Think Like a Cow

OR: How to load a single cow into a stock trailer.

I have been mulling this post over for a few weeks now.  Thinking like a cow. Because often when we have to move an animal somewhere strange,  (like into a stock trailer) or across dangerous terrain (like concrete covered in a sheet of ice, or just into a new field it is very useful to actually think like that animal. I am very glad to be able to inform you that I can think like a cow.

Yesterday Queenie Wineti our big beautiful Hereford cow sold for $1,800 dollars and was loaded into a stock trailer  and driven away by a very nice man.  And so ends the era of Daisy and Queenie. This all came about very quickly. It was a bit sad for me but better for Queenie in the long run.

So I had to think like a cow to get her loaded without stress.

So here is what I know about cows. Cows do not like to go places by themselves.  Cows see out of  the sides of their heads and often see better when they lower their heads.  Cows will not try to escape through a solid wall. Cows like to follow other cows. Cows do NOT like to be pushed. If you try to push a cow from behind she will walk backwards. Cows like to have a look through the door way before proceeding. They like to see where they are going. Cows are not graceful in small spaces. Cows do not like to step up. Cows will not step over a dark area on the ground. Cows like food. Cows can be trained to repond to verbal calls or visual stimuli like a bucket. A cow will turn and face a threat.  Cows need to be able to see ahead. If a cow gets a fright, she stays frightened for a long time.  A cow does not like to have a dog behind her where she cannot see them. If a cow has a bad experience the first time it can take her months to get that memory out of her head. So I need to make sure to get it right the first time.

Most of all I have learned that if you miss a step in your preparation and your cow gets spooked and backs away from your trailer you are going to have a hard time loading her. You may as well go inside and make a cup of tea. I know from experience that I cannot be too prepared. I have to think like a cow. (Of course if I am loading a pig I have to think like a pig too or a sheep.. though I find it very hard to think like a cat).

The first thing I do is walk the pathway we will follow in my mind. Mapping the whole task out in pictures.  If you take your brain for a walk like this you will often see the hazards that your beast may encounter.  Make sure you walk it at the animals height. Then I walk it physically to make sure there is nothing in the races that will upset her at all. I keep them calm through the whole procedure.  I am 120 pounds. Queenie is about 1600 pounds. She has to want to do what I want her to do or we are not going to be doing anything at all.

My cows are always loaded from Sheila’s door.  (I will tell you why in a minute) So first I take the pigs for a walk to another pen for the duration of the loading period. Then I lock up TonTon (he likes to round animals up – so he often gets ahead of the cow which is not what I wanted yesterday) and then I lock the kittens up so they don’t get under wheels. Then I put oats into two buckets. One bowl goes into the trailer a good cows length inside. The other one is in my hand.

I take my long blue crook,  a small leaf of good hay, my bucket -tell Boo to “get Queenie.” (so he knows it is her we are moving)  and then I bring in the cow. I call  to Queenie. (It is incredibly useful to have your animal trained to a call). We get to the gate, using the stick to deflect the other cows I open the gate and throw the hay where I want her to walk.  Boo walks up behind her. “Move her up Boo” I call, Boo woofs once, shows her heel his teeth and very smartly she is through the gate and that gate is shut before any other cows know there is food about.

Then I pick up the hay and put it in my bucket, call Boo to MY heel  and we parade down the race on the North side of the barn (it was wickedly cold yesterday morning) around the East side into the pigs run – calling to Queenie to follow. (I call to the cows with the same voiice every time i feed them so they always come when I call). With Queenie following I walk into Sheila’s bedroom and give her the hay again, with some oats sprinkled on top. Then I shut the door behind her. With the door shut it is darker, the dimness is calming for animals and she is used to the smell of pigs.

After that, yesterday, I quickly walked back around the barn and fed the two Dutchies in their inner pen where Queenie could see them and then shut the front doors of the barn as well, leaving it extra dim and quiet.  Everything was done in a relaxed and gentle way.

I always leave the animal I am loading out of sight inside the barn until I get the trailer backed up and the motor turned off.

This is why I load cows (and sheep and pigs) from Sheila’s door. Loading one animal is always more difficult that loading a herd. And you only get one chance at doing it gently.

So,  we have to make sure the animal walks exactly where we want her to walk. The pigs yard gate opens inwards past Sheila’s door creating a barrier. (The trailer is backed up to the opening where the gate was,  effectively blocking it off, nowhere to go but up). John holds the gate. He is told to not make a sound. The man who was transporting Queenie holds the door open to his trailer and is instructed to stand behind it and not make a sound not even to move his feet.  Then I fill any gaps between the trailer and  the barn, or the fence, with big pieces of paneling.  Once all the holes are plugged with my pretend walls, I get my bucket and open Sheila’s door so the cow can come out.  She always looks out first, sees me and my bucket and then she steps out and they always turn right, always, their left eye sees a wall and Johns gate and without fail they gently move out to their right and in three steps are at the trailer bed with Johns gate gliding behind but not touching.

With Queenie following I back up into the trailer. I  stay to the side so the cow can see past me and call and hold out the oats and apples and feed them in. Every step they take they get food as a reward. Every command I give the men or the dog is in the same sing song voice. I let her eat then move back a little, let her eat again, you cannot back up with the food too fast, they have to know they can eat the food. One hoof up on the trailer bed, two legs  up and without a sound the gates and the door are closing behind her.  So if she turns she only sees a wall. Then she sees the big bucket of feed inside the trailer and she stretches for it and at the right moment (and this only works once) I call “Move her up” to Boo who has been waiting behind her, he barks, darts at her heel again and the cow dances up into the trailer from that little fright. Then the door is closed and the cows head is in the bucket having a munch.

All done in about two minutes.

Sometimes the men think it is funny to lock the trailer  doors and pretend they don’t know I am in with the cow!

Thank you, Queenie Wineti.  I say to my good old cow.  Off you go and be good.

And off she went.  Without a backward glance I have to say. The money raised from her sale will be used to buy one or hopefully two young heifer Hereford calves in the spring. So sad that she could not get pregnant again here. She is sure to have better luck in a bigger herd.  There you are.  I know. I know. Not a zoo.

I hope you are having a lovely day.

Your friend on the farmy,

celi