Cattle Handling and Working Facilities

1 1 Beef Quality AssuranceCattle HandlingandWorking FacilitiesBulletin 906 2 This Ohio Beef Quality Assurance project on animal Handling is funded by a grantfrom the National Cattlemen s Beef Association. For-sale publicationCopyright 2002, Ohio State University ExtensionAll educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on anondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin,gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, OSU ExtensionTDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-186810/02 5M 1234563 Cattle HandlingYou ve heard of horse sense. Well, to get Cattle to do what youwant takes knowledge of animal behavior, access to good Facilities ,and proper Handling techniques. All of this together adds up tocow sense!

2 Animal-related injuries to employees can be due topreoccupation, impatience, or anger by the animal or the handler!During these moments, a livestock handler really needs to under-stand animal behavior. Well-designed Facilities won t make up fora lack of cow sense at this understanding how Cattle perceive their world can make for along day for you and your Cattle . For example, a styrofoam cupthat has fallen into the Working alley can make Cattle balk. Ashadow or a flapping shirt on a post or some other distraction canprevent smooth Cattle flow. If you are having trouble Working a setof Cattle , try looking at the world from their Cattle Perceive Their WorldCattle really see the world differently. A cow may see more thanyou see and is often distracted by motion off to the side. However,she doesn t see the world as clear and sharply focused as humanssee it, and it takes her more time to process what she has have panoramic vision in excess of 300 degrees and onlyhave a blind spot directly in the back of their heads.

3 Human vi-sion, by comparison, is roughly 180 degrees, and we have a muchlarger blind 1. Cattle can see 300 degrees around them, with a blind spot only directly inthe back of their their field of vision is practically unlimited, Cattle have poordepth perception of nearby objects and have limited vertical must lower their heads to focus on something on the groundbecause they only have about 60 degrees of vertical vision, com-pared to 140 degrees for humans. Due to their limitation in verticalvision and their lack of ability to focus quickly, a shadow on theground appears to them to be a three-mile deep crevasse!Handlers can help reduce distractions and shadowing by takingthese limitations into consideration and using a solid-sided work-ing alley. Also, uniformity in color of Handling Facilities will reducebalking. Curved, solidly enclosed, and well-lighted Working facili-ties take advantage of these senses, along with the animal s strongdesire to find an avenue of escape when also hear differently than humans.

4 They can hear both lowervolume and higher frequency sounds better than people. It may bethe sound of your truck, with feed in it, more than the sight of thetruck, that makes those cows come a runnin . Cattle hear extremely well, but the trade-off is that they have lessability to locate the source of a sound. People can pinpoint where asound came from within 5 degrees, whereas Cattle can only isolatethe source down to about 30 mindful of Cattle with severe sight problems, such as an ad-vanced case of cancer eye, as they will rely to a greater extent ontheir sense of hearing. Thus, they may suddenly swing around toinvestigate a Zone Affects ReactionsPeople and Cattle have a comfort/flight zone that affects how many Western cultures, two feet is considered the comfort zonefor conversing with another person. In some other Eastern regionsof the world, six inches is considered normal.

5 At parties, you mightobserve Western speakers backing up to seek their comfort zoneand Eastern speakers following them to maintain their comfortzone. Also, consider that we typically turn and face someone who istalking to as we have some predictable behaviors, so do Cattle . Under-standing this behavior can be very useful in designing Cattle - Handling flight zone (comfort zone) is the animal s personal space. Theflight zone may be five to 25 feet for tame Cattle or feedlot cattleand 300 feet for some wild Cattle . The flight zone increases whenthe approach is from the head, and the flight zone also increaseswhen Cattle are excited. The flight zone decreases when animalsare in a single file will normally move effectively if the handler works on theedge of the flight zone. Deep invasion of the flight zone can causeanimals to panic. In Figure 1, Position A is the location outside ofthe flight zone where animals will stop moving forward, and Posi-tion B, inside the flight zone, will cause the animal to move awayfrom the 2.

6 The handler can control the movement of Cattle by taking a position inrelation to the animal s flight zone. If the handler takes up a position at Point A,which is outside the flight zone, the Cattle will stop moving forward. If the handlermoves to Point B, which is inside the animal s flight zone, the animal will move awayfrom the the Flight ZoneLivestock handlers need to understand the flight zone and thepoint of balance. The point of balance for Cattle is typically at theshoulder. To make an animal move forward, the handler shouldstand behind the point of balance. To move the animal backward,Flight ZoneBoundaryIf the handler is on thisside of the animal sshoulder, the animalshould the handler is on thisside of the animal sshoulder, the animalshould move forwardHandlerPoint AHandlerPoint B6the handler stands in front of the point of balance. The animal maytry to turn if the handler enters the animal s blind spot.

7 Therefore,don t walk directly behind an animal, but off to the side so you canbe , quiet Handling of Cattle will help improve imposed by Handling and transport can have detrimentaleffects on weight gain, rumen function, reproductive function, andthe immune system. Quiet Handling reduces stress-related meat-quality problems such as dark cutters. The amount of stress im-posed on an animal is an interaction involving previous experienceand quiet your Cattle are is at least partially a function of how theyare worked. Cattle can remember rough Handling . While mostcattle will calm down when they are handled quietly, a small per-centage of them may remain excited. Highly excitable Cattle shouldbe culled. To accurately cull for temperament, there should be aminimum of two observations. More than one evaluation is re-quired to avoid culling a good animal that became excited becausean animal next to it became agitated.

8 A behavior classification tablehelps in assessing which animals should be Classification1 = DocileGentle; handles quietly; slightly elevated = RestlessMore active; elevated respirations but settles down after joiningthe group once = NervousConstant movement; occasionally bumps fences and gates; settlesdown only after several minutes after returning to the = FlightyAgitated by Handling and avoids handlers; bumps into gates andfences; always seems to watch handlers when approaching = AggressiveBumps gates and fences and might be willing to challenge han-dlers; attempts to jump fences and = Very AggressiveVery aggressive toward handlers; jumps and bellows while inthe chute. Exits chute frantically and may still exhibit an animal becomes very excited, 20 to 30 minutes are required forits heart rate to return to normal. For this reason, many packershave standing pens to allow Cattle to calm down prior to practictioners of artificial insemination also try to sort cattleand let them relax prior to such as reducing yelling and minimizing electric prod usageshould be considered.

9 If a tool is needed, a stick with a plastic bagon the end or wands that rattle may be useful. Solid sides on chutesand crowd pens help keep animals calmer. Solid sides provide themost advantage when wild Cattle are worked and have less effecton tame AnimalsHorses usually kick directly toward the rear. Cattle are round-house punchers. Cows kick forward and out to the side. Cows alsohave a tendency to kick toward a side with pain. So, if a cow issuffering from mastitis in one quarter, consider approaching herfrom the opposite side of the affliction. Calves can kick directlybackwards and can have a quick round-house 3. Cattle exhibit a round-house punch and kick forward and out to the exhibiting maternal instincts are usually more defensive anddifficult to handle. Removal from a familiar pasture or pen cancause animals to react unexpectedly. Shadows, yelling, and con-trasts in lighting can further excite animals and make their behaviorunpredictable.

10 Similar problems occur when animals are movedaway from feed, separated from the herd, or approached by anunfamiliar person. It is usually easier to take two or three additionalanimals when you want to work only one of AnimalYoung Calves8 Never prod an animal when it has no place to go. Cattle thatbecome upset during Handling and/or that have a bad dispositionmay adopt a fight rather than flight behavior. When enteringan enclosed area with Cattle , you should consider your escaperoutes a fence, a tree, or a should also be concerned with disease that can be transmitted back and forth between humansand animals include leptospirosis, rabies, brucellosis, salmonello-sis, and ringworm. A livestock producer can contract some ill-nesses through animal bites, Handling an infected animal, or dis-posing of infected tissues. To reduce exposure to disease, use basichygiene and sanitation practices, such as washing your hands afterworking with any Reduce Exposure to a Livestock Accident or Illness Understand animal behavior.