Herding Cows Without Stress

Moving cows and cattle and controlling the cattle grazing location can be a difficult task for the herders and stressful for the animals. It is possible that herders can move cattle in a simple method, though, and with no pressure on the animals. There was an extensive research done in Colorado on how to achieve the low stress herding methods.

One obvious way to handle cows and cattle without giving them pressure is to ride through them everyday and make your presence become a natural occurrence for them. Let the animals become familiar with you and they will become calm and easy to handle.

Here are additional tips on how to successfully and effectively execute the low stress herding methods:

Move the cows later in the day, when you think that it is almost time for the cows to bed down. Herd them to the new grazing field before they do. The cows tend to stay where they bed down. See to it that the cows do not get separated when moving them. If the trip is a long one, give the cows time to graze while moving.

There may be problem cows in your herd. When this happens, separate them from the herd before the move.

Get to know the kind of cows that you have and what their preferences are for grazing locations. This factor is usually molded by genetics and how the animal was nurtured. There are those that prefer the lush lowland pastures, and there are those who prefer the hilly terrains. Cows that have been raised and prefer the lush lowland pastures are usually harder to move then the cows that prefer the hills.

You can also use supplements to herd in the cows. Place tasty molasses supplements at the new grazing site to help the entice the cows to stay at the new grazing location. You can also place the supplements along the way to the new grazing site to lead the herd onto the new location. But first make sure that the cows are familiar with the supplements so that they know how good it tastes and go onto the new grazing location.

Two more tips might come in handy. One is that the older and experienced cows are usually already familiar with the herding methods so there won't be much problem with them. It will be more difficult to deal with the calves.

Water sources come in handy when moving the cows onto the hilly areas. There should be more water sources in the hills than in the lowlands to keep the cows out of the lowland riperian areas. This is especially important in the summer when the weather is hot.

A successful low stress herding method would include the combination of the tips above. Combining all of them would ensure a more effective herding job. Never forget that it is important not to put so much pressure on the cows. Familiarize yourself with them and they will follow you more willingly as you herd them to greener pastures.

Dairy Cows For Sale at Holstein Embryo & Doubletree Dairy. Feel free to contact her at keywriterm@gmail.com for any inquiries or concerns regarding the article.