How can a human being function at their most optimum level? In addition to receiving the proper nutrition, exercise, intellectual stimulation, and fulfillment from personal relationships, it always helps to be well-rested and stress-free. Well, why shouldn't such basic criteria apply to the animals under our care? That's the basic premise that Hawaii's Island Dairy is operating under with their pampered cow approach, which they claim helps them to yield 10% - 20% more milk from their herd. This isn't some preposterously loopy hypothesis on animal behavior - in fact, just last year, a scientific study published in the journal Anthrozoos highlighted the correlation between named cows and higher rates of milk production. They found that bestowing the creatures with even a minor element of humanity (via names, affectionate scratching and talking) not only calmed them down and reduced their level of the stress hormone oxytocin but also ended up coaxing about one extra liter of milk from them every single day. In the grand scheme of things, that adds up to a lot of leche -- 258 more liters, to be exact.
Treating cows with decency is one thing, but providing them with waterbeds to recline on at the end of the day? Island Dairy owner Bahman Sadeghi - who markets his product under the Hawaii's Fresh brand -- feels that furnishing 320 of his lucky ladies with the squishy alterni-bedding is a worthwhile investment that will yield healthier, happier heifers who are less likely to succumb to illness and more likely to whistle while they work. To date, the sole manufacturer of cow water beds in North America -- Advanced Comfort Technology - has sold approximately 150,000 of the dual chamber H20 pads at roughly $150 a pop. After learning in Progressive Dairy Magazine that the 14 gallon water-filled cushions could in fact create a better sense of well-being and contentment for the animals as opposed to traditional sand or straw mediums, Sadeghi was intent on giving it a shot. To further his holistic approach to cow care, he also plans to pipe music into the milking parlors so that they are soothed during the process.
Various animal behavior findings suggest that this approach is sound and solidifies the basic need of all living creatures to be appreciated and nurtured. Just as human babies thrive when they are touched and talked to, so too do our silent population of animals. Automated farming has virtually eliminated humanity from the formula, ensuring that anxiety and fear are the dominating forces but it backfires since pigs in such a chronic state grow slower and chickens subjected to similar conditions lay fewer eggs...plus illness almost always prevails. It makes perfect sense that with normal psychological and basic comfort barriers removed, animals might actually be able to do what they do best - go forth and multiply - without all of the hormones and artificial means that the ag-industry has created. While most people are likely to roll their eyes and think that this is just crazy-talk, why shouldn't our creature comforts be good enough for them, too?
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