Dairy Management and Production

Here are over fifty interesting facts about cows:

1. "Female cows" are females. Cows are mature female bovines that are over 2 years of age that have had a calf or more.

2. A cow's gestation period is 285 days long.

3. Cows give milk for their calves. Dairy cows give much more milk than beef cows.

4. There are two main types of cows: dairy cows and beef cows.

5. All cows are found on farms or ranches.

6. All cows eat grass, as well as hay and silage.

7. Cows come in a variety of colours besides black-and-white. Bulls also come in a variety of colours, and most are not all brown with horns.

8. Cows come in a variety if sizes and shapes.

9. There are over 900 breeds of cows in the world

10. There are two primary species of cows. Bos Taurusare European cattle like your average milk and beef cattle. Bos indicus are humped, loose-skinned, large-eared cattle that are found in hot, southern climates. Either species can interbreed, producing fertile offspring.

11. Male "cows" are called bulls, if intact.

12. Male "cows" are called steers if they have been castrated.

13. Young female cows are called heifers if they are less than 2 years of age and have not yet given birth to a calf.

14. A calf is a general term for young cattle from birth to weaning.

15. A cow only has one udder, which is divided up into 4 quarters, with a teat for each quarter.

16. A cow has hair, not fur

17. A cow that is not of the B. indicus species only has sweat glands on its nose.

18. A cow, and all ruminant animals, have a four chambered stomach to efficiently digest roughage. The four chambers are named as follows: reticulum, rumen, omasum and abomasum. The rumen is the largest of all the stomachs, able to hold around 50 gal of digesta. The abomasum, the fourth stomach, is very similar to that of a human's stomach. The reticulum is called the "hardwire" stomach because it collects foreign materials such as wire before the rest of the feed enters the rumen; the omasum acts like a sponge, extracting all water out of the digesta from the rumen before entering the abomasum.

19. Not all cows and bulls have horns. Most traditionally horned breeds are being selected for being born with no horns (called polled); however a few breeds that are horned are still encouraged to be so, such as Texas Longhorn, Scottish Highland, English Longhorn, Ankole-Watusi, Spanish Fighting Bulls, Corriente and Florida Crackers/Pineywoods, to name a few.

20. Cows are used for much more than beef and milk. No part of the cow is wasted after slaughtered, with exception for those that are not healthy.

21. The meat from cows or cattle is called "beef."

22. The plural for cow is cattle. Cattle is only used when referring to a number of animals in general, without any regards to gender, age or breeding.

23. Cow, as a more general term, refers to the same animal in other names such as beeves, bovines, critters, animals, cattlebeast, beast, etc.

24. A group of cattle is called a herd, drove, mob or drift.

25. Cows can live, on average, up to 15 to 20 years of age.

26. Cows can have up to 18 to 20 offspring in their lifetime, if they are long-standing, healthy, productive members of the herd.

27. Cows can weigh as little as 200 lbs for the minature breeds, or as heavy as 3000 lbs for the largest breeds in the world (Chianina, for instance)

28. There are three types of beef breeds: British breeds, for those who originated in the U.K (Scotland, England, Ireland), the Continental breeds, for those who originated in parts of Europe (France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, etc.), and the Exotic breeds, for those who are more rarely used for beef, no matter where they are from (Highland cattle, Dexters, Texas Longhorn etc.). The exception for all of the above is the Brahman breed, which originated in America. The Brahman is considered the fourth type of beef breed because it is of a different species than the rest of the common beef cattle.

29. The most common dairy cow used is the Holstein-Freisian. She can produce 10,000 gallons of milk per year.

30. Cows are found on all continents of the world except Antarctica.

31. Cows can walk up stairs, but not down them. This is because her knees cannot bend properly when she tries to go down.

32. A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

33. A cow can drink 25 to 30 gallons of water a day.

34. A cow has 206 bones.

35. A cow doesn't bite grass, she wraps her tongue around it, and uses her bottom teeth to shear it off. She doesn't use her whole head to tear off a mouthful of grass like sheep and horses do; her jaw and tongue does most of the work.

36. A cow that weighs 1000 pound can produce an average of 12 tons of manure every year.

37. A cow usually spends 6-7 hours in day eating cud and around 8 hours on chewing it.

38. Almost all cows chew at least 50 times per minute.

39. An average cow has more than 40,000 jaw movements in a day.

40. An average cow produces 30 lbs of urine and 65 lbs pounds of feces daily.

41. Cows can only give milk until after they have had a calf.

42. A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day.

43. Cows are venerated in the Hindu religion of India.

44. Cows have almost total 360-degree panoramic vision.

45. Cows have an acute sense of smell and can smell something up to 6 miles away.

46. Cows produce around 90 percent of the milk in the world.

47. Dairy cows can produce up to 125 lbs of saliva a day.

48. The average body temperature of a cow is 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit

49. A Holstein cow, named Robthom Suzet Paddy, holds the record for the greatest yield for a single lactation (365 days), at 59,298 lbs.

50. A cow named Cow No. 289 holds the record for the highest lifetime yield of milk for a single cow, at 465,224 lbs.

51. The highest milk yield for a single day is 241 lbs, by a cow named Urbe Blanca.

52. The oldest cow till date was Big Bertha, a Dremon, which died just 3 months shy of her 49th birthday.
They have 4 stomaches :0)

Cow milk enhances texture in cooking. It provides creaminess and richness due to its fat content. The degree of richness and creaminess will depend upon the percentage of fat contained in the milk. The levels of fat also vary between cream, heavy cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. They are all excellent choices for thickening soups, sauces, custards, puddings and ice cream. The more they are reduced (water removed), the thicker and richer the flavor. In baked goods, milk creates a softer texture and adds additional flavor. Milk products even tenderize meat, therefore, are often called for in marinades.

Though milk is only slightly more acidic than water, the lactic acid tenderizes meat. An acidic value when added to marinades breaks down the muscles and collagen of the meat. Milk is often used over lemon or vinegar, which tends to dry out meat. Some marinade recipes call for yogurt, which works in the same manner. Though buttermilk and yogurt contain higher acidity levels, milk is less expensive. It is suggested that the calcium levels in milk may also contribute to this process.

When heated, milk is altered, therefore, when adding it to cooked sauces it may curdle easily. This is the reason why when making a roux one combines butter or fat along with flour prior to adding milk. Milk contains casein. The combining of the flour and casein prevents the milk from curdling.

One may bake fish and vegetables in milk, as well. Adding baking soda or another acid ingredient prevents curdling. The acidic value lowers the pH level as portions of the casein forms into soluble salts and caramelizes. In turn, the acid dissolves the curd. Another tip is to add the milk in small amounts, spread throughout the baking period.

In bread baking, milk provides a softer texture and enhances flavor. It also aids browning as well as controls the pH levels in the fermentation process, as does flour and salt. Dried milk is often called for in bread machine recipes. Once dried milk is moistened, bacteria grow quickly compared to fresh milk as dried milk has not been sterilized. Heat from cooking or baking kills the bacteria.

Milk is sometimes added to scrambled eggs or omelets to add moisture, resulting in softer eggs once cooked. Buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt may also be used for this purpose. They also provide a higher rise in gluten-free baked goods due to their high acidic levels as well as protein levels.