We all aspire to be better stockmen, and handling animals correctly is a big part of that goal. Investing time in animal handling skills improves the quality of life, safety, health and performance … for both animals and humans.
Although refining animal handling qualities is a lifelong learning venture, here are a few areas I bring up as reminders as you work cattle this season.
Identify factors that draw cattle attention away from the handler
One obvious distraction is the draw of a mother cow to her calf. The mother cow’s focus on her calf and her need to be with her calf is a strong force. Allow cows to pair with calves and handle them together. If sorting cows from calves, a stronger, more accurate pressure is needed. Be more patient in this situation. Normal hallmarks for point of balance and flight zone will change in this situation. Flight zones will be larger, and the point of balance shifts from the shoulder to the eyeball. Delay handling at calving if possible. Be mindful that calving, predator threat and unfamiliar handlers can impact animal response.
Understand herd instinct
Even under normal handling circumstances, cattle can still be distracted and reduce handling efficiency. Other cattle nearby often create a draw for cattle to return to them. Cattle are herd animals and have a natural instinct to stay with the herd. This can look like cattle turning back against the handler to return to the source pen or cattle huddling near a neighboring group of cattle instead of flowing through alleys and lead-up pens. Solid-sided gates can help, but one of the best strategies is to group cattle together in large enough groups to create a sense of herd. Handling single animals should be avoided. Creating a group of cattle, sometimes as small as three or four head, can help reduce the urge of cattle to return to the source group.
Where do cattle balk/stop in your working facility?
Entering the chute is a common response. Can cattle suddenly see someone running the headgate? It is not natural behavior for cattle to move forward when a handler is positioned in front of them inside their flight zone. I like rubber flaps or blinders on the handler side of the chute to help cattle flow toward the headgate. Asking cattle to step up into a chute or from dirt to steel flooring can cause them to balk. Like, level surfaces help cattle flow. Cattle following other cattle helps flow in a working facility. An empty working facility with no cattle to follow usually requires the handler to put more pressure on the cattle to get them to enter. Thus, keeping a steady flow of cattle into the alleyway helps maintain flow into the chute.
