Hi I’m Mike.
As a rancher in Northeast Wyoming, I work with cows every single day.
You could call them the closest thing that I have to a co-worker.
I need them to trust me, and I need to trust them, to an extent.
Today we take a look at what it takes to earn that trust, as we look at some cow physiology
and psychology on Our Wyoming Life.
Welcome back to our Wyoming life, each video we take you along as we explore the ranch
life and escape the ordinary.
A journey that has taken us out of the corporate world and landed us here at our family ranch.
Along with me, came my wife Erin and eventually our 3 kids and a whole new understanding of
where our food comes from and why its important.
Thanks for joining us on this journey and thank you for subscribing and ensuring we
can keep spreading our message.
We are all part of the ranch, each of us, and a huge part of the ranch is the cows that
call this place home.
We run about 150 cows on over 5000 acres.
The land here can support one cow and her calf per about 30 acres.
That is called the stocking rate, its based on the measurement of what one acre of land
can produce to support the livestock living on it.
Stocking rates are different everywhere you go and depend on the soil, the amount of rain,
the growing season, temperatures, elevation and probably a bunch of other factors.
These 150 cows can be worth as much as $10,000 a piece over their lifetimes, based just on
the calves that they will produce for the ranch and each cow out here now is part of
our breeding herd and is just as important to the future of the ranch as anything out
here, including me.
When we came here, I didn’t know squat about cows, but over the last few years I have had
to take a crash course, and learned a lot along the way.
Our first winter here, all I did was feed the cows.
The timing was perfect, because I had an entire winter to get to know our herd.
I fed them everyday, I got out and moved around them and most importantly they got used to
seeing me out with them.
Its an odd feeling sometimes, knowing that an animal that weighs well over 1000 lbs is
right up next to you.
That she accepts you being there, mostly because she knows you are going to give her food.
Like a dog waiting at its bowl, they very much are ready to eat each morning.
And that’s where our relationship begins.
With food.
You may have noticed that almost everytime I am out dealing with the cows I am wearing
almost the same exact clothing.
I always wear my hat, unless the temperature or wind makes it impossible.
I am wearing a black coat and that is for the cows benefit and mine.
Cows have been shown to recognize people, studies have shown that although they can
recognize faces, they do recognize colors and shapes much more easily.
By wearing the same colors and my hat, I make an easily recognizable image.
One that they associate with food and not a threat.
But that doesn’t make them cuddly little teddy bears, and they can behave in unpredictable
fashions, even if there is food involved.
When you work around them you have to be conscious of behavior that may be an indication of stress
and anxiety.
Cows do feel these emotions and a really good indication of these emotions can start with
the eyes.
A general rule is the less eye white you see, the better they feel.
A cow that is in a situation that makes her uncomfortable will open her eyes wider, perhaps
to take in a better view as deep down cows are still prey animals and are always aware
of the fight or flight reflex, its cows in either of those situations that become quickly
dangerous.
Cows see differently that humans, cows can see around them about 300 degrees at anytime.
The most dangerous place to be around a cow is directly behind her, because she cant see
you at all, you are in her blind spot and cows get nervous when they cant see what is
happening.
Also cows have slit shaped pupils and weak eye muscles and cant focus quickly.
They have poor depth perception because they have limited vertical vision of about 60 degrees,
compared to about 140 degrees for a human.
A good example of that is a cow that is trying to figure out how far away from her you are,
she will lower her head, trying to gauge distance, and is not a good sign.
If she is worried about how far you are from her, it means she feels backed into a corner
and more than likely will come out fighting.
Cows do however have a great sense of smell, able to detect smells from miles away.
Those smells along with their eyesight create social bonds between cows.
They can recognize each other and cow are able to have and make friendships and strong
bonds with other cows.
Its not uncommon to see the same cows together constantly, they have formed a bond, based
on trust and more than likely compatible personalities.
Each cow out here has a personality of their own.
Some are social butterflies others are loners, some like to slip under the radar and others
want attention and always seem to be front and center.
Others have been called out, by us, based on how recognizable they are.
Blonde cow, or 39 are good examples, they stick out like sore thumbs and have come to
realize their place in our lives as we have learned theirs in ours.
Other cows, break the mold.
Like Bambi, Mackenzies cow, she was hand raised after her mom died during calving her and
she has a whole different outlook on life.
She wants to be a part of the action, she almost has a need to be around people rather
than cows and is usually the first to meet you in the pasture when you visit.
But the big question is, are cows intelligent.
Cows have been put through mazes, they have been tested extensively.
And all of those tests are based around food, or something that makes the cow feel good.
Cows may not be the smartest mammals, but they can show intelligence.
They have personal bonds with people and other cows, and they can even hold a grudge.
They can solve problems, they have a social order, and ask any cattle owner if they can
sniff out an open gate and they have a great memory, and hope that you forget to close
it again.
They probably wouldn’t do well on the SATs but heck neither would I.
They can find what they need, food, water, a safe place to sleep.
And sometimes they even come to us looking for help, that’s the one thing that means
more to me than anything else.
I have had cows come to me looking for calves that they have lost, or cows with a hurt hoof,
looking for relief.
When it comes to cow psychology there is much more there than may meet the eye, and next
time you drive by a herd in a pasture along side the road, you not only see cows.
You see a society, with all the little idiosyncrasies that are included with it, minus the homeowners
association, luckily they don’t have to deal with those.
When I look at a cow I see a lot more than just a cow, I see the ranch, the future of
the ranch, I see these cows ensuring that there will be a tomorrow, for us, our kids
and our message.
They deserve every bit of my respect.
Our breeding herd is in no danger but yes we do use these animals to our own ends, because
they get that respect and we all work hard so that we can give them what they need and
our main goal and very first priority is to give them a good life that we are proud of
and proud to give them.
Sometimes its not easy, but its worth it, to all of us and I hope that I am not out
of line by speaking for every cattle producer you will ever meet.
Thanks for coming out today, my day is almost over, but there is a lot more coming from
the ranch.
Be sure to subscribe, hit that bell to get notifications when new videos come out and
if you would like to visit the ranch in person this summer, check out the ranch round up
on our website ourwyominglife.com Click on events and learn how you can come
hang out with us for an entire day, because we would love to meet you and hope you can
make it.
That’s it, I’ll be back on Tuesday as we once again tackle the project list and
until then have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.