Talk:Cattle/Archive02

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This page is an archive. Please do not edit the contents of this page. Direct any additional comments to the current talk page.

Contents 1 Volume of rumen and cow 2 Why cows go moo 3 Nose rings 4 Inline references 5 History of cattle 6 trivia and "...in popular culture" 7 Judging of Cattle 8 Other uses 9 Images 10 PURE GENIUS! 11 Cattle judging 12 lifespan 13 Cattle Report 14 Biology (Gestation period) 15 Cattle genders 16 POV in Ox section? 17 Cows in fiction 18 Cattle husbandry section expansion 19 Blue cattle 20 Cow Maturity 21 Fertility of Twin Calves 22 Winter 23 Typo: "thier milk" 24 Mumu virtual museum of cattle 25 Anatomy 26 Sound

Volume of rumen and cow

As a vet I can assure you that the volume of a cow is not 1300 to 1500 litres. Most adult cows weigh about 500-550kg and if you assume that the average density of a living animal is about the same as water (cows just about float when swimming but have little above the water so it is a good approximation) then they should have a total body volume of about 550 litres. I think the rumen volume is also a bit high here. My understanding is that it is about 100 litres. I suggest that nobody puts it back until they have found some verifiable references on MEDLINE or Google Scholar--Malcolm Morley 07:28, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

Why cows go moo

Why do Cows go moo? did they mention that in the article and i just missed it?

Why do cows go moo? why do humans talk? :) CattleGirl 07:53, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Ken Sulak, a biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Gainesville, Florida, thinks he has found the answer:

"...cows mooing—announcing to the larger group the presence and position of individuals," Sulak said.

Somewhere in the main article, I think there should be some mention of the fact that a cow says "moo", seriously, I'm not joking!

Not a bad idea. It is also called "Lowing". We might also link to Wictionary [1] or [2]. Someone up higher also recommended some audio. --Mdwyer 02:35, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Look below: #Sound--190.39.204.66 02:21, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Nose rings

Why do some cows in a herd have nose rings. Or is it just the bulls?

Does anyone know why nose rings are used in cows? Not all cows have them, just a select few in a herd. Don't think it is for pulling them, though maybe to guide them.

When you lead cattle, it is advisable to lead them with a nosering, as when this is used sparingly, it can help you keep a lot more control over your animal. A small tug on the nosering stops the cow from playing up, as the cow's nose is very tender. Some heifers have nose rings too, and i think in australia it is illegal to lead a full-grown cow or bull in the show-ring without a nosering and a nose lead. CattleGirl 07:14, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

To be hip!

Fantastic contribution 69.142.140.177 01:07, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Inline references

If this article had inline references, it would be an instant Good Article. - Samsara (talk • contribs) 01:45, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

History of cattle

Does anyone know why there's nothing much on the history of cattle in here? And does anyone know when cattle first came to the United States, like in herds to be kept as herds and not all killed for food? 64.198.112.210 18:15, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I am wondering the same, though I couldn't care less about how they got to the united states, clearly settlers brought them with as white man has bred cattle for centuries. Does anyone think maybe they date back to Mesopataem (I can't spell) times as there was much mythology and art surrounding cattle in that area in the same era - 8000 BC ish. ???? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.47.220.10 (talk • contribs)

As it says at the end of the intro, see aurochs for the history of domestication. Mythology and links to art are in Bull (mythology). It could be a good idea to draw more attention to these and other "History of cattle" related articles. ..dave souza, talk 09:26, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

I would like to know in what part of the world the species originated. Pugsworth 03:03, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

trivia and "...in popular culture"

I moved this section to Talk:Cattle in popular culture. --Mdwyer 23:25, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Judging of Cattle

What would a person call a category of information related to what determines a quality beef animal? I assume that the common visitor has no clue what cattlemen look for in their cattle such as large hind quarters, top lines, etc. This would be a great little addition to this topic.

A page has been created. It's called Cattle judging. It shows exactly what we look for in beef cattle, and sometime dairy cattle. However, i only really know a lot about beef cattle- so feel free to write more about dairy cattle. CattleGirl 10:00, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Other uses

Added an other use link to Ox (musician). Before you complain that it is currently just a stub, he is a member of the band that just won the eurovision song contest: Lordi. You can expect that article to expand rapidly, as the Lordi one did. skorpion 03:27, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Images

A profusion of pictures is understandable given that this is a subject easily photographed by many contributors, but I think numbers should be limited once further images are no longer adding to the information content.

In particular, in two of the pictures the cattle are quite small -- those with captions "Rainbow arching over a paddock of cattle" and "Herd of Herefords in a green field". The main information content of these seems to be in showing the herding behavior of cattle, and so I'll keep the one with the Herefords because it's the better of the two for that purpose, but I'll remove the one with the rainbow. So as not to lose material, here's a copy on the talk page. It's pretty, and I think it would be very suitable at rainbow but for the fact that there are several images there already.

I think we should be selective about adding any more images.

Arbitrary username 11:24, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

PURE GENIUS!

I was cobing the article history because I was bored, and I found this comedic gem. [3] Friggin' brilliant!! Almost as crappy good as Encyclopedia Dramatica! I mean...not even anybody could top that! Flip Merav 21 10:33, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

moo Supposed 21:11, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

I suppose we could mention in the article that fat people are compared to cows, maybe using this as reference--190.39.204.66 02:18, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Cattle judging

with what was said before, i was wondering if we should have a new page on the cattle judging subject, or if we should add another headline to this article. There is a lot of detail to be included on cattle judging, and i think that a new article is required, but i wanted to hear some opinions before i started this page. CattleGirl 07:19, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

New page for sure, CattleGirl. A description of cattle judging is not about cattle and would give you enough space to do justice to the topic. Go for it. Myron 02:15, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

New page created! Cattle Judging CattleGirl 10:38, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

lifespan

I wonder about this statement "modern dairy cows are slaughtered at about 5 to 7 years". I'm not sure, but I think that in the US, many dairy cows are slaughtered at age > 7. Can you confirm this? ike9898 16:12, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm unsure of what the actual dates are, but my impression in that dairy cows are not typically slaughtered in the traditional sense. That is, not for meat for human consumption. Dairy cattle provide meat that isn't very marketable. I seem to recall that it was because of their advanced age that causes their meat to be tough. Surely someone else can answer this better than I can, though. --Mdwyer 18:49, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that dairy cow meat is turned into ground beef. ike9898 21:38, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Any any animal product that'll fit into a grinder is turned into sausages - Peripitus (Talk) 09:24, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Main reason why meat isn't very interesting is that milk is far more profitable, not to mention reproduction. When one or (and, actually) other come to lack, then the grinder comes in. As for texture, taste, etc.; Don't worry about it, it's the USA, man. They've got the flavors, they've got the textures, and, by Jingo, they got the money too!--SidiLemine 13:46, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, an average dairy (holstein) cow can live up to the ripe old age of 40 years. Yet they are generally slaughtered at age 4 when their milk production begins to decline. Mooski Magnus 02:26, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Cattle Report

The cattle report made by wikepedia, is very factual and true. I own a farm in Innisfail, North Queensland, and have found that all of the information made by wikepedia is correct. I recommend this site for any people working in the Agricultural industry.

The Phantom.

Factual? If you have some 55 year old cows I would like to see them or maybe an 8 pound calf?

Biology (Gestation period)

The gestation period for a cow is the same as pigs: 5 months.

Is this right? I thought that it is nine months and four months, respectively. I also believe that a pig's gestation period is irrelevant here. And last but not least, shouldn't the numbers up to ten be spelled out?

No, that quote is not right. You are, at least for cows Gene Nygaard 02:57, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The gestation period is 285 days and the birth weight is "weigh" off; more like 65 - 95 pounds. Also, the life span of 55 years may be right for the farmer but not the cow; how about 15 years.

"The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years. The oldest cow ever recorded was Big Bertha. She reached 48 in 1993." Cow facts, Australian Matt 06:59, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Cattle genders

Just to clear a few things up I read in a few earlier discussions, these are the terms for cattle genders-

• Heifer- a cow that has not had a calf. (note- some people I know and in the article say that a cow is called a heifer before she has her second calf- this will have to be looked up. Widely, it is before she has had a calf- be it her first or second)
• Cow- a cow that has had at least one calf.
• Steer- a castrated male.
• Bull- a complete male.

If you wanted to talk about a cow and don't know its gender, most people just say cow, however if you do know its gender, you should use the terms above. CattleGirl ^{talk | e@ | review me!} 07:42, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

I have always learned and been told that a heifer is a female cow that has not given birth. A lot of people will refer to a cow that has had only one calf as a first-calf heifer. However, this is an oxymoron but is generally considered acceptable language since no terminology exists to define a cow that has had only one calf. I have never heard the term second-calf heifer used; after their second calf they are referred to as cows only. Dukemeiser 12:00, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

POV in Ox section?

I read this sentence, and I really feel it needs to be edited.

An ox is nothing more than a mature bovine with an "education."

Some sort of revision, or something. The word POV is just screaming out at me that it should be changed. Disinclination 17:02, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

The whole section on oxen seems to be one person's opinions, not that his or her opinions are wrong but they seem to be a little outside of the mainstream, plus giving us a lot of information on something that is nowdays of secondary importance in the whole cattle picture. Steve Dufour 13:03, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Cows in fiction

may I suggest a link to the cows with guns wikipedia artical?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cows_with_guns —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.77.24.237 (talk) 11:39, 20 January 2007 (UTC).

Cattle husbandry section expansion

Hi, I'm totally new to Wikipedia editing. My toddler daughter is fascinated with animals and loves cows in particular and so we checked out the cow page the other day. I saw that the section on cattle husbandry was flagged to be expanded and, since I have a Master's degree in agriculture and grew up on a dairy farm, thought that I could write and reference this section without too much difficulty. However, access to the page is restricted. Maybe I could write it for the talk page and another, more senior editor could actually post it to the page if everyone agrees with what I've written?

Also, could I suggest a rewording of the paragraph on cattle judging? It says that cattle are used for judging, which on my first read suggested that cattle are used to test a person's judging ability. This is, in fact, true with organizations like 4-H but I think that the paragraph means to say that cattle are judged in competitions. A sentence on the original purpose of these competitions might also be in order. I'm not sure if they were originally government-initiated or farmer-initiated or both, but they used to be an important way of improving breeding stock. Cattle and/or farms that often won at these judging competitions were prized as valuable breeding stock and sold for higher prices. In Canada, breeding farms would take their cattle across the country on trains, showing their cows at agricultural exhibitions and then making their bulls available for breeding. Artificial insemination has put an end to this practice and cheaper and easier ways of showing off your cows are bringing an end to cattle showing as well.

If the community agrees, I will try to write an article on cattle husbandry with references over the next two or three weeks, which can then be further edited and discussed. There need to be separate sections for dairy cattle and beef cattle, and perhaps also for tropical cattle. In my experience (I currently live in Thailand, but originate in Canada), Northern breeds of either dairy or beef cattle raised in the tropics are husbanded more or less the same as in the North, but tropical breeds can be handled quite differently, so perhaps these three sections would cover everything. Rebecca Sooksom 08:41, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Rebecca, you don't need community agreement for this but thanks for asking. It's always a pleasure to see an expert editing wikipedia and as soon as the semi-protection expires late on the 15th of Feb you'll be able to improve this article although you can create new ones now. I've left a welcome message on your talk page that has some useful links on editing, markup text ( for formatting ) etc... Thanks for dropping in and happy editing ! - Peripitus (Talk) 10:41, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Blue cattle

Article says:

An "ox" is not a unique breed of bovine, nor have any "blue" oxen lived outside the folk tales surrounding Paul Bunyan, the mythical American logger.

What about the Belgian Blue? David.Throop 14:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

They aren't blue. Ian 19:35, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Cow Maturity

Since a big part of raising cattle is breeding them (to create new breeds or just to make more cows), I'd think it's fundamental to mention what age a calf reaches maturity. DryaUnda 14:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Fertility of Twin Calves

What would be the percentage of twin calves being born fertile? I know many times that twin calves are not fertile, but sometimes they are. Can anyone answer this question?

Winter

Why cows hate winter.

lmao. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Thai H. Nguyen (talk • contribs) 15:51, 29 April 2007 (UTC).

Typo: "thier milk"

Please change "thier milk" to "their milk" in the section on Hindu traditions. -- 212.63.43.180 18:25, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Done. Thai H. Nguyen 15:48, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Mumu virtual museum of cattle

May I suggest a link to Mumu, virtual museum of cattle?

Anatomy

I think that there should be a diagram of the insides of a cow. Thai H. Nguyen 15:46, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Sound

I've got a cow sound we may want to add to the article Secretlondon 15:12, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

{{editprotected}}

Secretlondon, this page is only semiprotected. I'm sure you can edit it. — Carl (CBM · talk) 12:56, 9 June 2007 (UTC)