One thousand cattle were exposed to fast music, slow music, and no music, for 12 hours a day, from 5am to 5pm, over the course of nine weeks. The result? Each cow's milk yield rose by 3% (almost three quarters of a litre) a day when slow music, rather than fast music, was played. Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" and Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" seemed to work best. When more lively songs were played, there was no increase in milk yield. "Calming music can improve milk yield, probably because it reduces stress," said Dr Adrian North, who carried out the study with colleague Liam MacKenzie. Some farmers already play music to chickens, as there is some evidence that it reduces stress. Less stress means more eating and plumper chickens. The results of this experiment adds to evidence that calming music reduces stress in animals, as well as people.
The study may have been flawed, however, as no mention was made of whether or not "punk" cattle were included. You know the ones, walking around with a bad attitude and pierced udders... |
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