|
April
11, 2005
NDSU Dairy
Specialist Offers Tips to Avoid Stressing Animals
Chronic stress can
have harmful effects on livestock’s health, productivity and welfare,
according to a North Dakota State University dairy expert.
"Good stockmanship
is key to animal welfare; however, what seems like common sense to those
who grew up around livestock is not so obvious to those who did not or
to those who have acquired poor habits," says J.W. Schroeder, an
NDSU Extension Service dairy specialist.
A report that researchers
in British Columbia published on acute stress during handling and milking
offers several recommendations. The researchers say that acute stress
at milking is most apparent in reduced milk yield resulting from an inhibition
of oxytocin secretion leading to increased residual milk. Rough or aversive
handling leads cattle to become frightened of people and stressed in their
presence. Improving handling and animal care requires that producers understand
more about how cattle react to people, the types of handling cattle find
aversive and the reasons that animal handlers use rough handling.
Temple Grandin, a
livestock handling facilities designer and an associate professor of animal
science at Colorado State University, emphasized good stockmanship for
animal welfare at the ninth annual Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association
meeting in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the end of March. Producers need to find
the most effective ways to reduce cattle's fear of people, she said.
Here are some recommendations
from the experts:
- Extra contact with
people: Cattle can be fearful of people if, as calves, the animals do
not have sufficient exposure to humans. Increased gentle handling of
younger cattle repeatedly has been shown to reduce cattle’s fearfulness
toward people.
- Identify the types
of handling to which cattle are averse: Since the type of handling a
person uses has a major impact on animals’ fearfulness, this is
a necessary first step. Examples of rough handling practices that increase
fearfulness and restlessness in cattle include shouting, slapping, punching,
hitting with a hand or stick, tail twisting and using an electric prod.
- Avoid “learned
fear” of the stock handler: At times, even the best stock handler
will have to handle animals in an aversive way. Often this is done for
the animal's own welfare, such as giving injections or treating illness.
However, one risk is that the animal will become frightened of that
person.
Masking the person’s
identity may be possible in fairly simple ways. Clear evidence exists
that cattle can tell people apart. The animal might be using visual
cues. The cues associated with clothing seem to be particularly important
in cattle’s recognition of people. Studies have shown that under
some circumstances, simple changes in people’s appearance, such
as a change of clothes, can cause a loss of recognition. Stock handlers
may be able to take advantage of this association to reduce the occurrence
of cattle developing learned fears of particular individuals. For
example, they might wear special colored clothes when they need to
give animals essential but aversive treatments.
- Alter stock handlers'
attitudes: Clearly identifying which behaviors cattle find aversive
and which they find positive or rewarding is essential. However, the
way people handle animals likely is a reflection of long-held beliefs
about how animals need to be handled and attitudes toward animals in
general. Thus, recommendations alone may not be sufficient to change
people’s behavior. Efforts to alter these beliefs, through educational
programs and multimedia presentations showing the negative effects of
poor handling on the fearfulness and productivity of cattle, along with
examples of good and poor handling techniques, may be effective means
of changing the way people interact with animals.
- Identify why people
mishandle animals: In addition to attitudes and general opinions on
animals, situational factors can have a marked influence on the way
animals are handled. Consequently, knowing what circumstances lead to
animals being handled roughly can help improve the ways they are handled.
Situations that can lead to adverse and overly aggressive handling of
animals include frustration and impatience with animals, difficulty
moving cattle, time pressures, equipment not working properly, low job
satisfaction, and family and home problems. If specific issues are identified,
herd owners and managers can take steps to improve work facilities and
job situations that can lead to an increase in overall job satisfaction
and job quality.
“What seems
like common sense to you may not be for hired hands or family members
who never received the benefits of training in animal handling,”
Schroeder says. “Accomplished stockmen know the difference, and
for years have demonstrated that animal stress affects animal production.”
###
Source: J.W.
Schroeder, (701) 231-7663, jschroed@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, ecrawfor@ndsuext.nodak.edu
|
BeefTalk
Prairie
Fare
Plains
Folk
Hortiscope
Market Advisor:
Crop
Livestock
|
