Fantastic Cow Pictures
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Cows on the Farm
The cow happens to be among the most useful farm animals, and where there's a "farm" it's likely that there's a cow somewhere in there, too!
Holstein Herd
A herd of black and white milkcows in a green spring field.
©Shutterstock
A green pasture dotted with grazing black and white Holstein cows... That's the cow picture that comes to mind when we think of a farm. The cow is a common sight world wide, in any rural area. You can't think country living without remembering the cows.
Defining Cows
The term cow generally means an adult female of the bovine family. A heifer is a young female cow that hasn't yet had her own calf.
The bull is an adult male bovine animal. Cattle refers to all of these bovine animals.
In the Pasture
A curious cow wanders over to check out a visitor in her pasture.
©Shutterstock
Moo Cows for Kids
And for some reason, a cow's moo delights children everywhere! It's one of the first words my children learned (next to "tractor" that is!).
They love pictures of farm animals, and of course, they're thrilled with the cow pictures, too! They can't seem to get enough of them.
Spotted Cow
Brown and white cow graze peacefully in a meadow.
©Jan de Wild
Kids also love those baby calves to pieces. Visiting the local dairy to see the babies is one of my children's favorite places. I have lots of baby cow pictures with them.
If a kid is lucky enough to live on the farm, raising a calf is a responsibility that is fun and entertaining.
Mom and Baby
A baby calf sticks close to its mother.
©MaxPhoto
Ever got one of those toy farm sets for the kids? Yup, along with the tractors there's cows there, too! Start looking around. Cows and cow pictures are everywhere...
Historical American Country Life
Cows have been a part of American culture for hundreds of years. In fact, when the Pilgrims landed in New England, with their livestock they brought their cows, too!
Dairy Farm
A herd of cows lazily chew their cud nearby the farm's dairy barn.
©V. J. Matthew
In earlier years, America was mostly an agricultural, rural country. Nearly every family had their own cow. As our country became more industrialized, the small farmers have been replaced with big commercial dairy farms where milk is produced by herds of hundred of cows.
However, there are still many small family-owned farms who keep their own cow and other farm animals.
Family Farm Chores
Keeping the farm running smoothly is a whole family effort. And, of course, getting up before dawn to do the milking is one of the most common farm chores.
Cows in the Field
A herd of Holstein cows grazing in the country.
©Henk Bentlage
The sound of warm milk singing into the milk pail is part of the farm scene, with the barn cats sitting around waiting for a treat. Then bringing the cows in from the field for the evening milking is another daily task.
Commercial Dairy Farming
The larger dairy farms are a little different than the family farm. It's on a much larger scale. A full fledged dairy will keep hundreds of cows.
Peaceful Meadow
It's a lazy afternoon in a grassy field for this cow picture.
©Cathy Kovarik
The farmer must be sure all cows are kept well-fed and healthy if they are to produce efficiently, this sometimes means medical attention from a veterinarian.
Milking in a big dairy goes around the clock. Two or even three times daily the cows enter the dairy barn to be milked. It's cooled and stored in a large tank to be shipped to a factory to be processed and sold.
So Many Milk Products
Fresh milk often turns into useful dairy items such as cheese, yogurt, and butter, buttermilk, and even ice cream. Don't forget, whether homemade, or bought at Dairy Queen, ice cream originates from cows!
Though some people are allergic to cow's milk, it is high in calcium, protein, and other nutrients. Thus, it's a food found almost world wide including countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. Though different breeds are preferred in different cultures, farmers keep cows for milk production nearly everywhere.
Milk Cow Breeds
The most popular and commonly known cow is the black and white Holstein. Most dairy farmers use Holsteins because they're are the highest volume milk producers.
Cow & Farm Field
A cow grazes in a farm field with hay bales in the distance.
©Eric Gevaert
Next in line is the Jersey cows. These are lovely brown creatures, known for their rich, creamy milk.
The Ayrshire is a dairy cow that originates from Scotland. These animals are a more reddish color that ranges from an orange to brown.
The Brown Swiss dairy cow is well known and loved among the small dairy farmers. She has a docile temperament, is very hardy. No one can miss this cute cow's big furry ears. The Brown Swiss produces high quality milk that's great for cheese production.
The Guernsey is another common dairy breed. This farm animal is brown and cream colored. Her milk is well know for being rich flavored.
Of course, there are many more breeds used in dairies, including the Friesian, Hereford , Charolais. Then there are other farm cows that aren't necessarily for milk production, but rather for beef.
Other Kinds of Cows
There are many cows that are raised meat purposes. Range cattle are raised in fields or on uncultivated lands. As the mom cows aren't milked, the calves usually stay with their mother until grown.
The Angus and Shorthorn are both breeds that are generally used for beef.
Black Angus Calf
A young calf checks out a visitor.
©Eric Gevaert
Cool Cow Facts:
- Did you know? No two Holstein cows are alike. Their black and white patterns are all unique, just like your finger prints, or the winter's snowflakes.
- One cow can provide approximately 200,000 glasses of milk during her lifespan.
- A cows will generally spend 6 hours a day in eating and another 8 hours chewing it's cud.
- Cows are one of the largest of the farm animals, weighing around 1400 pounds! (They can be more or less depending on the breed.)
Mooooooo!
A low camera angle gets a great picture of this curious cow.
©Createsima
Those Funny Cows!
Cows can be very amusing creatures. They're very curious ones at that!
Have you ever stopped near a field to get a cow picture of that idyllic country scene, only to have the entire herd come crowding up to the fence to find out what's going on?
Curious
Cows
This funny cow and her calf come closer to find out what's this strange
contraption is all about...
©Heiko Potthoff
Funny cow pictures abound, because cows are inclined to stick their nose up closed to the camera lens to get a better look. Funny at first, but obnoxious when they ruin your photography efforts!
Farm Cows for Fun and Profit
Cows are everywhere, the world over. Though large dairy farms have the most cows these days, there's still lots of small farms that keep up the tradition of the family cow.
From the Holstein to the Angus, cows pictures will certainly continue to be an essential part of farm and country living!
Grazing Cow
This cow spends it's days grazing in rural green countryside.
©Fernando Jose Vasconcelos Soares
I love sharing country photos, and I love seeing photos from other country folks. Now YOU can join the fun!
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