Please turn on sound to hear the song "Hey Diddle Diddle"
JUNE 2008
COWS FROM A-Z
A fact about cows for each letter of the alphabet.
Click on highlighted word for more information/
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.
B IS FOR BREEDS
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.
C IS FOR COLUMBUS
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.
D IS FOR DAIRY
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
E IS FOR ENSILAGE
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.
F IS FOR FAIRYTALES
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
.
G IS FOR GAME
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
.
H IS FOR HORNS
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
.
I IS FOR ITALY
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.
J IS FOR JOKES
There are many
JOKES
about cows. The
Cow Dance
is just that - cows dancing!
K IS FOR KOUPREY
The
KOUPREY
is a wild animal and a close relative of cattle. It is in danger of extinction along with three other species.
L IS FOR LEATHER
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.
M IS FOR MYTHOLOGY
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.
N IS FOR NAMES
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.
O IS FOR OXEN
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.
P IS FOR POEMS
Many
POEMS and stories
have a cow.
Q IS FOR QUEEN
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.
R IS FOR RUMEN
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.
S IS FOR SACRED
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.
T IS FOR TRIVIA
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.
U IS FOR UNUSUAL
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.
V IS FOR VOCAL
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
.
W IS FOR WEATHER
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.
X IS FOR XING
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.
Y IS FOR YAKOW
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.
Z IS FOR ZOO
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.
Cows in my neighborhood
Thank you to the many people who made the webpages I linked to.
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