Understanding cattle behavior requires insight into the various factors involved with control of behavior in individual animals and how such factors may relate to the behavior of a group of animals. Such understanding is critical in evaluating the animal’s response to its environment and the relationship of observed responses or actions to the well-being of individual animals. Genetic influences controlling behavior are important in making judgments about environmental needs and how animals may respond to given environments. Behavioral influences such as learning, stage of the animal’s life cycle, and stress are examples of factors that are important in understanding behavior and how animals may be able to cope in the environment provided.
Animal Care & Handling Guidelines Booklet
One of the most important points to remember is that cattle fear humans to some degree. Depending on previous experience, learning and genetics, cattle can be extremely fearful (such as range cattle) or extremely tame (such as dairy cattle). Common to both types of cattle, however, is the idea that both are fearful to some extent and when put into fearful situations may react dangerously. The state of being fearful and the response when in such a state is largely based upon the cattle’s ability to sense its environment through vision, hearing, smell, etc. Thus, understanding cattle fear, vision and hearing will work more safely with cattle and decrease the stress experienced during handling, thereby increasing their productivity.
Fear
Cattle bolting past as you herd them into a holding pen, a quick kick as you place your hand unexpectedly on the back of a restrained heifer, and the nervous twitching of the tail of cows in the squeeze chute; all of these circumstances illustrate cattle that are experiencing some level of fear. Given the opportunity, in this state the animal is likely to do something that could cause harm to itself or you. The fear response is ingrained in every animal alive today; it is what has allowed animals to survive. It is referred to as the “flight or fight” response, and is commonly seen in stock that is cornered which will either escape passed you or attempt to charge. When this situation occurs it indicates that you have entered the animals “flight zone.”
By understanding and using the animals’ flight zone we can effectively and safely handle our livestock. Dr. Temple Grandin has conducted much research to the idea of using flight zone and point of balance to move stock safely. The Figure at right was taken from Dr. Grandin’s web page (http://grandin.com/index.html) and illustrates that the flight zone encompasses the entire animal. If the handler moves inside the zone, the animal will move away. If the handler moves to the outside of the zone, the animal will stop. The direction the animal moves depends on the position of the handler in relation to the point of balance. If the handler is in front of the point of balance, the animal will move back, and if the handler is behind the point of balance, the animal will move forward. Although this concept seems very simple, if you have ever had an animal bolt past you, then you were not attending to the concept of flight zone.
It is important to remember that the flight zone can change quickly and does not stay the same distance over time. Moving parallel to stock causes them less alarm than moving directly at them, and once you have started to move directly toward them they will increase their flight distance. Likewise, training can decrease the flight zone and the amount of fear an animal experiences when in close contact to people. Training is often used when using artificial insemination to breed cows, a situation that requires very low levels of stress if conception is to occur. In this situation, cows may be herded through a handling facility on a routine basis with the handlers allowing her to quietly walk through without any aversive act occurring. When it is actually time to breed the cow, she will walk quietly into the chute, which will allow conception rates to be much greater than in cows that are stressed during insemination.