Farmer’s Weekly – 30 August 2019

30 AUGUST 2019 farmer’sweekly 37

uncomfortable and automatically
moves away from the handler.

PRESSURE
The handler must use an ‘add
pressure, relax pressure’ method
to get the cattle to move in the
desired direction. If an animal
is already aimed at or moving in
the desired direction, the handler
must keep adding pressure to
the animal by slowly walking
towards it at an angle that is
parallel to, or oblique behind, the
animal’s shoulder. If the handler
wants the animal to stop moving,
he/she should relax pressure by
stepping backwards away from
the animal or by standing still.
Cloete says that to get cattle to
turn around, the handler should
move out of an animal’s personal
space and then approach it from
an angle that is oblique to the
front of the animal’s shoulder. As
the handler moves towards the
animal from this angle, the added
pressure from the handler will
make the animal uncomfortable
and it will turn around to get
away from this pressure.
To get an animal to move
around a sharp corner in a
handling chute, one handler
should stand on the inside of the
corner while a second applies
pressure on the animal from an
angle behind the appropriate
shoulder. Cattle prefer to walk
around a perceived threat while
keeping it in view. Due to their

large size, they generally cannot

turn fast, so the handlers should

not chase them around the

sharp corner, but rather allow

the animal to walk quickly

during this exercise to prevent

panic and possible injuries

and infrastructure damage.

For cattle that need to be

moved out of a relatively small

holding enclosure, such as those

found at sales yards, the handler

should enter the enclosure not

through or over the enclosure

sides, but via the gate. This shows

the cattle where the gate is.

Leaving the gate open, the

handler should then slowly

walk around one side of the

animal, putting pressure on it

to move towards the open gate.

As one animal moves through

the open gate, the rest of the

herd will likely follow it out.

“Work with smaller batches

of animals. We are inclined to

work with big batches and this

often prevents the pressure-and-

release technique from being

correctly applied,” Cloete advises.

Cattle that are lying down while

resting should also not be hurried

to stand up and be moved. Like

humans, they too need time to

first stand up and stretch their

muscles before moving. Again,

this consideration by handlers

results in non-stressed cattle.

“Cattle that have been handled

with stress-causing methods will

need some time to get used to

what is expected of them when

they start being handled with

the low-stress, add pressure,

relax pressure method. But they

learn fast and new animals into

the herd will also learn from

the original animals in the

herd. And the use of low-stress

handling methods eventually

becomes second nature to a

practised handler,” says Cloete.

He cautions that while the

cattle are getting used to being

handled using these low-stress

methods, there might be one or

two animals that are perhaps

wilder than the others and need

a little more time to learn.

“Never jump in front of

such animals when they

are panicked. You could be

seriously injured. Rather let this

animal rejoin its herd mates

until it has calmed down.”

• Email Dr Johan Cloete at
  [email protected]. Visit
  msd-animal-health.com.


• This information is from a
  presentation given by Cloete at a
  MSD Animal Health ‘Creating
  Connections’ farmers’ information
  day held at Weston Agricultural
  College on 18 June. ▪FW

CATTLE THAT ARE

RESTING SHOULD

NOT BE HURRIED

TO MOVE

JHBTRACTOR SPARES

SPECIALISTSINREPLACEMENTPARTSFOR

FORD/ FIAT/ NEWHOLLAND/ MF

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