N. Lidster: Pressure Towards a Pig’s Shoulder

Most handlers understand that pressure towards the side of a pig’s  head will usually encourage the pig to turn away.

One of the revolutionary things I learned from Bud Williams was that pressure a bit further back - towards a pig’s shoulder, can encourage it to move forward. Here are some examples:


Video 1:

This clip is at ½ speed and I’ve circled the animals to watch. The hogs could:

• watch the handler approaching
• get release and keep track of her as they moved away.

Approaching towards shoulder       



Video 2:

This video shows 3 sows, each designated by a number in the lower left corner of the screen. Notice:   

• How readily sow #1 and sow #2 moved away from the paddle and that the handler withdrew the paddle as soon as sows responded to it
• We don’t have to wave arms or use tools to pressure animals. The handler used her body position and body language to redirect sow #3 then turned off her pressure immediately once the sow responded

Paddle for pressure towards side       



Video 3:

In many situations pigs try to orient themselves to have pressure where they can see it. This is often to their side. Our position in the pen determines the location of ”to the side of the pigs” and how pigs have to orient their bodies to keep us in view.

By taking a position to the side of the ramp the driver  encouraged pigs to orient themselves heading towards the ramp (to keep track of him) and Flow past him off the top deck (to stay with the herd and get release from his pressure).


Position to side       



The packing plant example from the previous two blogs demonstrated how a handler was able to get hogs to switched from Bunching to moving by changing her position. 


Summary:

There are many situations where we have to work behind pigs and many situations where we can choose some other position. Our approach and attitude are important in every pig handling situation.

Handlers who are stuck in a “chase from behind” approach tend to focus just on pigs’ Flight Zones and tend to pressure towards the back ends of pigs. Instead of acting as a gas pedal, pressure towards the back ends of pigs often acts as a brake.

All the handlers in this week’s examples used pigs’ flight zones but they used the Flight Zone in conjunction with other things and quit using it when it had played its part. They also used:

• the position of their pressure ie: pressure where pigs could see the handler / the pressure
• immediate release of pressure when pigs responded
• use of Herd Behaviour – FLOW – to pull the group’s movement in Videos 1 and 3. 

We can use pressure towards the shoulder / side to encourage pigs to move forward. That’s where the gas pedal is located and not just in terms of acceleration. Working to the side also lets you slow, regulate, or stop movement with minimum stress and confusion for the pigs.

 
That’s it for this week

Take care

Nancy Lidster


Source: DNL Farms Ltd.