
Hey everyone, gather ‘round for some fun facts about cattle…
1) Cattle have no upper front teeth; in total, they have 32 teeth including 8 bottom incisors and 6 molars on the top & bottom of each side
2) Because of this ⬆️ they don’t bite off blades of grass, instead, they use their long, sandpaper-like tongue to “grab” it
3) Calves (babies) are born with teeth and can start nibbling on grass 1-2 days after birth, although they’re mostly just mimicking mom since their stomachs aren’t fully developed to digest grass until they are about 3 months old
4) They have panoramic vision and can see nearly 360 degrees around them while their head is down eating
5) Their gestation period is nearly identical to humans! Cattle: 285 days Humans: 280 days
6) A full-grown cow can consume up to 30 gallons of water a day. To put that into perspective, that’s over 2 standard size (13gal) trash cans full!
7) Their average lifespan is 15 years, but some can live for 20 + years! Side note: The oldest cow in our herd is 14 years old and she is the absolute BEST momma/grandma
8) Cattle do not have 4 stomachs, they have a single, 4 chambered stomach that breaks down plant matter with the help of microbes that ferment their food
9) Because their stomachs aren’t able to fully break down their food, they regurgitate balls of partially digested plant matter called “cud” and re-chew it to break it down further. This process is referred to as rumination
10) They consume 3% of their body weight in food every day. That’s about 30 lbs. of grass!
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