Cows ( Gow Mata
) STOP KILLING COWSCows are members of the
sub-family 'Bovinae' of the family 'Bovidae'. This family also includes
Gazelles, Buffalo, Bison, Antelopes, Sheep & Goats.
Cows are raised
for many reasons including: milk, cheese, other dairy products, also for meat
such as beef & veal and materials such as leather hide. In older times they
were used as work animals to pull carts and to plow fields.
In some countries
such as India, cows were classed as sacred
animals & were used in religious ceremonies &
treated with much respect.
STOP KILLING COWS
Today, cows are
domesticated ungulates (hoofed animals with two toes on each hoof) that we see
very often chewing the grass in farmers fields as we walk or drive through the
countryside.
There is an
estimated 1.3 billion head of cattle & 920 breeds of cow in the world today.
Cows are referred to as the 'fosters mothers to the human race' because they
produce most of the milk that people drink.
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The mature female of the
species is called a 'cow'. |
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The mature male of the
species is called a 'bull'. |
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A group of cows is
called a 'herd'. |
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A young female cow is
called a 'heifer'. |
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A baby cow is called a
'calf'. |
A cow spends up
to 6 hours a day eating. Cows spend over 8 hours a day chewing their cud which
is regurgitated, partially digested food. Cows each drink equivalent to a bath
tub full of water a day.
Cows occupy a unique
role in human history. Cows have been considered one of the oldest forms of
wealth. Cows have always been of interest to man because of their amazing
ability to be able to provide meat & dairy products, have been strong
animals to work with and also reproduce themselves while eating nothing but
grass. Amazing !
Cow
Reproduction
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The average cow is 2
years old when she has her first calf. Calves are fed from the cow until they
are between 8 & 9 weeks old. It is essential for a calf to be fed their
mothers milk from the start as it contains antibodies that protect the new calf
from diseases. Two months before giving birth, a dairy cow takes a rest from
giving milk in order to grow her
calf. |
During this period
the cow is known as a Dry Cow. When a dairy cow gives birth, this process is
called a freshening. All calves are born with horn nubs. It is common for a vet
to remove these nowadays.
A young female calf
is called a heifer, she is called this until she has her first calf. A young
male is called a bull calf.
Did you know that
cows never forget their calves. It is quite common to see them licking their
grown calves just as they did when they were young.
How
to determine the age of a cow ?
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The age of a cow is
determined by examination of the teeth and less perfectly by the horns. The
temporary teeth are in part erupted at birth and all the incisors are erupted
within twenty days. The first, second and third pairs of temporary molars are
erupted in thirty days. The teeth have grown large enough to touch each other by
the sixth month. They gradually wear and fall in eighteen months. The fourth
permanent molars are through at around the fourth
month. |
The fifth at the
fifteenth month and the sixth at two years. The temporary teeth begin to fall at
twenty-one months and are entirely replaced by the thirty-ninth to the
forty-fifth month.
Interesting Cow
Facts
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The
oldest cow ever recorded was a Dremon Cow named 'Big Bertha' who died 3 months
just before her 49th birthday on New Years Eve, 1993.
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'Big
Bertha' also holds the record for lifetime breeding as she produced 39
calves.
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The
heaviest live birth of a calf is 225 lbs for a British Friesian cow in
1961.
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Dairy
cows can produce 125 pounds of saliva a day.
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Dairy
cows can produce up to 200 pounds of flatus (trumps and burps) a
day!
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Cows
often have their ears pierced-with I.D. tags.
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People
first domesticated cows about 5000 years ago.
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The
Holstein cow produces the most milk of all breeds.
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Cows can
live to the age of 25 years old if people would let
them.
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A cow
stands up and sits down about 14 times a day.
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In an
average herd, there is 1 bull to every 30 cows.
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Cows can
detect odours up to five miles away.
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The age
of a cow can be determined by counting the rings on its horns.
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Cows can
see colour.
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There
are approximately 350 'squirts' in a gallon of milk.
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Cows can
pick and lick their noses with their tongues.
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Cows
drink 25 - 50 gallons of water each day. That is nearly a bathtub
full.
·
When the Pilgrims went to
America, they took cows with them. |
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