It’s been well documented that soon-to-be parents spend days, weeks and even months in an agonizing search for the perfect baby name.
Tristan, Addison or Apple? It’s rarely an easy decision because most people consider names to be an important part of their child’s identity.
Now two British researchers have learned that names may be even more significant than we thought, at least when it comes to dairy cattle.
In a study published in the journal Anthrozoos, Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University discovered that giving a dairy cow a name increases its milk production by 285 litres per year.
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“What our study shows is what many good, caring farmers have long since believed, (that) placing more importance on the individual, such as calling a cow by her name or interacting with the animal more as it grows up, we can not only improve the animal’s welfare… but also increase milk production,” said Douglas, a veterinarian and researcher, in a release.
Rowlinson and Douglas questioned 516 farmers in the United Kingdom to determine how human behaviour could affect a dairy herd. The researchers learned that the 46 percent of farmers who called their cows by name produced more milk per cow than other farms.
In an e-mail interview, Douglas noted there is more to the increase than simply a name.
“This naming of cows indicates an improved respect and thus improved relationship that farmers have with their cows,” she said. “A likely explanation is a lower stress response around humans.”
As evidence of the benefits from what she calls good stockmanship, Douglas pointed to studies of hogs and chickens, which demonstrated that animals have slower growth rates and higher rates of disease when they are fearful of humans.
Her research team, Douglas noted, looked into the feed and genetics of the dairy herds to account for the increased milk production. Once eliminating those factors, they concluded that love and respect was behind the yield boost.
“Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed, if given a bit more one-to-one attention,” she said.
The results of the U.K. study weren’t surprising to David Wiens, chair of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba.
“The cow does respond to that extra level of care,” said Wiens, who has 215 cows and names for all of them at his dairy near Grunthal, Man., 40 kilometres south of Winnipeg.
But, he added, that doesn’t mean farmers rely too much on technology and have forgotten about caring. The way he sees it, technology allows producers to focus more on animal comfort.
“Obviously, herds have gotten bigger than they were years ago. But, as you get more into automation, it allows you spend time on those things (caring),” he said.
