All About COW!
Cattle are an extremely important domesticated animal. Their meat and milk provide us with not just protein & dairy but also entertainment and goods like leather, fabric, and wool. The Hereford cattle at the National Zoo is a polled breed that produces a lot of beef. Cattle are members of the Bovidae family, which also includes gazelles, African antelope, and Asian water buffalo.
Physical Description
Domestic cattle belong to the genus Bos and the species Taurus and indices. All British and European cattle breeds, such as Angus, Hereford, Holstein, Shorthorn, and Simmental, belong to the Taurus species. Cattle with humps, like Brahman and Africander, are the Indicus species. They have also been referred to as Zebu or “eared” breeds
An individual is referred to as a bull, cow, heifer, steer, or calf. These terms refer to an animal’s sex, age, and reproductive status. Calves are 1 year old or younger and bulls are any age of intact males. Male or female? Female or male?
It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a cow, a heifer, or someone on the internet. Regardless of your preference in article titles, one fact is true: cattle have those reproductive organs. Like humans, cattle have both male and female members. Males do have a strong upper body & can be aggressive when they feel threatened, but their horns are smaller & used more for signaling.
Female cattle produce milk and calves by bonding to other cows. They also use the horns defensively against predators. When a cow is injured, the horns curl to protect its vulnerable face. If not taken care of, horns can grow into large spikes. They are also used for digging in the ground and fighting with other cows. The cow’s depth perception is limited to it only being able to see forward.
This means that, even though you are standing near its side, the cow might not be able to tell how close or far away you are Toward the end of its life, the cow’s vision becomes blurry and distorted due to cataracts. The cow can only feel a light touch on its skin and cannot feel any pressure or pain. Cows react to some encounters [threats] quickly and without any provocation. Higher stress levels can cause a cow to unconsciously back away, even if it has been looking at you for some time.
Cattle come in three types: cows, bulls, and steers
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Utilizing cattle breeds that have dual-purpose production provides a number of benefits including optimal feed use, meaning lower input costs as your cows produce more meat for the cost of electricity and grain. These breeds are typically medium-sized and produce less milk than their dairy counterparts, but it’s a trade-off worth taking!
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Beef cattle have been bred and selected primarily for the production of meat, which has been further adapted for different conditions. Special breeds have been developed or adapted for specific uses. Beef cattle are any animal under the genus Bos. They have different physical traits and individual breeds that have their own distinguishing features.
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There are over 60 different breeds of beef cattle in North America alone and it’s easy to identify a cow or bull based on how they physically look. Most beef cattle are bred for four traits: docility, heat resistance, feed conversion performance, and carcass quality. The animals have been selectively bred with the hope that they will be kind-tempered and wean easily from the mother.
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With increasing dairy cows in North America, the number of dairy cattle is growing as well. Some of the most popular breeds include the Holstein Friesian, Guernsey, and Jersey which have been bred for milk production.
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Other breeds include Brown Swiss and Milking Shorthorn whose families have been around for many years. Holsteins have the largest size and produce the most milk. Typically, a cow will only produce 20,461 pounds of milk annually. But cows may sometimes go above or below this production rate.
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Cows typically produce milk for five or six years, but some continue to produce milk until the age of 20 or older. Cows only develop an udder and procreate until they are pregnant and have a calf. Dairy cows are used for milk production and generally don’t produce meat or eggs because their bodies are too small to provide these. Cows also don’t develop any hair or horns, so the animal is considered ungulate.
Native Habitat
Cattle have evolved quite a bit since they were first domesticated. Today they come in many forms and colors, such as the aurochs mentioned earlier. Cows are one of the most commonly domesticated animals in modern society and represent a number of economic opportunities including milk, hay, and beef.
Their last living descendant, believed to be killed by Polish people in the 17th century, was the aurochs. Since they were first domesticated, cows were raised primarily for their milk. Cows are an important source of dairy products such as butter and cheese.
They also produce fermented milk that can be turned into yogurt or cottage cheese, which is commonly eaten by people with lactose intolerance. Back in time, farmers who rented their cows to others would benefit greatly through the buffalo.
Some of them even had special jobs and would own buffalos so they could use the animals to help with other tasks around their farms such as plowing land and hauling water or hay. But some countries found this practice unfair so cattle renting was gradually banned in most parts of the world.
The practice of cattle-renting is still allowed in some countries and the animals are used to help with farming, such as plowing land or hay. But in other countries, it has been banned because some people saw it as unfair for the animals to work like that.
Food/Eating Habits
Cattle are four-compartment stomachs that digest and convert plant material into energy and key nutrients that help support a cow’s health. They eat hay, corn, soybeans, grass, wheat, & silage. The cow’s rumen can withstand high levels of ammonia and its primary function is fermentation.
Cows are different from horses because horses have a three-compartment stomach. Users can use the browser extension to access the database of rangeland and make use of low-quality or nonproductive rangeland but must be properly managed to avoid causing damage to the environment.
These herbivores’ diet typically consists of hay or roughage (80 to 90 percent of total dry matter), commercial feed that includes grain, vitamins and minerals, and water. Proper feeding of cattle can be complicated en route to the feedlot, and many producers use custom-built feeders to ensure that each animal is fed at the appropriate pace.
Hay or roughage serves as a significant source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals for cattle. Roughage is fermented in the rumen in order to extract nutrients for absorption; this process produces methane (a potent greenhouse gas) as a byproduct, which can cause bloat. Cattle are able to extract more nutrients from hay and roughage than they would be able to from pasture alone because they spend less time browsing.
While hay is a lower quality forage than grass, cattle do not need as much energy or nutrients from it and metabolize it at slower rates. Cattle feed needs vary depending on animal weight, age, milk volume, and gestation period. From six to twelve hours a day, cattle spend time grazing, and each day they digest about 80 kilos of forage.
Social Structure
Domestic cows live in herds and are social animals.
Reproduction and Development
Female cattle typically reach sexual maturity around the age of one and often give birth to their first calf at around 2 years old. Cattle can continue to breed for about 10-11 years, but female cattle have a lifespan of about 12 years. It is crucial that you know the exact time your herd mates are in estrus to ensure their safety.
A calf is typically born after nine months of gestation. A cow usually writhes in pain for 2-4 hours and the newborn emerges front feet first with its head tucked between its legs. Occasionally, a cow will have twins. Cows can be milked by hand or with a milking machine.
Hand milking consists of the cow being restrained, her teats being washed and the udder exposed, while the cow’s head is held still. In a machine-milked cow, two cups are used to collect milk that is then transferred to another container for transport elsewhere.
If the twins consist of a male (bull) and female (heifer), the heifer calf is usually infertile (called a freemartin heifer). Infertility in freemartin heifers occurs due to a transfer of hormones or cells from the developing male calf, causing the female DNA to be diluted.
Calves are precocial and are able to walk within an hour after birth. They need milk within their first few hours so make sure you get your pet some before you leave. The special milk produced by cows is called colostrum which contains antibodies that help the calf fight off disease. Calves are weaned when they are about 6 to 7 months old.
