How to Train a Milk Cow

Whether you plan to show your milk cow or need her to be obedient for daily chores on the farm, you will need to train your dairy cow. An untrained cow makes daily tasks more difficult. If your cow is trained to come, lead, back and stand, chores will run more smoothly and you can enter the cow into dairy shows. A trained milk cow is more desirable on the sale market and easier to transport. Some milk cows take longer to train than others, especially older cows, but if you are patient and consistent, the animal will learn.

Things You'll Need

  • Grain
  • Show halter
  • Lead
  • Rope halter
  • Brush
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Instructions

    • 1

      Teach your milk cow to come to the milking area by showing her grain and allowing her to see as you pour the grain into the trough. Food is a strong lure for animals, and she should enter the area for the grain. Repeat a command of your choice, such as "Stall." Once she is inside the milking area, make her experience there a pleasant one so that she wants to return. Brush and feed her so she relaxes.

    • 2

      Teach your cow to come to you by carrying grain and showing it to the cow or shaking it in a bucket within her hearing range. Repeat a command of your choice, such as "Come." Once she obeys, give her the grain and pet her shoulders. If she must come for something negative, such as medical treatment, always be sure her first and final experiences with you during that encounter are positive.

    • 3

      Train your milk cow to accept a halter and lead by putting a show-style halter on the cow and tying her to a sturdy stall or hitch. Do not leave her unattended. If this is her first experience with a halter, she will probably attempt to pull away. Repeat the process for one or two hours at a time, once or twice a day. Continue for about three days, or as long as it takes for the cow to learn that it is more comfortable to give in to the tug of the halter than to resist.

    • 4

      Teach your cow to lead after she has accepted the halter. Place a rope halter on the cow and walk around the pasture at her speed with a slack lead. Do not allow her to escape the halter. Simply let her grow accustomed to being on the lead with you. Gradually, use gentle tugs to indicate where you want to go. An assistant standing behind the cow can nudge her to move when you cue her to do so with a tug. Leading her toward something she likes will speed up the process. Make this an entirely positive experience.

    • 5

      Teach your animal to back up by facing the cow and gently pushing on her shoulder with your right hand. At the same time, guide her to move back by gently pulling the halter back with your left hand. Give the command "Back."

    • 6

      Train your cow to stand for the show by adjusting her feet to the proper position when she has stopped. The front feet should be square, and the hind feet should be offset. If the animal is a calf or heifer, the hind foot nearest the judge should be set back. If she is in milk, the foot nearest the judge should be ahead of the other, allowing the judge a view of the rear and front sections of the udder, with the leg separating them. Adjust your animal's stance by guiding her gently with the lead rope. When training for this, you may have to manually move her feet by hand until she learns to square up when stopping.