Cattle
Cattle are animals which are mammals and belong to the genus "Bos".
The word "cattle" is in the plural, meaning "some cattle" or "many cattle". There is no word in English that means "one cattle". The usual way is to say "cow" or "bull" or "ox".
Cattle are large grass-eating animals with hoofs that are divided into two parts. They have horns which are a simple shape, usually curved upwards but sometimes down. They usually stay together in groups called "herds". One male, called a "bull" will usually have a number of female "cows" in a herd. The cows give birth to one "calf" a year. The "calves" have long strong legs and can walk a few minutes after they are born, so they can follow the herd.
Cattle are native to most tropical and subtropical parts of the world except Australia and New Zealand. Cattle have been domesticated for about 7,000 years. They are used for milk, for meat, for transport and for power.
Word use.
The word "cattle" has been used in English for about 1,000 years and the meaning has changed. In books that are written in "Old English", such as the King James Version of the Bible, the word is used for all sorts of farm animals, including horses, sheep and goats. The word comes from the "Old French" word, chattels, meaning all the things that a person owns.
The word "cattle" is used for some wild animals as well as for domesticated cattle. Wild cattle include the Water Buffalo from South East Asia, the Musk Ox andYak from Central Asia, the Bison of North America and Europe and the African Buffalo. The last Aurochs, wild cattle of Europe, were killed in Masovia, Poland in 1627.
Cattle vocabulary.
A male is called a "bull". A female is called a "cow". A baby is called a "calf". Two or more babies are "calves". A young female that has not had a calf is called a "heifer", (pronounced "heffer").
Because many cows will form a herd with one bull, most male cattle are used for meat. They are "castrated" by removing the testicles. A castrated male is called a "steer" or an "ox". "Steer" is the usual word for beef cattle. "Ox" is the usual word for working cattle.
The adjective that is used to describe something that is like a cow or an ox is "bovine".
The words "cow", "bull" and "calf" are also used to describe some other large animals that are not related to cattle, such as elephants, moose and whales.
Biology.
Cattle can be found across the world, from snowy Scotland to the dry inland of Australia. Different types of cattle are suited to different environments. Their large wide hoofs are good in both wet areas and dry grassland. Their hairy coat grows much longer in the winter and has an extra fluffy layer to hold the warmth. Most cattle do not sweat, but their wet nose is a cooling system.
Cattle can make a range of noises, usually a gentle "Moo!" When they are angry or upset, they can bellow loudly.
Cattle are grass-eating animals. They are ruminants which means that they have more than one stomach and they digest their food very well. Cattle have very strong tongues and strong lower front teeth that help them to eat grass. After a cow has eaten and is resting, they return the grass from their stomach to their mouth and grind it with their very large back teeth to get all the nourishment from it. This is called "chewing the cud". Other ruminants like deer also do this. It means that cattle do not need as much food as horses, even though they are about the same size.
Female cattle, or cows, have large breasts called "udders" which are under the belly and partly between the back legs. The udder is divided into four parts, each with a large "teat" for feeding the calf. Cows usually make more milk than they need for one calf. If the milk is regularly taken from the cow, be hand or by machine, the cow makes more milk. Cows that have a lot of milk are used as "dairy cows".
Male cattle, or bulls, can be fierce and dangerous. In the wild, they fight over the herds of cows and use their horns to "gore" each other. They also protect the herds from other animals such as wolves, jackals and lions. On farms, bulls are usually quieter and can be led by their owners, but they can be aggressive with other bulls and with strangers who might go near the herd.
For this reason, most male cattle are either sent to the butcher while they are still calves or are " castrated" so that they are not likely to fight. Young "steers", or castrated males, can be safely kept together in herds until they are sent to the market for meat.
Uses of cattle.
Ever since people started using cattle in Prehistoric times, cattle have been seen as a sign of wealth. In many countries today, particularly in Africa and Asia, a person's wealth is judged by the number of cattle they owned.
Cattle are very useful animals. Their flesh can be eaten as meat. Their milk can be drunk and turned into cheese and yogurt. Their skin can be used as leather. They can pull carts and plows. They can make the power to turn flour mills or pump water. The food that they eat is not expensive.
Dairy cattle.
Dairy cattle are kept specially for milking. Herds of cows are kept and are regularly mated with a bull, so that they produce calves. This keeps the milk supply going.
Cows can be milked by hand, but in many countries where there are large dairies, the cows are milked by "milking machine". The milk is collected in stainless steel containers and is taken by truck to the Milk Factory to be treated so that any germs are killed. The milk is also separated to remove most of the cream. It is then put into bottles or cartons to be sold. Some milk is turned into cheese and some is turned into yogurt. The cream is also put into bottles and sold. Milk factories often make ice cream as well.
Large dairy herds are usually kept in places where there is a good supply of grass and the fields are quite small. This is because the cows are brought in for milking every day.
Many types of cattle are used for milk. They include:-
Beef cattle.
Beef cattle are kept specifically to provide meat. "Steers" are the best for this purpose because they can be kept in herds, without fighting each other. The cows of beef cattle are used to raise calves for meat. They are not usually used for milk, although some types of cattle, such as the "Red Devon" are used for both.
Beef cattle can be let loose to graze over a big area, because they don't have to be brought in every day like dairy cattle. The biggest farms in the world are "cattle stations" in Australia, "ranches" in North America and "ranchos" in Latin America where they run beef cattle.
Until the mid 20th century, beef cattle were often sent to market "on the hoof". Cowboys or drovers would herd the cattle along the roads to the cattle markets in big towns. In Australia, sometimes the cattle would travel for hundreds of miles along roads known as Travelling Stock Routes. Big herds would have thousands of "head of cattle". (Cattle are counted by the "head".) Nowadays cattle are usually sent to the market in huge lorries known as "road-trains".
The meat of a young beast is called "veal" and from an older beast, "beef". Meat that is cut into flat pieces for frying or grilling is called "steak". Every part of a beast can be used. The skin becomes leather. The meat which is not used by humans becomes pet food and everything that is left over becomes garden fertilizer.
Types of cattle that are used for beef:-
Oxen.
"Oxen" are cattle trained as work animals. The word "ox" is used to describe just one. They are usually castrated males (steers), but in many poor countries, dairy cows are also used for work.
Usually, an ox is over four years old and grown to full size when it begins to work. Oxen are used for pulling plows and wagons, for hauling heavy loads like logs, for grinding grain by trampling it or for powering different machines such as mills and irrigation pumps.
Oxen are most often used in teams of two for light work such as plowing. In past days, very large teams of fourteen to twenty oxen were used for heavy work such as logging. The oxen are put into pairs and each pair must work together. 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 shouted commands, whistles or the noise of a whip crack. Men who drove ox teams were called teamsters in America, wagoners in Britain, or in Australia, "bullockies". Many bullockies and teamsters were famous for their voices and for their foul 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.
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