Page 295 - The Welfare of Cattle

272 the WeLfare of CattLe

animal handling and stockmanship, you know that’s a whole herd, so 100% of a herd is affected by
poor stockmanship…and that exists for the lifetime of the cow” (Ventura et al., 2015).
The quality of stockmanship matters to the animals that receive it. In addition, stockmanship
appears to have a relationship with handler safety. Sorge et al. (2014) reported that 73.3% of injuries
on Minnesota dairy farms were a result of interactions with cattle. Stockmanship training is becom-
ing increasingly common for dairy producers. In the previously mentioned study, nearly 30% of
dairy farmers reported that they had participated in previous stockmanship training. The develop-
ment of stockmanship skills often starts with initiation by family members as 42.6% of Minnesota
dairy farmers reported that they learned cattle handling techniques from family members (Sorge
et al., 2014). In the same study, 62.3% of dairy farms reported that they provide training regarding
handling techniques for dairy cattle.

Defining Stockmanship

A wide variety of definitions have been established in the scientific literature to describe the
term “stockmanship.” At its core, stockmanship appears to involve the direct handling and manage-
ment of animals by their caretakers and the knowledge of the caretakers regarding the animals they
care for (Fukasawa et al., 2017; Ventura et al., 2015). One focus group member described stockman-
ship as, “…how we handle cows, how we work around them, how we treat them… on an individual
basis and work with them as a group” (Ventura et al., 2015). Sorge et al. (2014) defined stockman-
ship simply as, “proper cattle handling techniques.” In general, it seems that the term “stockman-
ship” applies to the general care and handling of a specific type of animal. Since stockmanship
refers to the interaction with animals in general, it is possible that stockmanship could be excellent,
poor, or somewhere within the continuum that separates those two poles.

DaIrY CattLe haNDLING

The handling of dairy cattle is best facilitated by patience and calm, confident interaction. In
general, dairy cows are highly routinized animals. The willingness of dairy cows to accept routine
is valuable because positive human interaction over time will reduce the effect of fear on handling.
The ability of a handler to apply flight zone pressure is heavily reliant on the ability of the animal
to experience fear. As an animal loses the ability to fear handlers to some extent, they become more
challenging to handle with conventional methods that rely on flight zone pressure. As a result, it is
most advisable to train cows to perform specific activities in a predictable pattern throughout the
day. When cattle become accustomed to moving to a specific location at the same time each day,
they tend to be less fearful and safer to handle during the time they are moving (Lindahl et al.,
2016). For less common handling events, such as movement to and through hoof trimming equip-
ment and initial introduction of heifers to a milking parlor, dairy cattle tend to experience greater
physiological stress and behavioral unpredictability (Lindahl et al., 2016). When dairy cows were
moved to hoof trimming, handler safety became compromised as the handler began to forcefully
apply a tactile object to the animals. Application of a tactile object in a forceful manner resulted in
increased occurrence of incidents in which the handler was kicked by a cow. It is important to take
the time to train animals to willingly move through the unfamiliar or rarely used handling facility
on their own terms before they are forced into the facility.
It appears that allowing animals that are unfamiliar with new facilities and stockpeople to
explore a new facility without time pressure may be most appropriate and possibly just as effective
as offering a feed reward. Pajor et al. (2000) reported that heifers that had no prior experience with
a single file race were presented with either no interaction, gentle petting, or food at the end of the
race. The treatment at the end of the race had no effect on the time spent in the race or the length