Cattle

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Cattle eating grass in a field
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Cattle eating grass in a field

Cattle are domesticated mammals.

They are raised by farmers for meat (called beef and veal), milk (dairy products), leather and as work animals (pulling carts, plows).

In some countries, they are part of religious ceremonies and seen with respect.

Contents

[edit] Word use

Older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible call all farm animals as cattle. Other related animals are also often called cattle or wild cattle. This article refers to the common modern meaning of "cattle".

Young cattle are called calves. A young male is called a bull-calf; a female with no calves is called a heifer (pronounced "heffer"). Male cattle bred for meat are castrated (made unable to reproduce) unless needed for breeding. The castrated male is then called a bullock or steer, unless it is kept for draft (hard work) purposes, then it is called an ox (not to be confused with the related wild musk ox). An intact male is called a bull. An adult female with at least one calf (approximately) is called a cow. The adjective used to talk about cattle is bovine.

There is no word that means one "cattle" other than the terms given above. "Cow" is the closest, but it is usually understood to mean female. Some Canadian, Scottish, Australian and New Zealand farmers use the word "cattlebeast". "Neat" (horned oxen, from which we get "neatsfoot oil"), "beef" (young ox) and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughter) are old and unused words (except for beef still referring to cattle meat that people eat). Cattle raised for humans to eat are called beef cattle. Cows of some kinds that are kept for giving milk are called dairy cows. Herds are counted as, for example, "one hundred head".

The words bull and cow are also used for the male and female of some other species, like American bison, but also less closely related species such as moose, elephants, whales, and sea lions.

[edit] Biology

Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a stomach that allows them to eat and live well on grasses and other plants.

The aurochs was originally spread throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. In historical times, its range was restricted to Europe and the last animals were killed by poachers in Masovia, Poland, in 1627, though some breeders have attempted to recreate the original gene pool of the aurochs by careful crossing of commercial breeds, creating the Heck cattle breed.

A mistaken idea about cattle (mostly bulls) is that they become extremely angry when they see the color red. This is not correct; cattle cannot see colors, and can only see in black, white, and grays. This mistake comes from Matadors (bull-fighters), that have always used red cloth to make bulls attack, in Spanish-speaking culture. But really, red is only used as a tradition. The movement of the cape is why bulls attack.

[edit] Uses of cattle

A milking machine being used on a cow
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A milking machine being used on a cow

Cattle have a special role in human history. Some people think of them as the oldest form of wealth. Because they can be used by people for meat, milk (dairy cattle) and do work, while multiplying and eating only grass, they have been helpful for humans for a very long time.

According to Hinduism, the cow is holy, and should not be eaten: "the cow is our Mother, for she gives us her milk."

In Latin America, Australia and the western North America, cattle are grazed on large spaces of land called ranchos or ranches.

In Portugal, Spain and some Latin American countries, bulls are used for the sport of bullfighting; in many other countries, this is illegal.

[edit] Ox

Oxen (plural of ox) are cattle trained as work animals. Often they are adult, castrated males, that cannot reproduce. Usually, an ox is over four years old when it is trained and grown to full size. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling cargo, grain-grinding by trampling or by powering machines, irrigation by powering pumps, and wagon pulling.

Oxen are most often used in teams of two, paired, for light work such as carting. In past days, some teams were about fourteen and even over twenty for logging. A wooden yoke is put about the neck of each pair, so that the work is shared across their shoulders. Oxen are chosen from calves with horns, since the horns hold the yoke in place when the oxen lower their heads, back up or slow down.

Oxen must be trained from a young age. The owner must make or buy as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow. Ox teams are steered by commands or noise (whip cracks) and many teamsters were known for their voices and language.

Oxen can pull harder and longer than horses, especially for very large loads. They are not as fast as horses, but they are less often injured. Many oxen are still in use all over the world, especially in poor countries.

[edit] Other information

  • The ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. See: Ox (Zodiac).
  • The constellation Taurus represents a bull.

[edit] External links

Look up Bos taurus in Wikispecies, a directory of species


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