10/11/06 Easy does it

Easy Does It It's been thought about and talked about, but I just saw where it was written about. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you what "it" is. Ranchers always talk about handling cattle quieter, but I thought it was interesting that I would find articles about handling cattle with less stress in two different publications at the same time by different writers. Stockmen I visited with when I was younger talked about working cattle quieter because it was easier on them. Actually, handling cattle quieter or smarter with natural stockmanship means money to producers. Not only money, but also safety for the cattle and handlers are benefits. Research has revealed that cattle under stress are more likely to gain poorly and are more prone to illness. In fact, costly preventive immunizations are less effective if given to over-stressed animals. Natural stockmanship works by utilizing an animal's natural tendencies such as they want to know where you are at all times, they are bothered by pressure from behind, they prefer to go around you, and they like to trail other livestock. Now just knowing these cattle tendencies is not enough, a handler needs to be able to be able to use this information to move cattle effectively and safely. I'll bet a lot of the methods I thought were correct to move cattle are about 180 degrees off. You know, most of us can look somewhat like a cowboy or do a pretty good imitation of one, but when you start working cattle you can't imitate a stockman. I'm Jeff Keane. Wallaces Farmer September 2006 Western Farmer-Stockman October 2006