My training tubs were recycled 250 lb. supplement containers, one for every 2.5 animals. After watching the animals I realized that the scarcity and height of the tubs increased my success.
Animals fought over what was available, and the height helped because animals were unable to see if a herdmate was eating a weed or something else from the tub.
The combination seemed to cause animals to be less choosey about what they ate. I've since used this technique to increase cows' willingness to try new foods.
|
||
|
2007 before & after pictures and cows learning and working. |
2007
I trained 50 heifers to eat late-season diffuse knapweed for Boulder County Parks and Open Space in Colorado. This was a challenging project because late-season diffuse knapweed is not very nutritious. At 8% protein, it provides minimum nutritional requirements and at this stage looks like a tumbleweed with some buds and flowers on it.
Heifers Come When Called
I trained the heifers in a large pasture. Sometimes they walked as much as a mile to come to the feeding site, responding to a honking horn. They also became very familiar with grain bags and if they were in sight, it was just as easy to call them in by waving an empty grain sack and calling "Heifers!"
By Day 9 the heifers were grazing knapweed in their 2.11 acre trial pasture just as well as they grazed grass.
2008
We returned to watch as our heifers trained their calves to eat weeds. By this point cows, calves and bulls were all eating diffuse knapweed, and Canada and Musk thistle.
We reintroduced them to the tubs so that we could use them to lead the herd to their trial pasture. Then we added Dalmatian toadflax. Calves ate more of the Dalmatian toadflax in training, and cows and calves both ate it in pasture.
Having bulls in the herd didn't seem to change their ability to learn, though it did change how easy it was to move them across the large pasture. Keep this in mind when working with your own cows and bulls.
