their herd mates and lets the animals return without pressuring them cows normally move at a slower pace than humans when pressured or rushed they are easily startled and may fleas due to the flight instinct this is why animal handlers should never be in a hurry to accomplish their task house don't like to be rushed experienced handlers make use of these specific herding instincts in order to get animals to do what they want in a way that reflects the animals natural behavior remember the herd instinct influences how cattle behave the sight of a cow in front keeps cattle moving forward cows prefer to be moved in groups not singled out cows normally move at a slower pace than humans cows do not like to be rushed which answer is incorrect about cows hurting or natural behavior cows will group together in a bunch when threatened or pressured cows will more easily follow an animal moving in front cows are more easily handled when singled out and by themselves cows are more easily handled in sight of each other cows are more easily handled when they are calm and without fear you how do cows perceive the world cows use all of their senses to perceive their surroundings but their sensory perception is different from a human understanding sensory perception and cows is key to understanding why cows behave the way they did sight with eyes located on each side of their head cattle have panoramic vision which allows them to see everything except what it's directly behind them and right in front of their nose panoramic vision is great for detecting predators coming from many different directions cavils panoramic vision is much wider than that of humans which makes it so that cows can be easily distracted by movement far off to the side taking in and analyzing all that sensory information takes time that means cattle take more time to process what they see than we do cows downward vision towards the ground is limited the clarity focus and contrast of their eyesight is much less developed than that of humans which means the cows have a hard time deciphering if a shadow on the ground is actually a shadow or a hold they're about to step into this is why cows may hesitate when walking downhill for ball caught a shadow or hesitate before entering a facility limited vision and problems focusing quickly can cause cows to resist movement or to react with fear hearing cattle can hear mower and higher frequencies than humans do their hearing is very acute and sensitive and cells that might not bother a human can have a strong effect on them sudden loud noises such as a whistle or rattling of a chain can cause paddles to become nervous or fearful cow's ears work like little and hemant metha la caca de when pointed at us we know we have their attention vamos vamos so a simple word to account is enough to get their attention and to let them know where we are William William because of their sensitive hearing it is unnecessary and counterproductive to yell or scream whistle loud or to bang on senses or other objects to move cow smell and taste cows have an acute sense of smell and part of the picture they received through their senses is what they taste and smell they can receive these smells from a long-distance pheromone or scent released during a fearful or stressful period can alert other animals in the area from a frightful event subsequently animals may get nervous or refuse to enter the facility for cattle smells are a key form of communication touch when we think about touch as a sense we typically think about this as the physical contact between animals or animals and humans when animals are used to being handled the gentle touch can help to calm account and help her to respond to you in a positive manner remember knowing how a cow perceives the world will help you to understand her behavior cattle has panoramic horizontal visions with blind spots directly behind and right in front of the nose cows downward vision towards the ground is limited the clarity focus and contrast of their eye sights is much less developed than ours this may cause them to balk at shadows or to hesitate as they process visual information cow hearing is very sensitive and sales that might not bother a human can cause them to become nervous or fearful it is unnecessary and counterproductive to yell or scream whistle or make loud noises to move pheromones released from fearful repressed animals can affect others in the area using the senses in handling cattle take caution not to startle an animal when approaching handler should move slowly avoiding sudden movements and loud noises given an Akita always let the cow know you are approaching especially if they cannot see you well start talking to them in a calm way letting them know you were there when she is listening the cow will turn her ear to you that is a clear sign that she knows you are there yet oh I get I get when you handle a cow up close for example to check her udder the safest way is to actually get really close and lean into her from the side as you lean into her the cow will naturally lean back into you putting most of her weight on the legs you are pushing against she will not be able to kick you with those legs because she is putting the majority of her weight on them remember when approaching a cow start talking to them in a calm way letting them know you are there when she is listening the cow will turn her ear to you a gentle touch can help to calm account and help her to respond to you in a positive manner when checking account up-close lean into her and she will lean back into you shifting her weight towards you will prevent kicking with the legs on that side in which ways do cows perceive their world cows can see all around them except for a blind spot right behind them cows don't see very clearly and may have trouble seeing shadows on the ground when a cow points her ears towards you you know you have her attention smells - cows are part of the picture they receive from their environment cows have excellent hearing and do not need to be spoken to in loud voices all of the above our ways cows perceive their world best practices in handling counts [Music] under best practice cattle are handled in a calm controlled and gentle manner handlers should use the principles of the flight zone and point a balance to safely move animals to a desired location without stressing the animals or provoking a flight response new employees should be trained on these concepts by experienced handlers until they demonstrate the skills needed in addition all animal caretakers must have signed a dairy cattle care and ethics agreement as an indication of their commitment to proper and humane care of the animals on the dairy what is the flight zone the flight zone is the animals safety zone it is an imaginary zone or space around the animal the flight zone can vary in size depending on the animals degree of comfort being around humans if an animal is not used to human the flight zone will be large if the animal is used to being handled and associate human handling with positive experiences the flight zone will be small and become slower over time animals have their individual flight zones but as a herd the group also has a flight zone agitated animals have larger flight sounds than calm one remember the flight zone is the cows safety or comfort zone the size of the flight zone can vary depending on the animal agitated animals have larger flight zones and calm ones herd also have flight zone using the flight zone when a handler enters the flight zone the animal will tend to move away and when the handler moves out of the flight zone the animal will come to a halt again when the flight zone is entered slowly and without sudden movements the animal was slowly respond by moving away until the flight zone is vacated or restored again when the flight zone is entered forcefully in fact the animal will run or flee knowing and understanding where an animal's flight zone begins and moving in and out of it is key to moving animals effectively and in a desired direction remember use the flight zone to move cows when the flight zone is entered the cow will move away when the flight zone is exited the cow will stop move in and out of the flight zone to move and steer cows you think pressure to control [Music] notice how when the handler applies more pressure on the flight path the animal increases their speed and by decreasing the pressure on the flight zone the animal slows down slight pressure on the flight zone in the right direction is enough to move an animal or group of animals in the desired direction if a person enters the animals flight zone from the front the animal tends to want to turn around and move away to restore the flight zone what is the flight zone the flight zone is an imaginary space around an animal in which it feels safe the flight zone is how long it takes the cow to move to the parlor the flight zone is the distance an animal will run when you move away from her the flight zone is an area that becomes smaller if the animal is stressed you point of fallacy the point of balance is an imaginary point or line on an animal's body somewhere around the animals shoulders this is a pivotal point notice when the handler goes just past the point of balance the cow moves forward when he moves in front of the point of balance the cow stuff working the point of balance in this way allows the handler to control the speed and direction of the cows movement remember the point of balance is an imaginary point or line near the animal shoulders when they handler moves behind the point of balance the cow will move forward working the point of balance in a start and stop way allows the handler to control speed and direction using pressure and relief by moving deeper into the flight zone a handler exerts more pressure to the animals need to respond and restore the flight phone this pressure can cause an animal to react faster and to speed up pressure is your friend when moving animals it is an act of persuasion pressure must also be released so that animals learned that pressure and release go hand in hand it is most effective to continuously work around the edge of the flight zone entering and leaving pressuring and releasing such that consistently clear signals are being sent to the animals use the least amount of pressure necessary to keep animals calm and safely moving too much pressure can cause an animal to panic this can cause injuries to either the animal or the handler [Music] remember entering and leaving the flight zone is pressure and release it is most effective to continuously work the edge of the flight zone entering and leaving use the least amount of pressure necessary to keep animals calm and safely moving using tools to move animals a handler can use a paddle a sorting stick a flag or a streamer as a movement aid to extend the length of one's arm across an ally this can encourage or discourage cows from moving in a certain direction these tools are not to be used as items to hit fraud or otherwise touch the animals they are merely an extension of a person's reach electric prods are not to be used for the routine handling of animals forceful use of the tail to move or restrain the cow can result in injury this is considered abuse and is unacceptable [Music] handling cattle in alleys holding areas and milking parlor handlers should be comfortable applying natural herding instincts such as flight zone and point of balance to move cows out of their pens and into alleyways remember the cows prefer to move at a slower pace and therefore moving cows around the facility should be done at a slow walk when moving a group a handler first needs to circle the backside of the herd to get the attention of most animals once these animals still pressure they will start making their way into a closer formation of the herd at that point using a zig-zag pattern the handler can start increasing the pressure from behind the cows to get them moving into a bunch and in the desired direction with the zig-zag pattern the handler is moving in and out of the blind spots behind the cows this is a way to slowly increase the pressure on the group cows will ultimately move into lines and follow each other [Music] gentle low stress handling will result in minimum injuries for both animals and handlers and will ultimately result in maximum productivity when a single handler needs to separate an animal the easiest and safest way is to move a small group to the new area and let the selected animal circle back or pass by while the others are held all of these are considered best practice when moving animals except the art of working the flight zone of the animal or a group of animals making your presence known and making loud noises to get animals to move using a zig-zag pattern whereby the handler is moving in and out of the blind spot of the cows understanding herding animals do not like to be separated from the group utilizing the concept that cows like to go back to an area they just came from you a crowd gate in the holding pen can be seen as something encroaching into an animal slight thump and the animal is going to want to respond to it by moving away when used properly the crowd gate gently encourages forward motion of the cows in the holding area in order for this to work the holding pen should not be overcrowded signs of overcrowding in the holding pen include cows turning sideways cattle holding up heads cattle hunching backs and cattle near the gate turning to face the crowd gate if cows are hesitant or refused to come into the parlor by themselves it is a clear sign that there are other issues at play which will need the immediate attention of management remember move cows as a slow walk cows are hurting animals and like to be in a group cows don't like to be singled out cows like to follow an animal in front of them cows like to circle back around to an area they just came from calm slow low stress handling is best do not overcrowd the holding pin [Music] in the milking parlor the parlor should be a quiet tranquil stress-free environment for both cows and milkers milking is typically a pleasant experience for cows and they should enter and leave the parlour without any vocal or physical prompting health no they are going to be milked and understand the routine whistles yells and loud noises in the parlor are counterproductive to good cow flow and are discouraged remember the milking parlor should be a quiet tranquil stress-free environment cow should enter and leave the parlour with minimal or no vocal or physical prompting whistles yells and loud noises are counterproductive which of the following are important for the proper movement of cattle into the milking parlor a crowd gate gently encourages forward motion of the cows into the holding area avoid whistles yells and loud noises as they are counterproductive to the milking process a milker walking in opposite direction of the cow flow encourages cows to enter and move forward in the parlor cows do not like to be milked and therefore need to be forced into the parlour using a crowd gate a b and c are correct you you