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
Welcome
IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER AND WOULD LIKE TO COME FOR A VISIT, PLEASE CALL US AT 203-938-2117 OR STOP BY THE OFFICE IN THE LEARNING CENTER. OUR STAFF WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO GIVE YOU A TOUR AND SHARE THE MANY BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP!
Eastern Bluebirds
An Avian Success Story: In the early 1900s European Starlings and English Sparrows were introduced into the northeast. For decades, these aggressive cavity nesters out-competed the more docile bluebirds for nest sites, so their populations were in serious decline. Environmental groups and individuals came to the rescue. Wooden nesting boxes were installed throughout the area and thankfully the Bluebirds proved to be quite adaptable, successfully raising their families in these new homes.
As you walk through our lower pastures and wildflower meadow, you may be fortunate enough to see bluebirds sitting on our nesting boxes. The males have brilliant blue plumage on their wings and back, a rusty colored breast and sides, and white undersides. The wings and back of the females are a more subtle grayish blue.
Once you learn the warbling vocalizations of these members of the thrush family, you will hear them frequently throughout your walk.
In addition to the many insects that make up their summer diet, our bluebirds feast on the berries of native shrubs throughout the fall and winter. We have planted stands of native winterberries (Ilex verticillate) and flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) to add to our native staghorn sumacs (Rhus typina), and elderberries (Sambucus nigra).
Purple Martin
Another bird that DEEP considers a species of special concern is the Purple Martin. Once commonly seen flying over open agricultural lands across the State, these aerial acrobats have been in decline for decades due to lack of open fields and pastures, lack of suitable nesting sites, and competition from aggressive non-native European starlings and house sparrows
For several decades, conservation efforts have been in place across the State to bring back the Purple Martins, and efforts are paying off! Arrangements of specially-sized, artificial hollow gourds have been hung from tall poles in appropriate habitats. Groups like the CT Audubon Society have well established banding programs, and DEEP reports that the Martin populations are on the rise.
New Pond Farm’s pastures seem like a perfect habitat, so during the nesting season, we too have positioned an arrangement of hanging gourds near the white fenceline along the pasture. If you venture over here during the early morning hours in the spring, you may hear the loop of pre-recorded twittering calls that we play in an attempt to attract any migrants. So far, we have just attracted a few scouting birds. Hopefully the spring of 2024 may be our lucky year
American Kestrel
Back in the 1980s, a pair of kestrels nested reliably in a box positioned in the large sugar maple along our Farm Road. These exquisite, robin-sized, falcons were an absolute joy to behold as they would soar, hover, and plunge over the pastures and lawns searching for insects, small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.
For many years we have been without a nesting pair, and for the past several decades DEEP has listed American Kestrels as a species of special concern.
Working with Art Gingert, who is well known in the State for his decades of d devotion to reestablishing nesting pairs of kestrels, we have installed a kestrel box on the eastern side of our pasture. No takers yet, but the box will be back up early in the spring of 2024, and we are hopeful.