Potty-Trained Cows?

MOOOVE out of the way! This cow’s got to pee! But it won’t be doing its business outdoors. A team of scientists recently tested whether cattle could be trained to walk into a stall and pee.

Why potty train cows? It could help the environment! A cow produces up to 30 liters (8 gallons) of urine a day. There are about a billion cows on the planet. The urine they produce mixes with other substances in the ground to form chemicals that can pollute soil and water.

MOOOVE out of the way! This cow’s got to pee! But it won’t be doing its business outdoors. A team of scientists recently tested whether cattle could be trained to pee in a stall. 

Why potty train cows? It could help the environment! A cow produces up to 30 liters (8 gallons) of pee a day. There are about a billion cows on the planet. The pee they produce mixes with other substances in the ground. That forms chemicals that can pollute soil and water. 

Elliffe’s group set up a latrine, or shared toilet, for the 16 calves in the study. To encourage the cows to pee there, the researchers gave rewards! Rewards help animals learn to repeat a behavior, says Elliffe.

Each cow was led into the latrine. After peeing, the cows received a sweet treat through a window. After 10 to 30 repetitions, the calves turned to the window right after peeing. They’d learned that peeing in the latrine led to a treat.

If cows urinated outside the latrine, they were sprinkled with cold water. They found the water unpleasant, and they didn’t get a snack. Soon the cows learned they would be rewarded only if they peed in the toilet area.

Elliffe’s group set up a shared toilet for 16 calves in the study. The scientists rewarded the cows if they peed there. Rewards help animals learn to repeat a behavior, says Elliffe.

Each cow was led into the latrine. The cows would pee after a while. Then they got a sweet treat through a window. It took 10 to 30 tries. But the calves got the idea. They’d turn to the window right after peeing. They’d learned that peeing in the toilet led to a treat.

Sometimes the cows peed outside the toilet. Then they would get sprinkled with cold water. They didn’t like that. And they didn’t get a snack. Soon the cows figured out what to do. They’d be rewarded only if they peed in the toilet area. 

After 15 days, the scientists had potty trained the cows. The next step is figuring out how to make the process automatic. During the experiment, a researcher hand-fed the cows. In real life, a latrine could use sensors to recognize when a cow pees and dispense a treat.

Researchers still have questions. They want to know how far cows will walk to use the toilet, and how many latrines would be needed for a herd. Another question: What should be done with all the pee? It could be disposed of or potentially turned into fertilizer. This chemical mixture is rich in nutrients that can help crops grow.

Elliffe says that when he tells people about the research, they often laugh. But once they understand it, “they see how useful it could be. Sometimes the craziest ideas can be the best ones,” he says.

It took 15 days to potty train the cows. The next step is to make the process easier. A scientist had to hand-feed the cows during the experiment. But a toilet could have sensors. They’d detect when a cow pees and dispense a treat.

Scientists still have questions. How far will cows walk to use the toilet? How many toilets would a herd need? And what should be done with all the pee? It could be disposed of or turned into fertilizer. This chemical mixture is rich in nutrients. It can help crops grow.

Elliffe says people often laugh when he tells them about the research. But once they understand it, “they see how useful it could be. Sometimes the craziest ideas can be the best ones,” he says.