Humane Cow Care

Our veterinarian, Dr. Jill, is innovative and dedicated to finding ways to administer medical care to cows and other livestock as humanely and safely as possible. Like children and adults often do not look forward to visiting the doctor, livestock can also experience stress during veterinary visits. So, providing a safe situation where the vet and cowherd can handle the cows as humanely as possible during necessary medical treatments is an essential part of cow protection.

When starting ISCOWP, we did not think of cows becoming ill, aging, or dying. Similarly, we did not think of ourselves becoming old or ill and how we would deal with it. We were blessed with good health, and the cows were young. After 35 years, we have seen cows become sick and die. Thus, we have begun to understand the challenge of caring for them in ill health. Cows living out their lives naturally are rare in the animal industry. But when practicing cow protection, it is the way. Therefore, learning to care for them in sickness and health is essential.

Just like humans with a good health plan are in better health than those without one and generally live longer with better quality of life, regular, consistent cow health care can do the same for cows. However, it has not been common for livestock veterinarians or livestock owners to recognize the stress animals can experience during medical care.

Utilizing the Cow Chute

Thanks to you, we purchased a cow chute in 2023, primarily for medical purposes. With the chute, a cow does not need to struggle with the vet or cowherd when they give a shot or dress a wound.

We found that younger cows became more comfortable with the chute more quickly than most of our older cows. The six young cows rescued in 2024 have been going in and out of the chute to eat grain, etc. So they have become comfortable with it.

Project YouthBuild Improving the Cow Chute

Dr. Jill has been studying Temple Grandin’s work. Mary Temple Grandin is an American scientist, inventor, and autism spokesperson who designs humane livestock facilities. Born in Boston in 1947, Grandin has autism and has written about her experiences. Her own experiences inspired her to create systems to reduce stress in animals and humans. Grandin has a B.A. in psychology and a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois. She is currently an assistant professor at Colorado State University. She is also an outspoken critic of ranches and slaughterhouses that show little concern for their animals.

Grandin has designed a number of systems that use behavioral principles instead of brute force or fear to handle livestock. The improved squeeze chutes and restraint systems that she invented prevent animals from being hurt and keep them calm by nearly eliminating upsetting sights and sounds, jostling, and especially pain. Grandin believes that it is worth a little extra expense to decrease the suffering that food animals undergo. Her center-track restrainer system is now used to handle almost half the cattle in North America. 

Dr. Jill recommended we install plexiglass on both sides of the entryway to improve our cow chute system. This installation would prevent the cows from seeing the activity on either side of the entryway but allow light to enter, which would be calming for the cows.

This improvement is per Dr. Temple Grandin’s teachings. It is interesting to note that Dr. Grandin feels she has much in common with animals, especially cows. Thanks to the ongoing help of Project YouthBuild, we were able to implement these improvements!

Adopters Visit Their Adopted Cows

Sisters Radhika and Chandini Gupta recently visited their adopted cow, Radhika. She enjoyed gentle brushing and petting from them. Thank you so much for your visit and support! You, too, can Adopt A Cow.