COWS FROM A-Z

A IS FOR ART

• Cows have been featured in ART since the beginning of mankind. Prehistoric paintings have been found on the walls of caves in Europe. A more recent form of cows in art is ASCII - computer generated pictures.

• There are more than a thousand different BREEDS of cows in the world. There are many types of cattle and there are many breeds of minature of cattle. A Rare Breed Livestock, Miniature, and Pet Expo is held each year at the Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Tennessee. A breed of cattle called Beefalo is part domestic beef cattle and part American bison. The largest breed of beef cattle in the world is the Chianina from Italy.

The continent of North America did not have cattle until Christopher COLUMBUS brought them on his second voyage to the New World. Cows were brought to Australia from England.

• DAIRY cows are used for milk products and there are several breeds including Jersey, Guernesy, Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Ayshire. Holsteins have been raised in Holland for more than 2,000 years and make up a large percent of American cows. Jersey cows originated in England, Ayrshires originated in Scotland, Brown Swiss originated in Switzerland, and Guernesy originated in France. Take a virtual tour of The Story of Milk. Wisconsin is known as America's Dairyland. Visit a cyberspace farm

• ENSILAGE is chopped-up cornstalks and corncobs, grass, and other vegetation. It is put into big silos in the summer. Cows eat grass in the summer and graze day and night in the pasture. In the winter they stay in the barn most of the time and eat hay, ensilage, and grain.

• Many FAIRYTALES have a cow. Some of them on the internet are The three cows, The Herd boy and the Weaver, The Cat and the Mouse, and Story of the Black Cow . Noah's Ark is a tale from the bible. Print Noah's Ark coloring pages.

• There are many cows GAMES and activities. There is a game called Pasture Golf. You can Build a cow and take a quiz about cows. Cow Tipping is a pasttime alledgedly common in rural areas. There are Cow Christmas ornaments.

• Most cows grow HORNS. Some are short and some are curved. Others are long and sharp. Sometimes the horns are cut off when they are young. An Ayrshire’s horns are long and beautifully curved up over the head. Longhorns were named for their wide long horns. Horns are made into drinking horns and blowing horns.

• ITALY means “calf-land” and refers to Hera, the Great Mother, in her form as a cow. The “horn of plenty” was used in ancient Rome to symbolize good things given by the Great Cow.

• There are many JOKES about cows. The Cow Dance is just that - cows dancing!

• The KOUPREY is a wild animal and a close relative of cattle. It is in danger of extinction along with three other species.

• The hide of a cow makes tough durable LEATHER. Cows have two toes on each foot which form the hoof. The hooves of cows provide glue and gelatin and the fat can be burned for light a heat. Beef by-products are used in hundreds of everyday products.

• Cows and bulls have been part of MYTHOLOGY since the beginning of time. The cow usually represented the moon and the bull the sun. A cow was the symbol of Isis the nature goddess of Ancient Egypt. In Ancient Crete the bull was held in high esteem. The Druids used bulls for religious purposes in Ancient England. The Ankole-Watusi can be traced back 6,000 years and are known as the “Cattle of Kings”. The Brown Swiss is also one of the oldest cows in the world and may be related to a breed that existed in the Bronze Age. Festival of Cows is held in Nepal.

• There are many NAMES for cows. Bossie and Bessie are common names for dairy cows. Bossie comes from an old Latin, Bos Taurus, which means ox. The first Beanie Baby cow was named Bessie and in Wisconsin there ia a giant cow named Bessie. A calf’s mother is called the “dam”, and his father is called the “sire”. Male calves are called “bull calves,” and female calves are called “heifer calves.” Bulls are always called bulls and are very dangerous when they are grown up. Heifers are heifers only until they have their first calf and then they are called cows.

• There are five species of OXEN. The term oxen includes buffalo and bison. The Aurochs were the ancestors of domestic cattle and are extinct. All surviving oxen but the kouprey have been domesticated.

• Many POEMS and stories have a cow.

• The QUEEN of England maintains a herd of Highland cattle at Balmoral Castle. Cows follow a strict form of etiquette and every cow is a queen to all the cows below her. One cow in a herd is the boss and status seems to depend on the ability to push and shove. A cow establishes her rank soon after joining the herd. Cows at the top of the social order usually do not have to walk as far for food as low-status cows. Cattle can be "broken to lead" or trained to be lead with a halter.

• RUMEN is where food goes when a cow swallows the first time. It softens things up, is regurgitated, chewed as cud, and swallowed again. Then it goes to the other three stomachs. Cows can digest almost any kind of plant food because they are ruminant animals and have four parts to their stomachs. A cow only has teeth on its bottom jaw at the front of its mouth. In the back it has large molars top and bottom.

• In India, Hindus believe the cow is SACRED and cattle are treated with great respect. The sale of cows is prohibited. During festivals cows are painted and decorated. The Zebus cows is the sacred cow. It has a characteristic hump behind its head. In Japan, Sacred Cows are set up in the middle of rivers to reduce the speed of the current.

• A lot of TRIVIA is available about cows. Several states have Giant Cows. A special type of Harley-Davison motorcycle was called a moo-glide. A line of Lamborghini automobiles named Mirua has a bull on its emblem. Each cow produces at least fifteen tons of manure annually and most of it is used as fertilizer. It has also been used to plaster walls of houses and dried for use as fuel for cooking. Cows have been on postage stamps. Manatees are aquatic animals that are called Sea Cows. Tucows is an internet site that provides downloads of programs.

• UNUSUAL cows include the The cow-bird which is really a bird and named for their feeding habit of gathering near cows to feast on the insects those animals attract. The Dutch Belted Galloway has unusual coloring – the head is pitch black, the middle is white, and they have black tongues. A dogcow is an icon used on a Macintosh computer.

• At least six different VOCAL sounds by cows have been identified. Cows communicate sounds to express a variety of moods. The moo is the most familiar. There are several Talking Cows in the United States. Each language has a word for cow.

• Folklore claimed that animals including cows can forecast the WEATHER.
  Scratch ear, shower very near.
  Thump ribs with tale, thunder lightening, and hail Here is More folklore about the weather.

• In many places in the country it is necessary to put a sign Cows XING to alert motorists to the possibility that a cow or cows might be crossing the road.

• A YAKOW is a combination of a yak and a cow and is common in Tibet where domesticated Yak is found. The Yak is one of the world’s most hardy breeds along with the Skottish Highland Cow.

• Heritage Farm at the Milwaukee County ZOO in Wisconsin has a dairy complex. The Oakland Park Zoo has Highland Cattle and Bison (sometimes called the Prairie Cow). Some Petting Zoos have cows.