Cow Facts
Interesting and Important Cow Facts
A cow is a female bovine that can produce around 8 gallons each day; these and more cow facts can be entertaining and informative to anyone who wants to know more about the animal. With the dietary importance they have on our lives, we should all learn more about the cow.
Cows start life as a calf, also called a heifer. A calf reaches maturity at around 2 years of age, when they can begin reproducing young. After the first calving, the heifer will begin to produce milk on a regular basis, and will continue to do for the remainder of her life. Cow facts show that a normal life span for a cow is approximately 6 to 7 years.
Cows are termed as ruminants which in simple terms mean an animal that chews its cud. Cud is partially digested food that is regurgitated by the cow; facts supported by the cow’s constant chewing motions throughout the day. This is an intricate process, as ruminants have a specifically designed body for handling their food, with four stomach chambers. Food is swallowed and then traverses to the first two stomachs where it will be mixed with saliva. The plant matter is then regurgitated and chewed again as cud to further break the matter down until is it of particle size.
The basic food of the cow is grass and grain, of which the cow will eat approximately 120 lbs. per day combined. Considering that they spend 8 hours of each day eating, this amount is not surprising. When eating grasses, the cow curls her long tongue around a clump and by pulling with her head is able to dislodge it from the ground to eat. This method is needed since the cow has no teeth on the upper front of her mouth; rather, a thick, tough pad of skin takes the place of teeth. There are 32 teeth present in the cow’s mouth; 8 on the bottom front and 24 total molars located in the back of the mouth, distributed between the top and bottom. These cow facts are important in the animal’s health care and to understand their habits.
One feature that everyone associates with a cow is the milk that they produce. Humans consume more milk that is produced by cows than by any other animal. The highest producing cows are in California, where the average cow, facts show, can produce over 19,000 pounds of milk each year. Considering there are over 800,000 cows in California alone, this accounts for a massive amount of the US milk production.
Cows are interesting and essential animals for humans. There are many more cow facts that can be learned to help understand them and to more fully appreciate the impact they have on our lives. Producing milk and milk products that are essential to our health and diets, cows are well deserving of our attention and understanding of their purpose.