Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2009 15:51:14 GMT -5
Hi there everyone,
I am a new member and proud new owner of two american milking devon cows and a bull calf. So here's my situation:
Cows arrived on Sunday with one needing to be milked as she was separated for her calf. The cow needing to be milked (Petunia) was hand milked a handfull of times for handling purposes out in her herd back in VT but other than that she is not really used to having someone handle her. So I chose after one milking session, which took way to long just to get her to let me handle her teats, to dry her off cold turkey. She is 6 and half months into her lactation and today she just started to shrink up so I think I am lucky and avoided any mastitis issues but we are watching closely. Any how I want to train my cows for next summer so I can safely handle them and milk then in my stanchions after they calf. So here is a brief introduction into my cows personalities and where I am with them.
Cow #1: Petunia our head of the herd at the moment, she is our boldest and smartest cow but also our most skiddish. The day after she arrived I had to clip her to the stanchion after much coaxing to milk her out once before drying her off. Once clipped she freaked out and eventually settled somewhat but was shaking while I was milking her. Once done I un-clipped her and off she went. (I am worried I damagedmy trust with her quite a bit by clipping her and having her be scared while I milked her) On separate occasions I have had thwapp on the nose when she challenged me. At the moment she will eat inside the stanchion but if I step over to pet her, clip her or lock her head in she's out (again she is very smart and doesn't like me much). She'll eat hay out of my hand away from the stanchion but not if I am standing close to it, also she has never eaten grain or sweet feed
Cow #2: Ruby is shy, sweet and for the most part tolerant of me but is very very hesitant to stick her head all the way into the stanchion. I pet her every day while she eats just outside of the stanchion and only thwaped her on the nose once for directly threatening me and she seems to understand that I am her boss, but the trust is still forming.
What I would like to do is train them to come when I call, and have them both walk up to the stanchions and stick their heads in to eat a small scoop of grain and a fleck of hay. I want to have them trust me enough that I can walk right up to them be able to close the stanchion head gate and have them be comfortable with that. At the moment Ruby is just starting to explore the delights of sweet feed but Petunia is still uncertain about the stuff.
My initial thought was to not feed them one evening and coax and clip them both to their stanchions in the morning. Then leave them with a fleck of hay and a scoop of sweet feed and come back in 3 or 4 hours, after they are done freaking out. Then put in more hay and get their heads locked in and pet them gently for 30 or so min and then release them. I don't know if I should train them to love grain first or if this is even a good idea.
So my question is does anyone know how can I train them to: come when called, trust and eat inside the head stanchion, trust me so they wont back out when I get close, and get them to used to eating sweet feed.
wow thats alot of info and I just want to thank anyone who takes the time to read this and respond in advance. This is an amazing forum and I really appreciate it being here and hope that sometime down the road I might accrue enough good experience to assist other folks with their questions but until then I am reliant on the wisdom and experience of others.
All the best, and forever gratefull for everyones posts and assistance
I am a new member and proud new owner of two american milking devon cows and a bull calf. So here's my situation:
Cows arrived on Sunday with one needing to be milked as she was separated for her calf. The cow needing to be milked (Petunia) was hand milked a handfull of times for handling purposes out in her herd back in VT but other than that she is not really used to having someone handle her. So I chose after one milking session, which took way to long just to get her to let me handle her teats, to dry her off cold turkey. She is 6 and half months into her lactation and today she just started to shrink up so I think I am lucky and avoided any mastitis issues but we are watching closely. Any how I want to train my cows for next summer so I can safely handle them and milk then in my stanchions after they calf. So here is a brief introduction into my cows personalities and where I am with them.
Cow #1: Petunia our head of the herd at the moment, she is our boldest and smartest cow but also our most skiddish. The day after she arrived I had to clip her to the stanchion after much coaxing to milk her out once before drying her off. Once clipped she freaked out and eventually settled somewhat but was shaking while I was milking her. Once done I un-clipped her and off she went. (I am worried I damagedmy trust with her quite a bit by clipping her and having her be scared while I milked her) On separate occasions I have had thwapp on the nose when she challenged me. At the moment she will eat inside the stanchion but if I step over to pet her, clip her or lock her head in she's out (again she is very smart and doesn't like me much). She'll eat hay out of my hand away from the stanchion but not if I am standing close to it, also she has never eaten grain or sweet feed
Cow #2: Ruby is shy, sweet and for the most part tolerant of me but is very very hesitant to stick her head all the way into the stanchion. I pet her every day while she eats just outside of the stanchion and only thwaped her on the nose once for directly threatening me and she seems to understand that I am her boss, but the trust is still forming.
What I would like to do is train them to come when I call, and have them both walk up to the stanchions and stick their heads in to eat a small scoop of grain and a fleck of hay. I want to have them trust me enough that I can walk right up to them be able to close the stanchion head gate and have them be comfortable with that. At the moment Ruby is just starting to explore the delights of sweet feed but Petunia is still uncertain about the stuff.
My initial thought was to not feed them one evening and coax and clip them both to their stanchions in the morning. Then leave them with a fleck of hay and a scoop of sweet feed and come back in 3 or 4 hours, after they are done freaking out. Then put in more hay and get their heads locked in and pet them gently for 30 or so min and then release them. I don't know if I should train them to love grain first or if this is even a good idea.
So my question is does anyone know how can I train them to: come when called, trust and eat inside the head stanchion, trust me so they wont back out when I get close, and get them to used to eating sweet feed.
wow thats alot of info and I just want to thank anyone who takes the time to read this and respond in advance. This is an amazing forum and I really appreciate it being here and hope that sometime down the road I might accrue enough good experience to assist other folks with their questions but until then I am reliant on the wisdom and experience of others.
All the best, and forever gratefull for everyones posts and assistance