#selfcare shouldn't just apply to people
I know, you may be thinking this is the strangest possible title for a “farm blog,” but #selfcare is trending out in the insta-verse for a reason. There have been tons of studies on the negative effects of stress on your body, and similarly, there are a plethora of negative effects of stress on an animal’s body. So not only is treating your animals humanely just the right thing to do in our book, it also can benefit your brand’s reputation, your wallet, and your consumer’s satisfaction.
Here’s the breakdown:
For the animals
Fear causes adrenaline to spike. That changes a number of chemical balances in the animal’s muscles. Changing chemical balances can change flavor, color, and tenderness.
Work (or a workout) causes connective tissue to develop in muscles. Connective tissue has a direct effect on tenderness and cutability. Many times meat from animals that have lived under constant stress is completely discarded as un-eatable. This is not just wasteful, but also disrespectful to the life of the animal and the ethos of the regenerative ranching industry.
Do what you can to keep your animals comfortable… exposure to harsh conditions, pests, and insufficient food/water sources cause stress on your animals, just like it would on you.
Takeaway - don’t scare your animals if you can avoid it. Use low stress stockmanship as taught by Temple Grandin and others so that your animals don’t work any harder than they have to to stay alive. These two simple things are not necessarily easy. It can mean replacing flightier individuals with more docile animals. It almost certainly means that you, dear friend, just as I did, will have to relearn how to handle your animals. It can be done. My last penning did not require a single shout, a single whack, a single crack of a bullwhip, or any other stressful or fearful action. The most stressful event of the morning was going through the chute, which everyone did with little excitement. (That is a FAR cry from what we did in South Texas when I was growing up!)
For you
Work should be something you like to do, at the minimum. If you hate what you do, you are the one who makes the choices about how you live your life. Own it and change it. Don’t be hasty, though. Determine what makes you happy, what you are passionate about and then do what is necessary to get to it.
Take time to reflect, meditate, maybe even journal. Life itself is a journey, not a destination. Record people, places, things, thoughts, emotions. Then, look back at the road you have traveled. Some of it will have been icky, some ok, and some great.
Practice telling the voice in your head (mind chatter) to shut up and go away. Yes, it can be done but it takes practice. The banishment is only temporary, though. The voice will be back. Funny thing about mind chatter - it seems to be 100% negative! I have never had it be positive and all of the literature I have read on the subject confirms that the little voice in our heads is not a good influence.
Takeaway - Be positive, even when you don’t feel like. I forget who said this, but people don’t remember what you do or say. They remember how you make them feel. Make them feel good about themselves Brighten their day. It will brighten your day, too, almost every time. And do the same for your livestock, make them feel good!
Let me know what you think in the Comments section, below. I would love to hear from you.
Have a great day, a great day indeed.
Robin Hood