How to Acclimate Cattle By: Dr. Tom Noffsinger and Dr. Kip Lukasiewicz, Production Animal Consultation, & Dr. LeeAnn Hyder, Robinson Hospital for Animals Excerpt from “Feedlot Processing and Arrival Cattle Management,” Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 31.3 (2015): 323-340.
The primary focus of acclimation is stress reduction. The signs of stress are many, and stressed animals exhibit a mixture of these signs. Stressed cattle are often wary of their surroundings and their new caregiver. They tend to be herd bound and congregate in a chosen corner of their new pen. These animals keep whatever and whomever they view as a threat in their line of vision. Stressed cattle have spacious flight zones and are reluctant to pass by or engage with a handler. These animals are reluctant to travel in straight lines and exhibit aimless circling. Stressed cattle may or may not vocalize or exhibit decreased abdominal fill. One of the main negative effects of stressed animals is that they hide subtle signs of injury and disease. Cattle are a prey species and do not wish to be identified by what they consider a threat. Until cattle trust their caregiver, the caregiver is viewed as a threat and cattle do not present disease symptoms honestly. Cattle in the process of relocation search for guidance and instruction. Positive first impressions are an efficient way to improve cattle confidence and create proper animal behavior. Greeting cattle as they file off a truck or trailer or into their new pen is an appropriate first step. Cattle crave to easily visualize their source of guidance and their destination simultaneously. By positioning themselves to accommodate this instinct, handlers can start the process of convincing cattle they can pass by without incurring harm. Handler posture can also be used to convince cattle to trust the handler and to accept increasing degrees of pressure. Sensitive cattle refuse to pass by a handler with frontal focus; instead, handlers should turn their shoulder, side, or back toward the cattle. A relaxed posture is more encouraging than a confrontational, rigid, fixed posture with a puffed-up chest and broad shoulders. Handlers should encourage cattle to pass by through the application of the least amount of pressure that is effective in initiating and maintaining movement. Owing to poor depth perception, cattle are suspicious of handlers that stand still. Gentle swaying movements by handlers convince cattle that handlers understand their lack of depth perception and are willing to be clearly visible. Once unloading is complete, it is time to send cattle to their new home pen. Proper emptying of the holding pen is the first step in this process. As handlers approach the holding pen, they should respond to the first signs of cattle acknowledgment by halting or changing angles. The most sensitive cattle in the holding area acknowledge handler presence by either raising their heads or moving away. The goal is for handlers to create orderly cattle flow out of the holding pen by working near the gate. The handler should enter the pen and move along the side of the pen that allows cattle to see the handler and their destination simultaneously (Fig. 1). As soon as cattle initiate motion, the handler should release pressure.
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