El Lechero – Sound difficult? It’s really not. We are the ones that create the stress, not the animals.
Dairy owners always say that cows should be moved quietly and safely so that they stay calm and produce more milk. The question is: How do we accomplish this efficiently?
The answer is simple: We have to think and see the world as cows see it.
Cows identify the world around them using their senses. The difference is they have a way of looking at the world that’s different from how we see it.
Sense of sight
Cows only see bright lights and shadows, while we can differentiate shapes and colors. If this concept is to be applied on our dairies when moving cows on a day-to-day basis, we must remove all distractions in traffic areas like holding pens and return alleys.
This will prevent cows from being distracted by these “objects” and help the cows move in the direction we want them to. A clear solution to this type of problem is to obscure entryways to milking parlors in order to avoid distractions from the milking parlor and its surroundings.
Remember, the cows only see shadows and bright lights – if we eliminate this distraction, we can get cows to move into the parlor faster and more calmly and avoid whistling, yelling and other sounds that could scare the cows.
Sense of hearing
Did you know that cows can move their ears independently of each other? This allows them to hear more than one sound at a time and identify whether these sounds are good or bad. An example of a “good” sound for them is that of the machines in the parlor.
What if that sound is mixed with whistles and shouts? If these sounds are mixed, the cow gets scared and will not concentrate on production and letdown of her milk by releasing oxytocin. Cows need to know that the place where they will give milk is calm and secure.
We are the ones who think that the more we whistle and shout, the faster the cows will move. We are the ones who create stress, which produces a negative effect on the cow, on our colleagues and on ourselves.
Flight zone
Move the cows through the pens and parlor using their “flight zone” without making any extra sounds. You will see that this works.
Because we know that a cow’s eyes are located on each side of her head, we understand that she has panoramic vision so she can see when we move closer to her without having to turn her head. This can be an advantage when moving cows without making a lot of noise.
As you can see in Figure 1, each cow has a clearly marked flight zone (dashed green line).
If we move into the cow’s flight zone and she can see us, then she is going to move forward in the direction we want her to go, without us having to make any type of noise.
Many of the mistakes made by milkers and cow pushers on the dairy come up when they try to move cattle by walking directly behind, placing them in the cow’s “blind spot.”
If this happens, the cow will not be able to see you directly behind her, so she will turn her head, causing her to move a different direction.
Remember that the cow has to be able to see us in order to move in the desired direction.
Lead cow
Two things you have to know about cows are: They like to move in groups and they always follow a lead cow. Use this concept to get the cows to go into the milking parlor.
Instead of getting frustrated, climbing into the holding pen, whistling or shouting and ending up having to move the cows into the parlor one by one, let the cows follow the first cow that enters the parlor.
Use the crowd gate to move the cows toward the parlor entryways, always leaving one cow near the entrance. When it comes time to move the cows into the parlor, the cow nearest the entrance will go in first and the rest will follow.
Remember that cow handling is a team effort. Everyone should follow the same procedure in order for the cows to get used to entering the parlor calmly, producing more milk and creating a safe work environment.
It has been demonstrated that calmer cows can increase their production by up to 15 percent. Try it and you’ll see the results. Do not shout, kick or whistle at the animals our business depends on.
