Handling Agitated Cattle
Got an ornery cow, we’ll despite being dangerous and pain to deal with I’ve got another excuse to send her packing. I’m Susan Allen welcome to OpenRange back with the story. Veterinarians and livestock producers that artificially inseminate cattle and horses know that nervous animals with poor dispositions often are less likely to conceive. Until now this problem has been attributed to fear over being restrained and handled while inseminated. Earlier this yearUniversity of Florida animal scientists completed a study on nearly 400 cows giving the animals numerical ratings for temperament from one to five. One being calm, five being where’s the rodeo clown. Anyway, the team wanted to see if temperament affected the cows ability to breed naturally in a pasture situation. They also analyzed blood samples for cortisol ratios. Cortisol is a bit like adrenaline, it’s released in the blood when animals are stressed or overexcited. The conclusion was that cows that are wary and easily upset have elevated plasma cortisol consentrations and that goes hand in hand with poor conception rates. Thus anything a rancher can do to keep his herd happy helps insure calving success. The findings I found fascinating were that bad tempered cattle even in a bucolic pasture situations typically have a more difficult time conceiving thus the recommendation from the experts is to cull those buggers from the herd. I’m Susan Allen .
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