By Deanne Crawford, Rainbow Resource Consultant
Celebrated annually, the origins of National Cow Day is unclear. Although one iconic restaurant chain has popularized the appreciation of this beloved bovine by offering customers free food. Welcome to our unit study in celebration of cows! As you read through the study, you will notice underlined words–these are hyperlinks to child-friendly videos and articles to inspire learning. As always, supervised online time is recommended. Without further ado, let’s get a moooo-ve on it and learn more about cows.
Whether residing in the city or country, children are familiar with cows. For some, cows are a part of our daily life, and for others, Elsie, the Borden milk mascot is most known. Spend a couple minutes learning more about cows at Britannica. Cattle is the general term applied to cows, but also bull, heifer, calf, steer and ox. Used interchangeably, the word describes mammals that belong to the genus Bos and includes wild or domestic cattle.
Let’s start with fun trivia!
- At birth, an average cow weighs 70-80 lbs. Compare this to your weight at birth. If possible weigh yourself today. Which is heavier? The average weight of an adult cow is 1500 lbs. which is 5x heavier than the mid-size refrigerator!
- A cow’s heart beats 60-70 beats per minute, the same rate as children ten and older. Younger children have a slightly faster rate. Check your heart rate and compare.
- The average cow chews at least 50 times per minute. Grab a carrot or celery stick (cows are herbivores, which means they only eat plants) and chew 50 times. What happens?
- The average cow drinks 30-50 gallons of water each day. This is the nearly the same amount needed to fill a bath tub!
- The average cow will produce 8 gallons of milk per day. How does that compare to the milk your family drinks?
- For years, it was thought cows had four stomachs. Today, scientists have confirmed cows have one stomach divided into four parts.
Cattle are found throughout the world: on every continent except Antarctica. It is believed there are 800 cattle breeds throughout the world. Cattle raising has changed significantly since the early days of America. From the cattle drives in Texas and Kansas for transporting cattle feeding families across America, to the Cattle drives across the West in search of better grasslands, cattle and the cowboy were always on the move. Today, most cattle diets are supplemented with purchased feed so traveling across states is unnecessary and they are transported by trucks to market for the feeding of America and the world. Texas Ranch House interactive history offers a fun way to teach children about cattle drives of the old west.
In 2017, there were 727,906 beef farms and ranches in the U.S., and of these, 91% are family owned. Let’s consider what this means. We have all seen the “billions and billions sold” on the golden arches of a popular fast food chain. It has been said they sell 75 hamburgers every second. That is a lot of beef! In the US, we consume nearly 200 lbs. of meat per capita, which includes 55 lbs. of beef. Ask children what other meats do we eat? Which of these do they think most people eat? (Scroll to the bottom for the trend in meat consumption) Which ones do they prefer to eat? Five states raise the most beef cattle. Ask your children which state they think is the greatest producer? (Texas). While statistics are outdated, the Ag Foundation Beef E-Reader provides a fun look at beef cattle and a range of activities to further learning.
Numerous dairy cow breeds are found in the United States. Due to time constraints, we won’t cover each one. This link is filled with great information. The U.S. produces 21 billion gallons of milk each year, with nearly 15% exported to other countries. Ask older children which countries receive the most milk product from the United States. Ask younger children which state is the largest milk producer. The answer may surprise. California has been first in milk production for nearly 25 years! Not all is drunk by children however. Milk is a key ingredient in many foods including yogurt, cheese, and ice cream. Children are fascinated with making their favorites. Check out these child friendly options: Making Cheese, Ice cream in a bag, and Yogurt. Before we leave our look at dairy cows, check out the Journey of Milk.
Dual purpose cattle account for the largest percent of cows in the US. Raised to provide both milk and beef, they are often smaller in stature than their beef or dairy counterparts. You can learn more about them here.
Cows have a fascinating digestive system beginning with the teeth in their mouth. Eating primarily grass, cows grasp grass with their very strong tongues. In fact, they only have lower front teeth and strong back teeth. Swallowing grass whole, their 4-compartment stomach is vital to digestion. After eating their fill, cows find a place to rest and begin to regurgitate grass from their stomach to their mouth and rechew it with their large back teeth. This is often called, “chewing the cud.” Learn more about the digestive process of cattle at the Mobile Dairy Classroom YouTube video. Older children or those fascinated by rumination will enjoy this 3-D animation of the ruminant GI tract.
While there is much more to be learned about the ever-popular cow, it is my hope this unit study whet your appetite to learn more. It is my pleasure to write monthly unit studies for the Rainbow newsletter. If your family has a topic they would like to learn more about, feel free to drop me an email and I would be happy to create an introductory unit study! ~Deanne
