101 Marchant Road, Redding, CT, 06896

(203) 938-2117

    FUN FACTS ABOUT COWS

    WHAT’S IN A NAME? Not all Cattle are Cows!

    Cattle = the broad term for both male and female members of the bovine family

    Cow = a mature female

    Bull = a mature male

    Calf= a young male or female (on average, weighing between 60-100 pounds at birth)

    Heifer = an immature female that has not had a calf

    Bullock = a young male                                              

    Steer = a castrated male under three years of age 

    Ox = a castrated make over three years of age    

    Oxen = plural of ox 

    Herd = A group of Cattle

    THINGS TO LOOK FOR ON A COW

        • Long eyelashes to keep dust out of their eyes
        • Large furry ears that they can move to capture sounds
        • Long, rough tongues
          • for cleaning their fur (cowlicks) & their noses
          • for grabbing food and pulling it into their mouths
        • Long tails that make great fly swatters
        • Large, ragged molars for grinding tough food like hay

    INFORMATION ABOUT MILK

        • Cows don’t start to produce milk until they have their first calf (around two years of age)
        • Cows are milked twice a day
        • Each breed of cow produces a different amount of milk, which can change based on how long it’s been since they had a calf
          • A Holstein cow (our largest producer) can produce up to 90 glasses of milk a day & 27,555 glasses a year
        • Homogenization is when the fat globules are broken up and will stay suspended evenly within the milk
        • When milk is pasteurized, bacteria and germs are killed
        • We pasteurize at a lower temperature than commercial dairies, preserving many of the beneficial components of our milk
        • Milk is filled with calcium, and children should have 2-4 servings daily
        • Just a few things made from milk: ice cream, yogurt, cheese, & butter

    EATING & DRINKING

        • Cows have 32 teeth, but they do not have top front teeth
        • A cow spends 6-8 hours a day eating
        • A cow drinks about a bathtub full of water a day- that’s almost 80 gallons!
        • Calves are fed milk until they are 8-9 weeks old; they don’t start eating grass until they are around 2-4 weeks old
        • Depending on the breed, females can weigh between 800–2,400 pounds

    A 4-CHAMBERED STOMACH

      • First, cows chew their food and send it down to the first (and largest) chamber of their stomach- here, it is broken down by microbes.
      • Food is then coughed back up – called a bolus- before being chewed for a second time, then passing to the next chamber where it is mixed with digestive juices, and then the process is repeated
      • If you look in our barnyard, you will often see the cows relaxing and re-chewing their cud.
      • A cow produces 112 pounds of saliva a day to help with digestion