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There are a lot of factors that come into play: nutrient quality of the grasses, forage conversion ability of the cow, climate, topography, soil, type of grasses being grazed, time of year, stage of grass growth, stage of life cycle of cow (pregnant and dry, pregnant and lactating, lactating), age of cow, etc. Putting all those factors together, cattle can get fat on grass because that grass contains most of the necessary nutrients (except for water and some minerals that needs to be supplied by a separate mineral supplement) that the microbes in the cows' rumens need to feed the cow and maintain her health and well-being. Grass that is growing often contains enough protein, energy, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients to feed the microbes which feed the cow and which puts weight on a cow.
However, cattle who are on grass all the time aren'tnecessarilyfat. Since they tend to live to eat instead of eating to live, the energy, protein and other nutrients in the grass that the cattle don't need right away are simply stored as fat. The other thing that makes cows look "fat" on grass is how big their bellies get when on grass. This is simply the case of the rumen being large enough to digest all that roughage being eaten, which is a fairly good indicator of forage conversion ability.
Grass quality is the determinant of a cow's ability to gain or maintain her weight. Higher quality in grasses is needed for lactating cows with calves, as well as first-calf heifers and growing steers and bulls. The more marginal quality grasses are suitable for dry pregnant cows, since these grasses don't put more weight on the cows, nor does it make them loose it.
It should be interesting to note that not all cows get fat on grass. Dairy cows such as Holsteins or Jerseys that are raised predominantly in a confined feeding operation and selected to gain weight or milk readily on pre-determined rations that are fed to them often will lose condition or starve to death on grass that is considered by beef producers to be "good quality." Genetics plays a big role in a cow's ability to "do well" on grass. Thus if dairy cows are taken straight off a "factory farm" and put on grass and expected to do well on it--or better on it than what they were raised on in the conditions they were so "cruelly" kept in--it would come to a huge and very saddening surprise to find that those dairy cows will need to be heavily supplemented with grain or other high-quality feed otherwise they will literally starve to death.
What else can I help you with?
Why is the fat of grass fed cows yellow?
Grass contains carotenoids, which makes the fat, milk, cream, and butter from grass-fed cows yellow. Fat from cows fed indoors, on grain or grain-based pellets, is white.
What does fat have in it?
big fat cows so dont eat it.... pour cows
If cows eat grass and produce full fat milk does that mean grass is high in fat or calories?
No. The fat in the milk comes from the way the grass was digested and the nutrients dispersed throughout the system. Full-fat milk is just another term for milk that has not been altered after coming straight from the cow.
Why can horses eat grass and still get big if they are monogastrics?
Horses get fat on grass when they eat too much or it. Grass is the primary food they were designed to eat. It has all the nutrients and calories they need. Overeating makes everyone fat.
Are fat cows used for the meat?
"Fat cows are used for meat. In fact, fat cows will bring a premium price at market because of the high density and quality of marbeling of the meat that is obtained from fat cows. Lean cows produce tough meat that is lacking in fat, and fat cows are much preferred."
What is the fat on cows called?
Fat.
What is the difonition of ''cow''?
The definition of "cow" is: a large dumb creature, either white with black spots or light brown with black spots. Girl cows have udders, what we milk with, and boy cows (Bulls) have horns. Cows have 9 minus 5 legs (4) and some cows with birth defects have two heads. When cows pee on electric fences, they don't usually die if they are fat because their fat protects them. Cows have no armpits (or legpits). The cow tail swats flies lazily when they land on the cows back. Cows cannot sing, they can only yelp and MOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! When cows can use computers, the human race will probably live on Pluto and they will be weak because Pluto has low gravity. Cows don't dance and they probably can't understand the plot of High School Musical 2 or 3. Cows rock but can't play guitar, they can only eat grass and stuff. Please recommend all your friends to read this. It was written by DJ. (yes, that's my name)
Why do horses have large fat teeth?
it was made so they could eat grass in the wild
Does the gender of a cow affect the fat in its milk?
only female cows can produce milk
What does a gnu eat?
Well, a gnu is just a wildebeest, so a more understandable question would be "What do wildebeests eat?". Wildebeests eat short little grass and fat succulent plants.
Is grass fat?
No. Grass is a plant, and has nothing to do with fat.
Why are cows fat?
Cows are fat because they have a digestive system that is designed to efficiently process and store large amounts of food, particularly grass and hay. Their bodies are naturally built to store excess energy in the form of fat, which helps them survive in times of scarcity or when they need extra energy for activities like producing milk or growing.
