American livestock welfare expert Temple Grandin has several tricks and
statistics that can help producers move and manage livestock better:
- Fill the crowd pen half full. If it fits 20 stuffed, put in 10.
- Screaming and yelling at cattle is as stressful as an electric prod.
- Whistling makes cattle’s heart rate increase more than a gate
slamming.
- Lighting can make or break a cattle handling system.
- A good handler doesn’t make a lot of rapid movements.
- Details matter to animals.
- Get rid of distractions like shadows, reflective contrast, loose
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chains, ropes or garbage in a cattle handling system.
- Calm animals are easier to handle than frightened ones.
- The single most important thing is to handle animals quietly.
- Research shows there is a 66 percent reduction in the stress hormone
in cattle if they are handled quietly.
- Work with the animal’s natural behaviour. If you want it to move
forward, walk past it from the head toward the tail.
- Animals feel pain the same way as humans.
- Introduce new experiences gradually, especially with flighty animals.
- Before taking horses to a fair or parade, decorate their pasture with
balloons and ribbons to get them used to distractions.
- There is a direct relationship between bone size and temperament.
Cattle with skinny leg bones are more flighty.
