How do you ask them?

[inyati13]

I want everyone to blame Limomike for this new thread. I was finished, albeit, my mind was still ruminating on the subject of the Other thread, "Do Your Cows Like You." He posted this at the end of the thread,"I would add to this.,.. How do you ask them?" I been thinking on that this morning before he ask the question. I should let it go but Limomike, Bless His Heart, had to ask his question. And here we go:

Ole Ron combs the back of his cow.

The sensory receptors in the skin of the cow receive the stimulus.

The neurons convert the sensory stimulus to a nerve transmission.

Nerves carry the impulse to the spinal cord.

The spinal cord conducts the impulse to the brain.

The brain interprets that the sensation is a pleasure.

The cow's eye receives photons of light that are reflecting off ole Ron.

The retinal nerve transmits the image formed on the retina to the optic part of the brain across the optic chiasma.

The brain interprets the image as ole Ron. Same ole guy that does this all the time. The cow's brain has by previous episodes established that this habit is safe to her health and safety.

The cow puts together the sense of pleasure and the sight of ole Ron.

The cow forms an association of the two sensory perceptions.

Does she like ole Ron because of the association? I don't know, my cow still can't talk and I haven't learned to moo yet.

 

[dun]

She probably equates ole Ron to that tree out in the pasture that she likes to scratch on. She doesn;t ask the tree if it likes it and the tree doesn;t ask her.

 

[inyati13]

dun, you are firin' on all cylinders today :lol:

 

[inyati13]

AMAZING DEVELOPMENT,

Cows were standing where I throw out my hay bales. I ask them if they wanted some pellets.

One raised her tail and said, "A few."

 

[Chris H]

inyati13, I get a kick out of your posts. A good stockman knows animal behavior, and their herd in particular. Knowing when a cow isn't acting normal lets you intervene quicker, and usually with a better outcome.

As for grooming the cows, you are performing basic mammal grooming behavior. It's a form of bonding. It's necessary for good health. Think about how a new mother will lick her calf. Not only does it help the two to bond, it stimulates the calf to start eating & pooping. From a purely physical sense, of course your cows like your grooming. It does promote a bond between you & your cattle.

But as a caution to people who don't fully understand cattle behavior, that cow that just enjoyed your grooming may get ticked because you got in the way of her feed and give you a toss out of the way. Or, as you're walking away she comes up and gives you a shove because she wants more. Of course that shove might knock you down because she's a 1400 pound cow and you're a 140 pound person. And a bull that's a gentle as a kitten doesn't care who you are if you're between him and his current object of affection.

 

[inyati13]

inyati13, I get a kick out of your posts. A good stockman knows animal behavior, and their herd in particular. Knowing when a cow isn't acting normal lets you intervene quicker, and usually with a better outcome.

As for grooming the cows, you are performing basic mammal grooming behavior. It's a form of bonding. It's necessary for good health. Think about how a new mother will lick her calf. Not only does it help the two to bond, it stimulates the calf to start eating & pooping. From a purely physical sense, of course your cows like your grooming. It does promote a bond between you & your cattle.

But as a caution to people who don't fully understand cattle behavior, that cow that just enjoyed your grooming may get ticked because you got in the way of her feed and give you a toss out of the way. Or, as you're walking away she comes up and gives you a shove because she wants more. Of course that shove might knock you down because she's a 1400 pound cow and you're a 140 pound person. And a bull that's a gentle as a kitten doesn't care who you are if you're between him and his current object of affection.

Thank you. I appreciate your compliments. I get up early in the morning and get on here while I drink that first wonderful cup of coffee. I enjoy starting the day with CT. I get valuable information but mostly I like the entertainment. It causes me to think. It is a nice bonus if someone enjoys what I say besides me. Chris, I do not consider myself an experienced cattleman because I am not. I did grow up with horses and cows. My dad used draft horses when everyone else had converted to tractors. I was kicked by a horse at such a young age that I would not even know about it except that my dad and mom told me I was. I lived in the pasture with the horses and cows. My brother and I would ride the horses bare back when we got big enough that we could find a place where we could get them down hill below us enough that we could crawl on their back. They would just go on eating and we would go where ever they went. I always had mine and he had his. I loved throwing hay down to the cows. My dad put hay up lose. You pull the load of hay in the barn, pull down a fork that was attached to pulleys and then hooked the horse to a single tree, she pulled the load of hay up to a pulley track, the hay went back into the loft and you tripped it. It would come crashing down into the loft with a big swoosh. I was walked over by a horse a couple of times when the hay fell off prematurely and suddenly the load was released off the horse I was leading. I was probably about 9 years old. The horse (big draft horses probably 2800 pounds) would knock me down and walk over me. They seemed like they just knew not to step on me. My dad would come running out of the loft and tell me I was the dumbest dam kid in the world for letting it happen. I knew it just scared him. One time one got me on the ankle. I thought in the excitement that it would be broken. But as God is my witness, that horse knew I was under her and she put no weight on the foot that got me. It did not even swell. That horse was a big belgian we named Bunny. I loved her with my whole heart. I would spend hours on her bare back in the pasture. When dad sold her to a guy who used her to pull logs, I cussed him to myself for a week. I never forgave him. That horse was so sweet. I am getting tears as I write this.

I agree with you to the letter on the grooming. I wear hardtoes. I have for 40 years. Cows will step on your feet. You are correct. I have had a couple start headbutting because they don't want you to stop grooming.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I sure hope you and I can meet someday Ole Ron.

 

[inyati13]

I sure hope you and I can meet someday Ole Ron.

Thank you. I hope so too. Thank you so much, my friend.

 

[glacierridge]

I sure hope you and I can meet someday Ole Ron.

Ditto. You always bring a smile to my heart Ron.

 

[inyati13]

I sure hope you and I can meet someday Ole Ron.

Ditto. You always bring a smile to my heart Ron.

You are too sweet, glacierridge.