Cattle Behavior

There are four basic principles of cattle behavior:

1) Cattle want to see you

– Cattle can see everywhere except directly in front and directly in back of them.
– Movement towards the rear blind spot behind them causes them to turn and look to keep you in sight.
– You can use this to get them to change direction but it works against you if you want them to go straight forward.
– When you are working behind cattle keep moving from side to side to prevent them from turning in an effort to see you.

2) Cattle want to go around you

– This is a good thing! Position yourself so that when they do go around you they are pointed directly at the gate or destination you had in mind. They’ll think it was their idea to go there!

3) Cattle want to be with and will go to other cattle

– The “herding” instinct is natural among prey animals. They are safer in bunches because there are more animals looking for danger approaching and if it does, less chance that a specific animal will be put in harms way.
– If you can start the front of a herd moving, the back animals will follow.
– You need to be careful when moving cows past another herd, even if there is a fence in between. The natural reaction will be for the cows to try to get together so you need to keep your cows away from the fence separating the herds and work to keep forward movement in your herd. Oh, and look carefully at the fencing ahead to make sure there isn’t a break or an open gate!
– Unless there is a real health issue requiring it, the normal practice is to never leave one cow alone in a pen. They will become agitated and that profitable fat will get used up!

4) Each cow has a mental oval space around it called the flight zone.