Getting a scratch behind the ear

Sometimes mum would shriek with delight and mock exasperation when the latest finding was announced on the radio.

Well, I think I might have another one here.

An Austrian University has finished a study which demonstrated that cows enjoy the sound of a human voice — but are more relaxed by a face-to-face chat than when listening to a recorded voice through a loudspeaker.

The Austrians ran the test over about 28 of my favourite breed of cows, the Simmentals, which my dad used to milk.

The big bovines definitely had a preference for hearing directly from humans and — surprise, surprise — they enjoyed a pat.

Annika Lange from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna said the cattle liked stroking in combination with gentle talking,

Even a cow knows the difference between someone talking to them, and playing a recording.

I’ve always talked to animals.

We had a few quiet heifers on our dairy farm which took a shine to us when we were feeding them from the bucket and never forgot us, even when they adapted to herd life as they grew up.

I can recall wandering out into the yard at milking time, seeking out the favourites, using their name and scratching them under the neck.

They seemed partial to having their necks roughed up and getting tickled around the ears. Dad said it was because they had trouble scratching in those places.

But conversations were eminently more satisfactory with the dogs and cats we had on the farm.

The dogs actively sought us out for a short conversation and a pat. A ginger cat, called Billy, was exceptionally chatty and Mum would swear he knew what we were saying.

He would miaow in response to a question and keep up the replies as fast as Mum could speak.

Sometimes he would be rewarded with food, so we reckoned Billy had trained Mum well.

I wonder what the studies would say about that?