FARM livestock, like many other animals, are creatures of habit that like routines and tender loving care (TLC).

A good example is when dairy cows gather at the gateway of their field just before milking time.

At one time, when cows were kept in byres they would go to their own stall and wait patiently for the dairyman to tie the chain around their neck. Those that went to the wrong stall were easily persuaded to move out and along to their own.

Nowadays, although most cows are milked in parlours, they walk into it for milking in more-or-less the same order - some preferring to be milked first while others wait patiently at the back of queue.

Sheep are also creatures of habit. Traditional shepherds drive the different hefts of their flock up their hill in the afternoon and back down again in the early morning. Not only does that keep the heft together making it easier to gather the sheep first thing in the morning for routine tasks like shearing, it also ensures that the hill is evenly grazed. The ewes get so used to that routine that even if the shepherd wasn't to go to his hill for several weeks, they would still move up and down the hill at their usual time.

Feeding time for all animals is another occasion where routine is all-important. Free range pigs, and those sheep and cattle that winter out-of-doors, gather round their feeding area or troughs to eagerly wait for the arrival of breakfast. If it's late in arriving they aren't long in voicing their dissatisfaction with the poor service. It's much the same with livestock that are kept indoors, and the noise a shed full of cattle or pigs can make as they call on a stockman running behind schedule to hurry up and serve their meal can be quite deafening.

All caring farmers and pet owners also know that as well as routine, animals respond well to TLC. Research has confirmed that farm animals thrive better if they have a good relationship with their stockman. Scientists have discreetly watched stockmen at work and recorded how they interacted with their herds and flocks. Good stockmen talked with their animals and often spent a lot of time rubbing their noses or the rump at their tail-heads. In return, many animals love to come up to a kindly stockman for those moments of affection. A quiet call soon has many gathered round the friendly stockman eagerly waiting for those reassuring friendly words, an affectionate rub or some tasty titbit.

Such TLC pays dividends with livestock - for instance if a sick animal like a cow has to be given an injection. Instead of a dangerous rodeo with the potential for a nasty injury as a result of a nervous kick or being knocked over, many animals that have been kindly worked with are easily caught and restrained before quietly standing while treatment is administered.

Bad stockmen on the other hand rush about and never have time for their charges. They shout aggressively at them, slap them hard on the rump with their hands, or even hit them with sticks. Little wonder that animals treated like that are often nervous, stampede about when being moved, or retaliate aggressively. Fortunately such behaviour is rare, and most who work with farm animals are kind to them.

TLC is often rewarded in the milking parlour when contented cows let down their milk more easily. Stockmen who spend a lot of time with their cattle, pigs, or sheep notice the little changes in behaviour that indicate when one is off-colour and give timely treatment before the animal becomes really ill. They also spot more animals coming into heat, and as a result get them mated or inseminated at peak times and achieve better conception rates.

In addition to talking quietly with their animals, some eccentric dairymen whistle or sing a happy tune to them, while others have the radio in the milking parlour playing music in the belief that encourages them to yield more milk. Sadly scientists have concluded that is not the case, although there can be little doubt that it has a soothing effect on the cows.

Mind you, there is another good reason why stockmen need to talk with their animals - there is often no one else on the farm to talk to nowadays. Unlike former times when there were often several members of staff, many livestock farms are run single-handedly nowadays. That is as good a reason as any to have contented, docile livestock as they repay all that TLC when you have to move them around the farm or work with them individually.