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.😁

Just doing swimming lesson runs. I have an hour between each child's lesson and I can't face sitting in the hot pool area for that long with bored kids, so I swap them over between.

This is a thread of sheer joy.

Re: special suncream for horses. (Can't remember who asked up thread). Yes you can, but it is the same as human waterproof suncream and about 3 times the price. I have always used whatever I can get in a Pharmacy.

Hi OP,

Farmers daughter here who also studied cow behaviour as part of my animal science degree. in answer to your questions:

1. I have heard of cows that are mainly white getting sunburnt and a vet told me some farmers do spray sunscreen on white cows. This is common with a lot of white animals even white cats can get sunburnt.
2. She may well have been an outcast or just wanting some alone time. Cows form cliques within the herd, they can recognise their friends and family members. There is also a leader of the herd.
3. They were probably playing, cows are surprisingly playful and inquisitive. An experiment was done that showed cows have the intelligence of a sheepdog and possibly a 3 year old child. It was proven they can workout puzzles and get excited when they learn how to do something new.

Cows are amazing animals and growing up were often my best friends.

Cows have regional accents , which I think is really cool. I also love the fact that happy mother cows will park their children in a crèche with a few others supervised by an aunt or a friend and go about their own business for a bit. The more stressed they are, the more likely each mother is to keep her calf glued to her side.

I bought some cat sunscreen and tried to apply it to my ginger cat’s ears. I only did it once. He was a lovely, intelligent cat and I miss him. 😿

i see someone has said that sunscreen for animals is the same as sunscreen for humans.

According to James Herriot, cows can get sunstroke. Well, it was a bull I think and no idea if it’s true but he definitely wrote about it.

I like that they know the time and gather by the gate ready to be led to the milking parlour. I also think they must be extremely heavy because when I have to carry a 4 pint of milk from the supermarket is a feat in itself.

I just wanted to add to my comment and for some reason it won’t let me edit.

If there is a public footpath through a field the farmer is not allowed to put a bull in there. Cows can sense fear. If they think there is something to be scared off they will be on edge. If they come towards you and you run and scream it does entice them to chase you. As for dogs, if they start barking at the cows chances are cows will go into attack mode. Please keep your dogs on a lead (farmers can legally shoot them if they attack their animals). Also don’t wander into a field that doesn’t have a public footpath through it. There were multiple occasions we had phone calls because there was a dog attacking the sheep or scaring the hell out of the cows or were in a field they shouldn’t be and we had to rush down there.

near me they have a cow release day, in May,
they Run on to the fields

Aaaahhhh that's adorable 🥰

Any white animal can get sunburn. Dad had a white cat, and when the previous owners had the cat, it had to have the ear tips removed after continual sunburn, then cancer
When it comes to cows, there is more to them than meets the eye.
Where do they go on holiday? Mooroco Moodives first down with towels on the sunbeds, lying back, relaxing, and reading a steamy novel!

Was talking to a dairy farmer, I said ‘your cows must hate this weather’ he said no, they love the heat! I’m very happy at the moment, great milk production and they’re very content and happy full time lately’. I mentioned about lying down as a prediction/ when training and he said no that’s not a thing. He did say about them needing shade but said in some cases that’s dodgy if storms come as cows will huddle under a tree and there’s been deaths due to lightning striking which I found so sad.

We have cows behind us and I love that they watch so much, they’re intrigued by my dog and cat and my dog has made friends- he walks over and they sniff each other through the wire. Very different ti shen the sheep are in there, they all run when they seen him/ me

Horse person here with some farm and small animal experience. Most mammals with areas of exposed pink skin (with less hair coverage, so around the nose, ears, eyes are the main culprits) are susceptible to sun burn. Human sunscreen is fine to use (and I imagine "animal" varieties are a marketing ploy to empty your pockets!).

Also take care if walking through fields when cows are with calves, they can be highly protective of their young. Def perimeter walking with dogs on leads around any livestock or horses.

i wouldnt go through a field with cows and their young, particularly with my dog
although i did once,
round the edge, we followed a brave new zealander!

i remember seeing a field with loads of cows running, turned out to be chasing a man and his dog.

This is a great thread! I was out walking with friends and was surprised by how scared they were of cows. My dad grew up in the country and when in a field of cows I do what he and @FictionalCharacter do, walk purposefully through it ignoring them. Never been bothered by cows and so not scared of them. There are sometimes cows in the field at the end of my parents' garden and I love seeing them, much more fun than grown sheep 😀

I’m a big hiker and have found myself face to face with lots of cows in my time, especially in Switzerland. They seem like lovely, gentle creatures, and they’ve never been unkind to me, but I am absolutely terrified, I know someone who was badly hurt by a trampling cow. I just try to pretend I’m completely nonchalant, stick to the path and keep mooooving.

I came face to face with about ten cows last week, walking alone through a field that is normally empty…they were all on the footpath so I decided I’d rather turn round and walk the much longer route round than have to pass them.

Also, I had Guinea pigs when little and we put sunscreen on their ears and noses when they went out in their run.

Scientists think one reason they line up facing the same direction is that they can somehow detect the magnetic field of the earth and align themselves on the north south axis. Dogs do, too, when they are pooong (hence the pop waggle dance). It’s fascinating! news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7575459.stm

I can double your sample size and confirm your findings.

ponies/horses can get sunburnt too…if they have areas where you can see their pink skin, often the nose of a grey horse. I assume other mammals are the same if they have pink areas??!!

We moved to a rural area where I thought the cows all seemed to have a bit more attitude - more likely to stare you down and approach rather than walk away. Turned out they were bullocks. If they are ignoring me I walk through with minimal eye contact. If a group look at me and approach though, I do a long loop around.

Yes, I heard that. My mum had a cat as a child that got cancer on its ear from the sun, it was white.

I've got a white cat now but he would absolutely kill me if I tried to put sunscreen on his ears! He refuses to look at me for weeks after I put a spot on flea treatment on him!

I'm so sorry. That happened to my mum's childhood cat. I'm getting worried now as my white cat will literally not allow me to put cream on his ears. He hates anything on him except his brother's saliva!

I used to work in an office where, to get there from the train station, you either walked round the ring road (15-20 minutes) or across a cow field (10 minutes) - 95% of the time with cows in it. I became slightly obsessed with them, and they generally - but not always - kept their distance and just watched you as you sauntered past.

One of the staff was a diary farmer as well as his day job and confirmed to us that cows lie down because they are knackered, not because it’s going to rain. He did say that you could tell rain was incoming by the height at which swarms of flies flew.

He also told us that to move cows from one field to another, you just lead the ‘lead cow’ and the rest will follow. ‘How do you know who is the ‘lead cow’’ I innocently asked.

‘You just do’, Pat responded.

Yes, It needs to feel like water or spit when it goes onto their skin. That heavy creaminess is awful for cats, as their instinct is to be clean and tidy try and wash it off. Also the smell of chemicals is alarming to my cats.

My little white one had ringworm and I had to put this awful daktarin cream on his neck/back. He'd struggle so much and was so upset and scared of me because of it. Now I just know he wouldn't accept suncream at all.

Thank you to the farming people!