Facts about the Dairy Cow

Dairy cows are female cows kept for milk production. Dairy cows are mammals and to produce milk, they must first give birth to a calf. A cow produces one calf per year and she gives most milk six weeks after the calf is born.

Most of the dairy cows that you will see on farms in this country are black and white – they are Holstein and British Friesians. Some farmers keep Jersey and Guernsey cows, which produce creamier milk. These Channel Island breeds are golden brown and reddish brown and white in colour. There are also come Ayrshire herds, who tend to have white bodies, red heads and red mottled coats.

Cow’s spots are like a fingerprint or a snowflake. No two cows are the same!

Do cows have special teeth for eating grass?

Cow’s teeth are different from ours. On the top front, cows have a tough pad of skin instead of teeth. They have eight incisors on the bottom front and six strong molars on the top and bottom of each side to grind their food. Cows have a total of 32 teeth.

What is a ruminant?

A ruminant is an animal that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first stomach, known as the rumen, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again.

The process of rechewing the cud break down the plant matter further and stimulate digestion is called "ruminating". Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, water buffalo, deer, camels, alpacas, llamas, wildebeest and antelope.

What do cows eat?

Cows eat fresh grass in the summer and preserved grass in the water, such as silage (pickled grass) and hay (dried grass).

During summer, a cow can eat up to 70 kilogrammes of grass, drinking 60 litres of water. She can produce 20 litres of milk per day.

Winter feed is energy-rich feeds, usually made from cereal grains (wheat, barley and oats), cattle cake made from oilseed rape, plus peas and soya beans. Many farmers also feed home-grown foods to cattle – including straw, Swedes, turnips and kale (a type of cabbage).

A cow chews her cud from six to eight hours each day.

When are cows milked?

Cows are usually milked twice a day, early in the morning and during the afternoon in the parlour, which is kept very clean. One dairy cow producers, on average, 10,409 pints of milk in a year - enough to supply 22 families with their daily pintas.

How long is a cow’s gestation period?

The gestation period for a cow is the same as humans; nine months.

Why do cows wear earrings?

Milk cows usually have their ears pierced with ID tags. Each cow has a different number that allows the dairy farmers to track her activities via a computer. The cow’s milk production is recorded in the computer as well as any medicines she receives.