A light word in their ear may be how to bring out the best in a cow

A FACE-TO-FACE chat with a human is the best way for cows to kick back and relax, suggests a new study.

Speaking directly to animals helps them relax more than playing voice recordings over a loudspeaker, scientists have discovered. Cattle stress can stop cows from producing milk and make their meat tough and flavourless, according to farmers.

There are around two million dairy cows living on 15,000 farms in the UK.

Author doctoral student Annika Lange at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, said: “Cattle like stroking in combination with gentle talking. In scientific contexts, a recording of a human voice speaking gently could be used to relax the animals, because it can be difficult to repeat the same phrases in the same way during experiments.”

A human voice recording was played to a herd of around 30 cows through a loudspeaker while the animals were being stroked. The experiment was then repeated, except this time, the cows were spoken to directly. Ms Lange said: “Each animal was tested three times per condition and each trial comprised three phases: pre-stimulus, stimulus ( stroking and talking) and post-stimulus.

“In both conditions, similar phrases with positive content were spoken calmly, using long low-pitched vowels.”

Ms Lange said: “Our study suggests that live talking is more relaxing for our animals than a recording of a human voice. Interactions may be less positive when they become artificial through standardisation.”

The animals’ heart rates were higher when being spoken to directly, a sign the cows were enjoying themselves.

Ms Lange said: “When relaxed and enjoying the interaction, the animals will often stretch out their necks…

Additionally, it is thought that ear positions may indicate mood: hanging ears and low ear positions appear to be linked to relaxation.”

Heart rates were then lower after the face-to-face chats compared to voice recordings, suggesting the animals were also more relaxed.

The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.