How do cows maintain homeostasis?

Answer 1

The common misconception about this is that most people are lead to believe that cattle spend all or most of the winter indoors in a barn. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

In reality, cattle are capable of growing a thick winter coat to help combat the cold temperatures that are a reality of winter. The producer also ensures the animals are warm by having shelter available in the form of a shed, barn or shelterbelt, and have appropriate feed available at all times.

Answer 2

Because cows are mammals, they are capable of regulating their own body temperature or rather, maintaining their own internal core body temperature without having to rely on the outside ambient temperature of the outdoors to determine their level of activity like with reptiles, insects and amphibians. Eating regularly helps control their internal body temperature, and finding ways to cool or warm themselves when outdoor temperatures get too hot or too cold, respectively, for them also helps control their body temperature to prevent them from getting heat stress or cold stress, respectively.

Just like humans, cows are just as liable to get stressed from extreme temperatures, even though their temperature thresholds are different from ours. Depending on age and diet, a mature beef cow has a temperature threshold zone between -15 and 28ºC, and a feedlot cattle have a threshold of -35 to 25ºC. The variance is due to the heat generated from the fermentation activity of the rumen. When a high energy ration is fed, more energy is produced which makes an animal more resistant to colder temperatures. Of course, the temperatures do not take into account weather conditions such as wind and precipitation.

Answer 3

There are various ways that a cow can cool off in the summer. For example, they can stay in the shade.