21/06/2026
Meet our calves and their carer Emma.
Animal welfare is her top priority “lead don’t push”..
“One basic and very simple concept in animal behaviour was discovered by Skinner (a horrible human being but very clever), he discovered Operant Conditioning, when a cue is followed by a positive reinforcement, the animal will associate that cue with something good. With cows it means if you can train them to associate a cue with fresh grass or silage or hay, so something positive, that cue will help you move them without struggling. Lead don’t push. Aside from a vocal command though, it’s simply getting them used to you that will make all the difference. It might seem like you’re wasting time when you’re just hanging with the gals but you’re actually saving time because the next time you have to get them from a to b you might just find that the extra scratch and cuddle will translate in cows that will follow you anywhere (sometimes almost too much lol). Whenever possible you should go into calves pens and hang with your cows and steers and do things manually instead of using a tele handler. The more they’re used to you the less stressed they’ll be the easier life will be for everyone. Poor handling, on the other hand, so using sticks and prods and shouting will inevitably make your life harder in the long run. Looking at it from a purely pragmatic perspective, using force will translate into animals that do not want to follow you or be around you. It will also translate in animal that are stressed when handled which in turn makes for tainted meat as cortisol stays in the system a long time, and at the abbatoir animals are more likely to get hurt because they’re stressed. There’s also the obvious ethical side of the matter. Animals that will end up in our plate should at the very least be handled with respect and humanely. But for the farmers out there who think at the end of the day raising your voice and using a blue pipe or a fencing stick is not only acceptable but also necessary and useful, I would like to say you’re hitting yourself in the foot. Well handled animals taste better and work for you. Be smart, don’t be mean :)”
