For the dairy industry, and me personally, the end of calendar year 2017 was a rugged stretch. With the release of the latest dairy undercover video just before the Christmas holiday, there were six separate videos released since the middle of November.
Although the videos have had a negative impact on the industry, it is important we understand there is an opportunity to take these negatives and turn them into learning experiences for dairies. Below are some guidelines I am suggesting, based on my analysis of the videos, that can help you develop policies for your dairies.
Training employees
Training employees is a critical component of animal care programs. We frequently train our people how to do things the correct way, but we rarely equip them for what to do when the situation becomes challenging. For this, I have two rules of thumb I try to teach:
- Always do what is best for the animal in front of you. If you never violate this rule, then there can never be any cruelty or mistreatment of an animal on your dairy.
- Will what I am about to do look bad if it was captured on video? If the answer is yes, then we should consider all the alternatives and get a second opinion before moving forward.
Part of training should include teaching employees it is OK to ask for help or to ask questions. We would rather they ask a manager before they become frustrated and make a poor decision.
If managers are getting too many requests for help, we are either putting employees in very difficult positions, have inadequate facilities, have inadequate training, or employees are taking advantage of management. In any case, this tells managers something about the dairy and lets us act to prevent issues in the future.
Cow-handling aids
Any time we knowingly put an object into the hand of an employee, we must realize this creates a temptation for the tool to be misused to hit a cow. Any cow can be moved anywhere on the dairy without a handling aid. Furthermore, it is possible and even beneficial to move cows with the employee’s hands either in their pockets or at their sides.
I prefer to simply say no handling aids are acceptable, but if you choose to allow handling aids on the dairy, I encourage you to ensure nothing other than a rattle paddle or cattle flag are ever used. Use of milking towels, sticks, hoses or other materials such as PVC piping can never be accepted.
The only place on the dairy where handling aids might routinely be acceptable is loading cows onto a trailer or perhaps in the hoof-trimming area.
Parlor
Use of any handling aids in the parlor or holding area is never acceptable. No dairies should keep a hook in the parlor for rotating and holding the sequencing gates open. Again, this creates too much temptation to hit or poke a stubborn cow when employees are already holding the hook under the manure pan. Instead, recognize that loading fresh heifers into the parlor is challenging.
Place an additional person into the parlor while the fresh cows are milked to allow for either extra help in the holding area or on the cow deck when loading fresh heifers. If you know you have parlor issues that make loading cows more difficult, the dairy needs to step up and fix them.
One of the most common issues is the sequencing gates in parallel parlors not closing properly. This creates issues with cows “short” loading and frustrates employees. Another common issue is very rough flooring or very slippery parlor flooring, which makes cows not want to turn into the stall.
Cattle prods and hot shots
Hot shots can be a life-saving tool, if they are used properly. Unfortunately, hot shots create significant temptation for misuse or abuse by employees.
Every dairy should have a written hot shot policy. If your policy is that your dairy does not allow any hot shots, then you and your managers are responsible to see the policy is enforced, even if that means taking them from cattle haulers, hoof trimmers and other vendors. If you allow use of hot shots, it should be under the following guidelines:
1. Only trained managers can use a hot shot. Even as the owner, if you have not been trained and certified, you should not be picking up a hot shot. If an employee is in a situation and thinks he or she needs a hot shot, the policy is that they must call a manager.
2. Keep the hot shots locked up, just as you would a firearm. A locked office, locked desk drawer or locked vehicle are acceptable means of doing this.
3. Never buy the long-handled MaGrath-style prods. These make any video of hot shot use appear worse. Buy only the handheld types.
4. We can never ever hot shot a cow in a sensitive area. Sensitive areas include the head, neck, udder, spine, anus or vulva. A hot shot to the flank or thigh is the best option for an area to apply a shock.
5. If you decide to shock a cow, you get one shot only. No repeats, so make sure you have everything in place before you use your shot. Extended shocks are never acceptable.
6. Management has a responsibility to track where hot shots are being “needed” and work to determine what factors are leading to the use of a hot shot. A great example is: If your employees believe a hot shot is required for hoof-trimming cows, your responsibility as an owner or manager is to determine why.
Can the job actually be done without a hotshot and employees simply do not want to change? If the employees are correct, and cows refuse to enter the trimming chute without use of a prod, then the responsibility is to make changes to the hoof-trimming area to improve voluntary cow flow.
Dead stock handling
Dead cows deserve the same respect as a live cow. Even if you do not believe this, you will certainly understand that on video it is really hard to determine if a cow is alive or dead, and the audience is not particularly motivated to give us the benefit of the doubt. We can never ever drag a cow, alive or dead, unless it is on a sled. Similarly, we cannot hang a dead cow from a loader to move it.
The approved methods for moving a dead animal are the exact same as for moving a down cow. We can either roll the cow onto a sled or into a loader bucket. If possible, avoid dumping dead animals from any height as well. All dairies should build a four-sided enclosure to house their dead stock. Piles of dead animals out in the open, besides being a risk for disease spread and drawing wildlife, create very vivid images that are inviting targets for activists.
Calves
We cannot allow calves to ever be dropped, thrown, tossed or dumped. We also cannot allow calves to be carried by their legs upside-down. We can move calves in one of three ways. If we need to load them onto a trailer or a truck, the best way is to lift them. The proper technique is to put one hand around the calf’s neck/brisket and one around its rump, then lift with the knees.
To load the calf into a wheelbarrow (or sled), we need to lift the calf in or place the wheelbarrow flat against the ground next to the calf and then slide them in. Be cautious if using wheelbarrows that calves are not dumped. The final method is often the easiest.
If the calf is old enough to be stable on its legs, and the distance to be moved is short, we simply let the calf walk. Calves frequently refuse to walk forward, but it is often very easy to get them to back up for us. Stand in front of the calf and apply some pressure to get it to reverse. Steer them with a hand on their shoulders or back. 
PHOTO: Recent activist undercover videos highlight a few animal care topics for dairies to revisit, including live and dead animal-handling aids and protocols. Photo by Getty Images.
Treichler is a quality control veterinarian for Select Milk Producers and a member of Progressive Dairyman’s advisory board.
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Brandon Treichler
- Quality Control Veterinarian
- Select Milk Producers
- Email Brandon Treichler
