A farmer in Turkey has experimented with virtual reality goggles that make the bovines think they are in the middle of a green pasture in summer and the results have been amazing.
?zzet Koçak’s family has been rearing cattle on a farm in Aksaray, Turkey for three generations. The family always adapts to the new techniques, so their business is always up to date. After experimenting with soothing music designed to relax the cows, the Turkish farmer now used special VR goggles that allegedly make the animals believe that they are grazing in a sunny pasture, instead of a gloomy indoor farm in the middle of winter.
“We get an average of 22 liters of milk daily from our cows,” Koçak told the Anadolu News Agency. “We had 2 of our cows wear virtual reality glasses and watch a vast green pasture all day, and the daily milk production increased up to 27 liters. These glasses are emotionally good for the animals, we noticed that the animals are less stressed. This was reflected both in the milk yield and in the quality of milk.”
The Turkish farmer said that he was inspired by a news article about cows wearing virtual reality goggles on a farm in Russia. He ordered the equipment from there. Since the results from the goggles have been impressive, he has placed an order for 10 more pairs.
“VR was first tried by a business in Russia, we saw this by chance on social media,” ?zzet Koçak said. “We decided to try it, too. For now, we put it on 2 of our cows and observed the increase in milk production. We are currently in the first trial phase, for the second trial stage we have ordered 10 more virtual reality glasses. If we are successful with them, we will order goggles for our entire herd.”
He also still plays music to the cows to make them more relaxed. He monitors their mood and behavior with the help of a tracking system that receives data from a chip attached to the cows’ ankles and claims that the music also makes a big difference.