Questions about cows

[birdling]

Yesterday, I drove past the same field of cows 4 times in an hour and I have some questions that have been puzzling me, if anyone can help?

1. The weather was very, very hot. Full sun. Every time I went past, the cows were standing huddled together in a group in different places in the field. There was no shade in the field (although there might be in other parts, I couldn't see the whole area). Do cows like the sun? Do they get sunstroke/burn? Was the huddling together due to the sun?

2. There was always one cow who wasn't in the group, but standing a few metres away. Was she an outcast? A rebel? The head cow?

3. Many years ago, when I was a student, I was camping in the middle of the countryside next to an archaeological dig I was working on. The was a field of cows next to our campsite. Every night, in the middle of the night the cows would all suddenly thunder down the field to the fence by my tent, all moo really loudly then thunder back up the field again. They would do this at several points during the night. What in earth were they doing????

I really like cows.😁

I'm in awe of how they always face the same way when grazing or just standing about. With the exception of one or two rebel / cool kids.

The only question I can partly answer is that I don't believe cows get sunstroke.
I've always read that the only animals that can get sunburnt are pigs, hence why if you ever see them in fields they always have plenty of metal shelters from the sun.

It's also not true that cows lying down means rain. It means they're tired, according to the dairy manager where I worked many moons ago.

On your point 3, they were probably having a laugh. Cows are a lot more intelligent than people give them credit for and they are quite playful.

Dolphins can get sunburnt. It's true.

So can cats. Apparently if you have a fair skinned cat with pale fur, you're supposed to sunscreen its ears. I suspect this advice comes from someone who's never tried to apply sunscreen to a cat's ears.

Cows are beautiful. Too good to deserve a bolt through the skull. They have such hard lives, mostly dairy cows. Beef herds seem to have it a bit easier.

My cat would have your eyes out!

I only know a little bit about cows, but more about horses, and they are all herd animals.

They will seek shade if it’s there, but probably more because of flies than heat/sun. Most livestock isn’t as sensitive as we are to heat/sun. Some of them might get sunburn if they have very pale noses, but frankly most of them don’t live long enough for long term complications of sun exposure.

Like all herd animals, they work as a group to keep the whole herd safe. If one is standing separately, it could be they are on the lookout, so to speak, or they are less accepted by the herd (a bit shit at keeping an eye out or not respecting the pecking order, etc).

Sometimes they just run around and act silly. If it’s during the night, it could also be a response to a perceived predator or scary thing. Someone in the herd twitches in the dark and everyone freaks out. It’s why you ideally walk the perimeters of a field with cows in it, not straight across the middle or through the herd.

Cows walk around on their hind legs at night, or when they think nobody is looking. They are also masters at staring and scowling.

Believe it or not, I have indeed applied sun screen to a cat's ears. We used to have a black and white cat whose fur on his ears was white with pale pink skin underneath, and he did get used to having it put on. Took a while though. Non-greasy sun screen is best.

But if you think I'm going to try applying the stuff to my current pale ginger tabby cat's pink lips and nose you have another think coming!

A lookout cow!

That's really tickled me, I do hope it's true

Ginger cats are always nutters. Fact.

Actually I probably can't speak for all ginger cats, as my personal sample size is one. However he was a fucking nutter and maybe skewed my perception.

I second the idea that they’d be standing together to help keep the flies of each other. With horses they commonly stand side by side but nose to tail, so that one’s tails swishes the flies from the other one’s eyes, and vice versa.

We had a ginger cat who was a nutter. I concur.

That's clever!
There is a lot about cows that I didn't know 😁.
I love the fact that if you go and stand by a field of cows, they will all wander over and just stand by you. No expectations or demands, just stand there, keeping you company.

Aw!

I hope you’ve seen some of the videos of people playing music to cows, they are really captivating

Thete was a fantastic show called The Secret Lives of Cows a while back, probably still on iPlayer

Cows also have a best friend. My son told me this but I didn't believe him. I phoned my friend who is a dairy farmer and they confirmed that it's true.

When they go to bed at night they always lie next to each other or go in the same stall together.

The farmer doesn't make them, they choose to sleep together.

Ooh, I'll have to watch that 😀

That's so sweet!

It’s true about sunscreen on cats, you really do need to try put it on their ears and nose if they’re pink or keep them out of the sun at peak times because they can get awful skin cancer, and even with the best treatment it’s not always a full recovery

Are you by any chance a Gary Larson fan? 😆

Cows like jazz

We put sun cream on our black and white cats white ears. She judges us throughout the process then goes and rubs her ears on the sofa so at least I know the arm of the sofa won't get sunburnt, the cat will have to take her chances.

I like cows but I’m a bit wary of them. I read that more people are killed in the UK by cows than by any other animal!