Named Cows Produce More Milk
Sacramento, California – Treat her nice, give her lovely name like Michelle or Hillary, and your cow will reward you with more fresh milk.
A study done at the Newcastle University of England indicated, however, that while there’s no scientific evidence to such claim, it says christening your cow and more affectionate caring could result in increased milk production. In the same way that when cattle for meat production are given regular body massaging, among other soothing techniques, it would result in more tender and better quality meat, according to earlier accounts from animal husbandry experts.
“A cow that is happy and calm is going to produce more milk. So, if you have cows named after people and those that are working with them understand the cows, they are going. to get more milk out of them,” the recently released study pointed out.
It discovered that a more affectionate treatment of cattle, including giving milking cows particular names…can boost milk output by about 68 gallons more per year.
On the average, a cow is said to produce about 2,000 gallons of milk annually.
The reason behind more productive named cows is chemical, says Catherine Douglas who made the study as part of their thesis at the university. She noted that if a cow is not given individual attention, the animal may not be comfortable around humans and become stressed.
“This stress releases corticol, a hormone that inhibits milk production,” Douglas pointed out. She said cow-friendly farmers familiarize their cows with human contact from an early age.
Naming cows has always been a belief among many farmers although they have their own traditions to help their cows feel special. In fact, piped-in classical music played continuously inside the barns is said to keep cows happy during milking.
Aside from increased dairy output, Douglas contends that named cows would have better relationships with farmers tending them, leading to fewer injuries during milking time. “I should know. I was kicked hard once when a cow near me probably have wrongly suspected I wasn’t affectionate enough.
By Max Ballesteros