Getting cattle use to the sound of machinery?

[hid1375]

Hi all,
I was wondering what the best way to get my cattle use to the sound of machinery is? I had a neighboring farm use a surge milker run off a tractors intake manifold and he would drive up to his cow in the field, halter her and tie it to the tractor, then give her some grain while he ran the surge milker pumping the milk. He had a few jerseys he'd do this to. I recently purchased an old surge milker he had an repaired it and looking to do it with my one tractor which is a ford 9n, not sure what he used but if i had to guess it was some bigger rowcrop allis. I have a holstein hereford cross and not that shes ready for milking or anything, but how can I get her used to the sound of the tractor without getting spooked away? My chickens already run at the sound of this specific tractor because I use it to plow and when they here it they think they are running up to the field with me to pick worms out of the soil lol, what would be a good equivalent to this with my cow?

 

[wobbie1775]

Deliver her grain to her on that tractor. And feed to her while the tractor is running. She will associate the tractor with the grain and probably try to climb in your lap any time she hears it.

 

[Warren Allison]

Fill it up with gas, put her in a pen she can't get out of, and let it run tils she settles down and doesn't pay it any attention. she will before the tractor runs out of gas, I guarantee.

 

[kenny thomas]

Along the same lines we always left a radio playing in the barn with show calves to get them accustomed to different noises.

 

[who cares]

Bring her treats with tractor. Mine mob tractors and I have to use dog to move them away.
Having said that, it is almost always faster and easier to take the cow to the equipment than the opposite. Hauling around a milk machine and claw is a lot more hassle - I did it for years with a pump and generator rather than have cows come to be milke d, and it's easier to have cows walk up than start a tractor, load your milking stuff up, drive to field, milk cow , how everything home and into the house, wash it all etc

 

[1982vett]

Fill it up with gas, put her in a pen she can't get out of, and let it run tils she settles down and doesn't pay it any attention. she will before the tractor runs out of gas, I guarantee.

I can see where she would associate the tractor with being penned up short with no escape.

No treat? I'm outta here!

 

[Brute 23]

I can see where she would associate the tractor with being penned up short with no escape.

No treat? I'm outta here!

Yep. That is negative reinforcement. Giving treats off the tractor would be positive reinforcement.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

"Bring her treats with tractor. Mine mob tractors and I have to use dog to move them away.
Having said that, it is almost always faster and easier to take the cow to the equipment than the opposite. Hauling around a milk machine and claw is a lot more hassle - I did it for years with a pump and generator rather than have cows come to be milke d, and it's easier to have cows walk up than start a tractor, load your milking stuff up, drive to field, milk cow , how everything home and into the house, wash it all etc"

I also use the Surge belly pail. It hangs under the cow on a strap. She comes in from the pasture and waits to go into the stanchion for a flake of alfalfa (productive dairy cows need alfalfa and grain) where the Surge is set up. It runs off an extension cord to the barn. I then take the full pail and milker into the kitchen, clean sanitize and process the milk. Having to do this in the field I can't imagine. Even in the old days milkmaids took a bucket to the pasture and hand milked. Those days are long gone.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Another thing- I don't know about running a milking machine off a tractor. Cows udders can be permanently ruined and it hurts. You want an actual dairy pump with a tank called a balance tank that makes a gentle start up and release of suction. Also, if the milk bucket overflows it keeps the milk from being sucked into the motor and ruining it. You want the suction controlled by the 'pulsator', set at sucking 60 sucks a minute. This allowed the teat to refill and drain like a calf suckles. When the milk is drained you want to take the 'inflations' off so she is not overmilked and damaged. You can feel this going through the black rubber milk hoses or actually see the milk with see through silicone inflation hoses.

 

[Twisted]

As everyone else has said, feed them off the tractor, mine hear the tractor running and they come running, That's also how I spray them for flies and such. I pour a bucket of cubes on the ground around the tractor and stand on the tractor to get high enough to spray their backs down good.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I would agree with feeding them off the tractor.
It's funny. Cows have great hearing. The place I used to manage had 7 John Deere tractors. You could drive past them in the pasture with 6 of the 7 and the cows would barely raise their heads. But if you went by on the loader tractor they would beat you to the gate because they thought hay was coming.

 

[gman4691]

I agree with the idea of taking them some cubes or something just about every time you go down there. They'll catch on pretty quick.

 

[farmerjan]

Agree with the feeding from the tractor. Ours will look up when you drive in the field in some trucks, and come running for dear life with trucks they associate with getting fed... hay or grain or anything... POSITIVE reinforcement. There are always a few that are skittish/wary and probably will be all their lives... if they are too big a problem, they don't get moved out to summer pastures, and if they are too much of a PITA... they grow wheels and go be problems for someone else or find a permanent position at McDonald's....

 

[gman4691]

Agree with the feeding from the tractor. Ours will look up when you drive in the field in some trucks, and come running for dear life with trucks they associate with getting fed... hay or grain or anything... POSITIVE reinforcement. There are always a few that are skittish/wary and probably will be all their lives... if they are too big a problem, they don't get moved out to summer pastures, and if they are too much of a PITA... they grow wheels and go be problems for someone else or find a permanent position at McDonald's....

That's a big 10-4 on growing wheels...I've got one that's probably going to with this past spring's calves in the near future...if I can get her penned up.

 

[Warren Allison]

I can see where she would associate the tractor with being penned up short with no escape.

No treat? I'm outta here!

Not at all. It will eventually settle down and ignore the noise, The OP asked how to "get cattle used to the sound of machinery",. not how to train them to come running when they hear a tractor. Why would you want cows to do that anyway? Makes it hard to get in and out of the gates, if you are by yourself. But, yeah, you can have hay , feed, water etc, in the pen. Some might take several hours before they settle down, and quit paying any attention to the noise.

 

[wbvs58]

I would agree with feeding them off the tractor.
It's funny. Cows have great hearing. The place I used to manage had 7 John Deere tractors. You could drive past them in the pasture with 6 of the 7 and the cows would barely raise their heads. But if you went by on the loader tractor they would beat you to the gate because they thought hay was coming.

They are smart.
I find generally they are pretty thick skinned when it comes to noise of machinery.

Ken