Stolen feed.
Defecating in feed and on cows.
Spreading disease.
As dairy farmers, we can all add to the list of havoc that birds wreak on our dairies. One farm I visited recently is fortunate to have a very instinctive cat that literally skips back and forth on the freestall neck rail permanently evicting birds from the barn. The cat, dubbed "Milkhouse Mama" by the veterinarian who spayed her a few years earlier after a few litters of kittens, paces through the barn most of the day. In this short summertime video, you will see her "attitude" towards sparrows.
During the winter months, Milkhouse Mama, an orange farm cat who is rather affectionate towards humans, also checks out each wood post in the evening. If she sees any tail feathers, a sure sign of a bird, she climbs up like Sylvester, the Loony Toons cartoon cat, in search of Tweety Bird. Except in this case, Milkhouse Mama routinely nabs her bird without Granny whacking her with a broom to release it.
Other cats are now emulating Milkhouse Mama, as one cat is carrying out the same routine in the nearby calf barn while another has staked a claim in the heifer barn. To say the least, those three cats have to look long and hard to find a bird these days on this farm. But they are out there.
We know there are bird lovers out there, as well. Let's just say the sparrows and starlings being captured by these cats are not the songbirds that routinely strike a memorable pose at your bird feeder. These sparrows and starlings are flying thieves that bring disease to dairy farms and steal food meant for our cows.
Enjoy the video that I shot on my iPhone. By the way, the farmers report the cat is not for sale as she has a valued place on the farm.
The author is the managing editor, and he brings 19 years of industry leadership to our readers overseeing all editorial content and production of the magazine. His degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison combined dairy science and agricultural economics.
Defecating in feed and on cows.
Spreading disease.
As dairy farmers, we can all add to the list of havoc that birds wreak on our dairies. One farm I visited recently is fortunate to have a very instinctive cat that literally skips back and forth on the freestall neck rail permanently evicting birds from the barn. The cat, dubbed "Milkhouse Mama" by the veterinarian who spayed her a few years earlier after a few litters of kittens, paces through the barn most of the day. In this short summertime video, you will see her "attitude" towards sparrows.
During the winter months, Milkhouse Mama, an orange farm cat who is rather affectionate towards humans, also checks out each wood post in the evening. If she sees any tail feathers, a sure sign of a bird, she climbs up like Sylvester, the Loony Toons cartoon cat, in search of Tweety Bird. Except in this case, Milkhouse Mama routinely nabs her bird without Granny whacking her with a broom to release it.
Other cats are now emulating Milkhouse Mama, as one cat is carrying out the same routine in the nearby calf barn while another has staked a claim in the heifer barn. To say the least, those three cats have to look long and hard to find a bird these days on this farm. But they are out there.
We know there are bird lovers out there, as well. Let's just say the sparrows and starlings being captured by these cats are not the songbirds that routinely strike a memorable pose at your bird feeder. These sparrows and starlings are flying thieves that bring disease to dairy farms and steal food meant for our cows.
Enjoy the video that I shot on my iPhone. By the way, the farmers report the cat is not for sale as she has a valued place on the farm.
The author is the managing editor, and he brings 19 years of industry leadership to our readers overseeing all editorial content and production of the magazine. His degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison combined dairy science and agricultural economics.
