Intelligence in Cattle

[Premier Longhorns]

Most every Texas Longhorn owner can relate some amazingly smart behaviour they've observed in their cattle. Has anyone done or know of animal intelligence tests conducted with Texas Longhorns perhaps on a University level? We breed, raise and then train our calves in trick, riding and harness driving. But, any horse can do that, Texas Longhorns are so much smarter than horses. (and I can honestly say that after 30 years of training horses) I am interested in conducting problem solving experiments in the manner used with intelligence tests with primates where desired responses merit immediate food rewards. ( A Texas Longhorn will do anything for a cookie or a banana or an apple!) We currently have a couple of "A+ Students", an unrelated Tabasco suckling steer and a yearling Gunsmoke heifer that not only know the answers, they know the questions! ...and are always thinking. I want to feed their thirst for knowledge. We've played classical music in the barn but then initiated Spookless sound conditioning and since then we've added some "educational toys" to stimulate their curiosity. I want to explore their capabilities further. Any ideas? What intelligent behaviour have you observed in your cattle especially Texas Longhorns?

I am posing this question in the Beginners Board because yes, I have so much to learn!
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[Little Cow]

How to explore further? I dunno, maybe build a difficult fence with the promise of LOVE on the other side. You might see some problem solving skills...or just brute force!

My young calves always have one of the horse ball toys to mess with when they are weaned. They seem to like to play with it.

 

[Ryder]

What intelligent behaviour have you observed in your cattle especially Texas Longhorns?
]

My experience with Longhorns is slim to none.
But I do have experience with several other breeds. I would rank their intelligence into two categories.
1. Dumb
2. Dumber

 

[Jogeephus]

Once I was walking between the coral and a group of mamma cows when I inadvertantly got between a young calf laying against the corral fence and her mamma who was an 1100 pound brangus who had a motherly instinct score of 10. Before I realized what I had done, the brangus was charging me and I was fixing to be made into paste against the corral. Out of nowhere came #10 who is a 1500 lb big black cow of questionable bloodlines. She butted the brangus in the side and knocked her to the ground. This gave me just enough time to get to safety. The action of this cow still amazes me to this day. She has earned a spot on my farm and even a name. I crowned her "BERTHA". She is a lead cow and I use her for weaning and conditioning replacement heifers. Like clockwork, she also always drops a bull on January 10th. :lol:

 

[Horticattleman]

What intelligent behaviour have you observed in your cattle especially Texas Longhorns?
]

My experience with Longhorns is slim to none.
But I do have experience with several other breeds. I would rank their intelligence into two categories.
1. Dumb
2. Dumber

:lol:

 

[Caustic Burno]

You are talking about an animal that its stomach is thirty times larger than its brain. Life is like a box of chocolates.

 

[Sir Loin]

IMO cattle are dumber then a sack of hammers. But they can be conditioned to do many things just like most other mammals.

 

[TheBullLady]

Hmmm....I don't know that I can afford to send 'em to A & M for higher learning. :roll:

I'm going to suggest that they are as dumb or intellegent as their owners perceive them to be. Any warm blooded animal has the ability to reason, and I"m sure there are some that are more intellegent than others. But then, if you spend a lot of time with your animals, you'll always find something to amaze you about them. Most people don't spend time to figure them out, and figure out the ways they reason.

 

[TexLonghornRanch]

I'm sure you can teach them to run a maze just like rats.

 

[grannysoo]

All of mine are smart except for that 1 and she's always brilliant. Just try to get her to go thru the gate. She will always outsmart me..........

 

[Ryder]

All of mine are smart except for that 1 and she's always brilliant. Just try to get her to go thru the gate. She will always outsmart me..........

Point taken, :lol:

 

[jfont]

Mine will come running in the corral when I put out feed, but if I put out feed with the intention of penning them up there will be atleast one that wont come in. As if it knows something is up?

 

[WAguy]

IMO cattle are dumber then a sack of hammers. But they can be conditioned to do many things just like most other mammals.

Including humans. For some reason, whenever I see the streams of cars crawling down the freeway, I think of cows.

 

[Gate Opener]

Once I was walking between the coral and a group of mamma cows when I inadvertantly got between a young calf laying against the corral fence and her mamma who was an 1100 pound brangus who had a motherly instinct score of 10. Before I realized what I had done, the brangus was charging me and I was fixing to be made into paste against the corral. Out of nowhere came #10 who is a 1500 lb big black cow of questionable bloodlines. She butted the brangus in the side and knocked her to the ground. This gave me just enough time to get to safety. The action of this cow still amazes me to this day. She has earned a spot on my farm and even a name. I crowned her "BERTHA". She is a lead cow and I use her for weaning and conditioning replacement heifers. Like clockwork, she also always drops a bull on January 10th. :lol:

I have some friends who said they had a cow step in and save them from another cow also. They kept the cow that saved them too.

 

[TagandKiss]

Mine knows how to get out any time she wants. Starting to get sick of it too. our fence is 3/4 white vinyl and 1/4 wire mesh. and she always gets out of the wire mesh. she puts her horns through it and lifts until the bailing wire breaks. but twine seems to be working =) so thats what i am doing tomorrow. gonna drill holes through the tpost and tie it up with rope. luv her, but she a real pain in my butt lately. plus she is teaching her calf bad things lol. :roll: next she will learn how to pop off the panels in the white vinyl :shock:

 

[karlie45]

As far as pasture cows, i've noticed that they are not the smartest. The come runnin when you call "come here girls" because they know that that means food. :roll:
Now, those show heifers of mine... they always seem to know when I walk in the pen, whether they are gonna be brushed, worked, tied, or washed. They never seem to like me if it is anything besides being brushed.