CATTLE
Cattle eat hay, grain and grass. Each day they eat about 25 lbs. of hay (1/2 bale), 20-30 lbs. of grain and drink 30 gallons of water. Cattle do not have teeth on the top of their mouths so they cannot bite you. They only have teeth in the back for chewing their cud. They wrap their tongue around the grass to break it off!

Cattle are ruminants meaning they chew their cuds. They have 4 compartments to their stomachs. The act of coughing up the food to re-chew is called ruminating or “chewing their cud.” They spend approximately 8 hours a day ruminating. After the food is thoroughly chewed and swallowed, it passes through the other 3 stomachs where each one further digests the food.

BOVINE = technical term for species of animal which includes cattle
COW = female that has had one or more calves
BULL = male cow (intact)
STEER = neutered male
HEIFER = female that has not had her first calf
CALF = young male or female
GESTATION = 9 months
LIFE SPAN = 12 years
OX = adult steer used as a beast of burden
FRESHEN = give birth

A. DAIRY COWS
A cow must freshen before it will begin to produce milk and averages 6 gallons of milk per day after the first freshening, working up to 8 to 10 gallons per day by the third freshening at age 6 and then leveling off. The cow gives milk 10 months out of the year with a 2 month break right before they freshen. A cow must “let her milk down” in order for the milk to be taken. She must be relaxed. A cow can be stimulated to let her milk down by washing the udders, rattling the feed pail at milking time or starting up the milking machines. Cows are milked twice a day, about 12 hours apart. The cow’s udder is separated into 4 compartments thus she has 4 teats. It takes about 3 to 5 minutes to milk a cow with a machine and about 20 to 30 minutes by hand. The milk is 102°when it leaves the cow. One dairy cow gives enough milk in one week to fill a bathtub.

The gestation period for a cow is 9 months. They can have 1 or 2 calves at a time and twins are not uncommon. Either 2 heifer twins or 2 bull twins have normal reproduction capabilities. When a heifer and bull are twins, 90 percent of the time the female is sterile. This sterile female is called a freemartin.

It is very important that calves drink their mother’s milk for the first 3 days. This milk is called colostrum and provides the calf with antibodies for the first 6 months of its life. After the first 3 days, the cow’s milk is sent to the dairy and the calf is put on milk replacer. At 3 months, the calf will be weaned from milk.
Ideally, a farmer wants a cow to calf once a year. To accomplish this, she must be mated about 3 months after giving birth. The cow must have a calf every year or she will not produce milk.

Columbus brought the first dairy cows to America on his second voyage in 1493. Today, we have the following breeds of dairy cattle:

• Holstein cattle are black and white and are the largest of all dairy breeds. They originated in the Netherlands but they are the most popular dairy cattle in the United States. They have an average weight of 1,300 to 1,500 lbs. and produce 10 to 12 gallons of milk a day. This is more than any other dairy cow.

• Brown Swiss cattle are normally light gray to dark brown in color. They have characteristics equivalent to Holstein cattle with an average weight of 1,200 to 1,400 lbs. They originally were found in Switzerland.

• Ayrshire cattle are red, brown or mahogany and white with origins in Scotland.

• Guernsey cattle are light brown or white and are from the Isle of Guernsey. They produce less milk than their counterparts and the milk is yellowish in color rich in butterfat. The average adult will only weigh 900 to 1,200 lbs.

• Jersey cattle are brown with black faces. They are from the Isle of Jersey off the coast of France. They produce the least amount of milk but is it the richest in butterfat. Their average size is 800 to 1,000 lbs.

B. BEEF CATTLE
Beef cattle have been bred and selected primarily for the production of meat and many breeds have been developed or adapted for special conditions. There are many breeds of registered beef cattle in North America.

Brahmans are beef cattle that originated in India where they are considered the “sacred cattle of India.” In the United States, they are considered medium-sized among our beef cattle. The bulls weigh between 1,600 to 2,200 lbs. while the cows reach 1,000 to 1,400 lbs. The calves are small at birth, weighing only 60 to 65 lbs. but they grow very rapidly and wean at weights comparable to other cattle.

Rocky is a Brahman steer. He was born in January of 1998 in Florida. He weighs 2,200 lbs. Although Brahmans vary in color from light gray to almost black, most of them are medium-gray like Rocky.

Rocky is able to withstand heat due to many factors. His short, thick, glossy hair reflects most of the sun’s rays so that he can graze in the glaring midday sun. The black pigment in his skin keeps out the intense rays of the sun. All of his loose skin increases the body surface area exposed to cooling and he has sweat glands so he can sweat through the pores of his skin.

Rocky likes to receive affection and attention although he is quite shy initially. The nicer and kinder you are to Rocky, the more responsive he becomes as he responds to the handling that he receives. He is very intelligent and inquisitive.

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