Better Milk, It is all in a Name.

by Paschen | January 28, 2009 at 06:34 pm

1445 views | 58 Recommendations | 23 comments

By, Uwe Paschen.

Better Milk production, It is all in a name.

Dairy Sheep, Goats and Cows produce better if called by Name, at least according to yet another study on the subject by the Newcastle University that found that naming dairy Animals encourages farmers to treat them as individuals, cutting stress levels and boosting milk yield.

About a two decades ago my mother send me an article from Germany about Dairy sheep, stating that if sheep see happy sheep in the Milk parlour those would produce better then just looking at a blanc white wall. Another study stated that Music and especially Mozart would increase Milk production as well.

Being sceptical by nature and having a great many doubt about those thinks I started to look into it methodically and fund a great partner with the University of Laval in Quebec and Francois Castonguay as well as the University of Guelph and Silvina Fernandez. We divided the Flock up into groups.

The first group (A) was to be exposed to nothing at all other then good nutrition and standard milking. The second Group (B) was to be exposed to Music only and the third (C) group to a wall paper with happy Sheep on it wile milking and finally the fourth group (D) was to be exposed to both, Music and Wall paper picture of happy sheep.

Group A produced over a one-year period an average of 0.5 Liters of milk per day with a mortality rate of 6% and 1.2 lambs per Ewe.

Group B produced over the same period an average of 1.1 Liters of milk per day with a mortality rate of 2.4%. In addition, 1.7 Lambs per Ewe.

Group C produced over the one-year period an average of 0.95 Liters per day with a mortality rate of 3.7% and 1.5 lambs per Ewe.

Group D produced over that same period an average of 1.8 Liters per day with a mortality rate of 2.1% and 1.9 lambs per Ewe.

Each group was made of an average age range of 2,5 Years and 150 Animals per group. The study showed us be on any doubt that Music was the most beneficial and that a combination of both was giving the best results. Now we did always name each of our Dairy Sheep, and we did have a system that helped us class them in age groups as well. All sheep born in 1995 for example would be named with names starting with the letter “U” and 1996 with the letter “V” and so on, until 2000 that starts again with the letter “A”.

Amy send me an article about a study conducted by the Newcastle University and lead by Dr. Douglas that said, that befriending an animal cut its levels of cortisol, a stress hormone known to inhibit milk production.

Abstract:

“'What our study shows is what many good, caring farmers have long since believed,' she added. 'By placing more importance on the individual, we not only improve the animals' welfare and their perception of humans, but also increase milk production.'”

In the dairy industry over all it has always been tradition to name the Dairy animals but not those for consumption, meaning the males Lambs, Calf’s or Kids, nor the Females with bad dispositions for Milking, since those would go into steaks, shops and sausage.

The Dairy animal was always a very valuable domestic animal and treated accordingly with respect and even friendship, since the Farmer and the Animals do interact on a daily base and know each other rather well. To the point that the animal trust the farmer blindly even when in distress such has at Lambing, or Calving time or in a sunder storm even earthquakes the animal would calm down immediately once the Farmer shows up and only the Farmer can have that effect on his own flock or herd.

I did double check though if another study had been done on this subject of name giving and its impact on the Dairy Animal and yes there was another study published at the IDF/FAO international symposium on dairy safety and hygiene Cape Town, on the 5th of March 2004, in South Africa.

Nowadays though in large farm operation with 500 cows or more being milked there is no name giving any longer nor any Music and even less wall paper picture of happy animals. No, nowadays it looks more like the meatrix, see Video. http://www.themeatrix.com/

This lack of respect for animals and bad husbandry is in large part due to us the consumers that support this system and demand cheap food, continually putting more stress on the farmers and forcing them into a production method that are totally inhuman and barbaric.

This to the point that study after study, shows that the food value or rather nutritional value of the food nowadays is not only inferior to what it used to be 40 years ago, but in some cases even no longer existent at all. This to the point that drinking milk today has no nutritional value any longer and you may as well drink water with fat in it. It would be maybe even healthier for you. However, that is another subject all together that was dealt with in a previous post.

http://www.amusingfacts.com/ContentChannelPage.php?cfile=cows-classical-music.html

http://www.hpj.com/archives/2004/aug04/aug09/Musictothebovinesearshelpsm.CFM

http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADH983.pdf

http://www.fifthtown.ca/images/uploads/FTAC034_-_Brochure_Final_12_06_07.pdf

http://www.eatwild.com/products/michigan.html

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/dairysheep.pdf

http://www.derpaschenhof.com/index.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health__Science/Science/Cows_with_names_produce_more_milk_Study/rssarticleshow/4041711.cms

http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/11/2213

http://www.milkproduction.com/Library/Articles/WorldMilkDay.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1130109/Why-Daisy-Clover-happier-Cows-given-names-content-productive-scientists-claim.html

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amyjudd

at 19:48 on January 28th, 2009

Great piece - I think it's all about the love! Thanks for doing this!

francisrivera

at 21:02 on January 28th, 2009

This one's really good. Very good.

BooPeep (not verified)

at 21:51 on January 28th, 2009

Little Bo Peep lost her........ May be provided the sheep isn't a "Dolly?"

Barry Artiste

at 00:50 on January 29th, 2009

Nothing like GM milk

158

at 06:36 on January 29th, 2009

Interesting and much detail but I wonder how a farmer could tell which sheep ie who.

Paschen

at 06:40 on January 29th, 2009

I know all my Sheep by name and can tell them apart as well. Like i know all my student by name as well and can tell them apart. At the pick we had 700 sheep, Ewes, Rams and Lambs. I knew each one by name.

LotusFlower

at 04:28 on January 31st, 2009

I can't even remember my own name at times... phenomenal Uwe - great name for a Shepherd too!

Fred Miller

at 11:16 on February 9th, 2009

No need to feel sheepish if ewe can't remember your name ;-)

jordan

at 06:51 on January 29th, 2009

Reminds me of the Kiwi classic The Price of Milk.

Marisa Olivia

at 07:48 on January 29th, 2009

I could not agree more with this one. I still remember many of the names of the sheep we had when I was a kid. When I was very small, I used to wear princess shoes and ride them around, and we would keep rejected lambs inside the house until they were strong enough to go back to the barn. Nothing replaces a bit of personal care.

I also think it helps when farmers are focused strictly on quality, and not on breeding, etc. We had Columbia-Suffolk hybrid sheep, which were much stronger, healthier, and better producers of meat and wool overall - even if the breeders didn't like it.

Terri Potratz

at 09:27 on January 29th, 2009

Wow - playing music for the cows never really occurred to me either, though I have heard from friends who grew up on farms that when they played the guitar the cows would slowly gather around - so they must have some intrinsic appreciation of music!

Barbara McPherson

at 09:53 on January 29th, 2009

I've heard that some studies played hard rock to the cows as well. They didn't like it. The factories that are on agricultural land are only there because people buy their products. There's a line in one of the PETA vids -- You shouldn't have to lie to your children about where your food comes from. That just about says it all to me.

patgarcia

at 20:20 on January 29th, 2009

I'm really impressed ! Thanks for sharing.

carleenw (not verified)

at 21:29 on January 29th, 2009

I also know all of our sheep by name... of course.

Each ewe/ram/lamb has such a distinct personality and characteristic they pratically name themselves. We also practice the naming convention where each year we name by a different letter. For example last year we were on "E" names: Elodie, Eli etc... and this year we are on "F" names: Flora, Fauna, Folly etc... And we name all of our animals. Even the boys that we know will be slaughtered we name and have full relationships with them. I feel that we have an agreement. We provide for them to the best of our ability and they provide for us. I feel that if a farm is so large, whether it is 50 or 500 or 1500 animals... if your flock is so large you cant know them all, then you operation is too big. Personally I feel that anything over about 300 animals is not "small scale" any more and could not possibly sustainable. Certainly anything over 500 or 600 is insane. It could only lead to a degradation in the quality of life for the animals, the environment and the final product.

The experience of living and working with our dairy sheep would be empty and without much meaning if they were just being "used" for their milk production. All of my animals: dairy sheep, goats, cats etc enrich my life. I am very grateful to them and I feel that they sense that. A stressed, depressed or unhappy animal will never produce well. It does not take a formal study to demonstrate that.

Sustainable, respectful farming is important physical AND spiritual work and it should be respected as such. This is not work for sissies who are weak in the heart.

tamara buckley leclerc

at 07:57 on January 30th, 2009

I too am one who puts radio on during the day in barn - usually NPR ;) All my dairy animals given names from Calcium our cow to some of our sheep Grandma, Fluffy and Big Daddy or one of our goats Twinkle born on a starrry 3am morning. These animals are part of our farm and our family - whether it be an animal like our llamas or sheep that provide fiber to spin and knit (and ultimately sweaters for the kiddos) or chickens that will grow and ultimtely be butchered to feed our family through the year I know the animals, I know every bit they ate and most important I know they are taken care of.

leathej1

at 17:19 on January 30th, 2009

Shetland Sheep in Upstate NY

leathej1 has contributed a photo to this story.

jazzyzazzy

at 16:34 on February 23rd, 2009

ALL ANIMALS SHOULD BE LOVED.AS FOR GIVING THEM NAMES WHY NOT THEY ARE INDIVIDUAL JUST LIKE US. AWE BLESS THEIR WEE LAMB COATS.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

eagoodlife

at 23:11 on March 18th, 2009

All that is old is new again!!!

salawhite (not verified)

at 17:45 on April 27th, 2009

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Paschen

at 04:24 on June 7th, 2009

Spam Comment. Please remove.

Darren Todd (not verified)

at 11:27 on July 2nd, 2009

I agree.

hidflect

at 04:48 on June 20th, 2009

I was born in Newcastle. It's very near Thirsk, the location of the lifetime veterinary practice of the famous and hugely successful Vet autobiographer James Herriot (James Alfred Wight) who's book "All Creatures Great And Small" was made into a British drama. He did very much lament in his books the passing of the family Yorkshire farms with their cows called Strawberry and Daisy towards the current agri-business industry. I can't help but think his influence on the region prompted this research in some small way. I like to think so at least...