Training a Respectful Cow

Cows can be very sweet and gentle animals. They can also be very mean and dangerous if they are not trained and handled correctly. For small time farmers and homesteaders it is a lot easier to handle a cow that is friendly and tame then a wild, untouched cow especially if you do not have a corral and cattle shoot to work your cattle. So, how do you get calm and gentle cows/cattle?

A cow's response toward people is influenced by the time and attention given to them as a calf. If you are around them every day and work with them they will be more used to people. If you do not spend time with them why would they want to spend time with you?

It is best to start when they are young. Get them used to being touched and petted as well as the feel of a lead rope around their nose. If you have a small calf halter this is a great time to introduce it to them. Then they will get used to the feel of a halter around their face.

When they are small and young it is easy to push and pull them around and make them go where you want them to. DON'T! That will just be setting you up for trouble down the road when they are older and bigger then you. They will be pushy and disrespectful. And that can be very dangerous with an 800-1,000 pound cow.

This is our experience with our Jersey/Texas Longhorn milk heifer. But please note that all cows are different and some will require more time and training than others. Certain breeds of cattle are more uptight and others are more docile.

We brought Bella home when she was about a year and a half. So training can start when they are older but the younger they are to start the better. Bella was skittish around people. We could not pet her but she was very curious about people. She was terrified of a halter and lead rope and wanted nothing to do with them. Since she was supposed to be our milk cow we knew she needed to be tamed and halter broken.

We started out with a bucket and a little bit of grain and eventually was able to get close enough while she ate to pet and brush her. After she was comfortable with that we started laying her halter in her bucket so she would have to nose around it to get the grain. Then she realized that the halter was not as big of a cow-eating-monster as she had thought. Then we would set it up so that she would have to put her nose through the halter to eat her grain and eventually got it on her. During the night she was allowed out in the pasture and during the day she was in a smaller paddock. We made it a habit to put her halter on before she got to go out into the pasture at night. It took time but we eventually eliminated the grain and were able to halter her before we let her out at night. There were some random times when she just did not want her halter to be put on so she did not get to go out into the pasture until later when she finally let us halter her. Sometimes you just have to be more stubborn then them.

Don't think that this all happened within a couple of weeks. This was over the span of 9 months. But when she finally freshened she was on her way to being a nice milk cow. This was our experience with our one cow, but remember it is a learning curve every time because all cows are different. Bella was grain motivated. Our one other heifer is not but she loves being brushed and scratched. Learn what motivates your cow and use that to your advantage in training them.

Tips for Training Your Cow.

1. Be consistent. Just like training anything consistency is key.

2. Have a specific cue. One physical like a tug or a touch. And one verbal like a cluck or whistle. Your physical cue should start out very light and steadily increase in pressure until they respond. The lighter you start out the more responsive your cow will eventually become. Because even at the lightest touch they will know exactly what you want them to do.

3. Don't pull. It is easier for a cow to brace themselves against a steady pull then the motion of steady tugs.

4. Give and release. When you ask your cow to do something the moment they start doing it you stop asking. When asking a cow to step forward for the first time a lot of times their instinct is to pull back and get away from the pressure you are putting on them. Don't get into a tug of war with them because they will most likely win. However, you do want to keep the pressure up until they 'give' and step forward or even just shift their weight forward. At that point even the smallest effort needs to be rewarded. They will soon learn that by stepping forward and 'giving' to the pressure that the pressure is then released.

5. Don't let them crowd your personal space. This would mostly be a problem with friendly over eager cows. If you feel uncomfortable with them being so close to you make them step back, not you. They are the ones that should move out of your way. You are the boss.

6. Teach them to back up. Backing up is a sign of submission. It builds their respect towards you. It works great for an attitude adjustment. Bella was starting to get pushy when feeding time came. So we would make her back up and wait before we gave her her food. She learned.