practical farming solutions… #6

…in Southern Norway…

grooming…

Free-ranged cattle take good care of their own appearance and furcoat, but they most certainly don't mind “a human touch” – once they realise what that's all about. Besides keeping their furcoat clean, we can then also check for scratches and small wounds, and for ticks.

Physical contact is important for all living things, and small calves need a lot of it. We groom small calves mostly by hand-touch alone, but we also use soft brushes, of the kind used for horses, on calves – they love it. Metal combs and shedding blades are used to clean and groom older calves and cows.

Having a clean and dry fur-coat is of course especially important in the winter, and comes spring the woolly undercoat has to come off. Now and then we give our animals the full treatment, using water, combs and shedding blades to get rid of the thick, soft, hairs and all the dust and dirt they have accumulated.

Helping the animals getting rid of the itching and warm winter coat when the warm spring days finally arrives, also has an effect beyond just making the animals feel good. They'll scratch their bodies against anything that can be used to scrape off the fur, and may break down fence posts and other suitable objects in the process. Helping them “throw off” their winter coats may save these objects from destruction, and also saves the animals' from scratches and wounds to their skin.

High-yelding cows don't get much of an undercoat during an average Norwegian winter, because of the heat milk-production generates in their bodies.
Dry cows, calves and heifers usually get a really thick furcoat with 10-15 cm long hair, and may end up looking like anything but a typical dairy cow when the winter comes to a close.

Grooming calms the animals, so we comb and rub our cows and heifers quite often while they're in for milking. Keeping them clean is one thing, but removing stress is just as important. Insects are disturbing and can generate severe stress in the animals at times, and keeping the insects away for a while sure helps in keeping a cow calm and cooperative during milking.

imprinting…

It is of course normal for a calf to turn to its mother for all its needs and when it is worried, confused, scared or wounded. When the farmer takes over the mother's role, the calf will turn to the farmer instead. If it doesn't, then the farmer hasn't done a good job.

The imprinting process is extremely important as these animals become older, larger and stronger. An established relationship between an animal and its favorite humans tends to last for life, unless it is neglected or destroyed by humans.

sensitive, smart and strong-willed creatures…

Unlike horses, cattle can not be broken in or trained to do anything they don't like or to prevent them from doing what they want, so one has to rely on trust and dependency for controlling them – which works well on horses too btw. In this respect it is better to compare a cow with a cat – apart from size, as a cow is just as much of an independent and opportunistic creature as a cat.

Cattle are quite smart, and will pick up on new routines quite quickly. They also learn to make the most out of their environment and everything in it, and most of these animals will figure out how to accomplish quite complex tasks all by themselves.

Cattle are sensitive to minute signals, and can interpret each others emotional states quite well. They also tend to interpret humans quite well, and learn signals, sounds and gestures, that matters. What may not be so apparant to humans is that cattle may choose to ignore signals when it suits them – just like cats.

When allowed to these animals are constantly fighting for positions in the herd, which means they can either choose to use an animal's weaknesses against it, or they may offer comfort – depending on what the individual animal thinks is best for itself in the situation. Sounds like these animals have been around humans far too long, doesn't it?

rare exceptions – cruel animals…

Cattle may have been domesticated for so long that humans tend to see them as “large but harmless”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, they are large but they're far from harmless.

Nature isn't cruel, but it definitely doesn't discriminate if something or someone gets in its way. Cattle know nature's ways better than they know how we humans think and try to form nature around us, so in a certain sense our domesticated cattle can behave cruelly because it's in their nature – a part of their inherited mentality and survival kit. In this sense cattle can be seen as being not much better than man.

At the same time as one should be gentle and kind towards these animals, one also has to be prepared to use brute force. Cattle are both gentle and forceful – depending on the situation, and understands very well the difference between the use of force and applied cruelty. We who interact with and handle them daily, better know the difference too.

A seemingly humble dairy cow can become cruel and dangerous for reasons we humans can't see or understand, and can act in ways that are way beyond what is acceptable for an animal fighting for positions in the herd. Cronically cruel and dangerous dairy cows are rare, but instances do pop up here and there now and then.

Usually the victim for a cow's cruelty is another cow, and as long as the victim can escape attacks without getting seriously traumatized or hurt, the whole issue tends to resolve itself after a while. Otherwise we have to intervene and remove the cruel animal permanently, as she'll become a destructive force and break apart the unity in a herd, in addition to the negative effect her behavior will have on production.

We can alter an animal's behavior in a more positive direction, at least to some degree, if we catch signs of unacceptable antisocial and/or cruel behavior early. May save ourselves and the animals from loads of problems later on.

Herd-size doesn't seem to matter, but the space and facilities provided does. Our farm is too small – too few animals – to be forced into changes by the authorities. Besides, the changes we have introduced on our own accord, provide our animals with plenty of space they can spread out on in order to avoid confrontations. That's some of the advantages of being small and slightly non-traditional.

It isn't the space in itself that matters all that much when one wants to avoid excessive bullying amongst cattle. Rather it is the psychological effect it has on the bullying and the bullied animals that the latter can always escape unharmed. Bullies in the animal world are much like bullies in the human world in that they sooner or later grow tired of chasing an individual they can't reach. Bullied individuals on the other hand feel more secure when they know they can always avoid confrontations. One can facilitate for this inside most buildings where cattle are kept, with well-prepared plans.

The fact that cattle don't need buildings in order to do just fine in the Norwegian climate, seems to be ignored by most Norwegian dairy farmers. However, that's another matter entirely.

generalization is just plain stupid…

Generalizing these animals' behavior and how we who deal with them daily should behave towards them, is impossible. I'd say generalization is plain stupid and may result in dangerous, and even deadly, situations. We have to know each individual animal and its unique mentality and behavior, and figure out the best ways to handle it. In short: we have to understand how a cow's mind works, and that is indeed a complex matter.

Race play an important role when it comes to mentality and behavior. Some cattle races are more mellow than others to begin with, and may seem to be easier to keep that way if given a good upbringing – one may call them “slow cows”. Many of the major races used in meat production seem to fit into this “slow” category, but one shouldn't be fooled to think they all do.

Other races are more forward and seemingly a bit harder to control – one may call them “quick cows”. Our NRF cattle tend to be on the “quick” side, which basically means they tend to act more as individuals than as herd-animals. Our NRF / Jersey mixes tend to be even “quicker”.

Farm routines play an even bigger role. Dairy cows have to be administered under somewhat stricter routines than meat cattle, which means our cows have to go back and forth between being in control of everything themselves and being controlled by humans. Dairy cows simply have to learn and follow more routines, which favors “quick” and flexible animals.

Our experience is that we have to deal with a bunch of individuals as much as a somewhat homogeneous herd of animals. We like our animals' individual qualities, but we definitely have to learn a lot about each animal in order to handle them right and avoid potentially dangerous situations.

We can only acquire the necessary knowledge through close contact and care over time, which is why it is so important to start early, at day one in an animal's life, and follow up on it with observations and positive interaction.

an age-old relationship…

What we do know is that our animals always try to do the right thing – what they think is expected of them, provided they feel that we treat them fairly. Cattle have interacted with humans and sought protection by being near us for ten thousand years, and this old relationship has paid off for both parties – at least so far.

As long as these animals feel they are getting a fair share of the outcome of the relationship, they will continue to cooperate with us by their own free will.
No need to hand them a bad deal … just because we can.

sincerely 

Hageland 16.jul.2008
last rev: 20.jul.2008