DH asked me what do cows eat. AIBU to divorce him immediately?

[TheIckabog]

We were watching a program about a fancy hotel where they have their own cows. There was a clip of the cows being hand fed apples.

DH exclaimed in surprise ‘I didn’t know cows eat apples!’ He then paused and said, ‘What DO cows eat?’ whilst looking genuinely puzzled.

I said to him what do you think they do all day in the fields? They eat grass/hay etc, how do you not know this? DH then shrugged and said he’d never really thought about it.

He is a well educated intelligent man in his 40s. We also grew up/live in a place where dairy production accounts for a large percent of the export, so it’s not like he’s never seen a cow in a field or on a farm before.

I am aghast. AIBU to divorce him immediately? I really can’t see any other option to be honest

@SecretNutellaFix that’s so funny because I had almost word for word the exact same conversation with a school friend of mine many years ago - moving from carrot cake to cheese cake in escalating disbelief 🤣

Cows eat soya mainly now I think
Not in the UK they don't. Here they eat mostly grass and silage (fodder like grass or lucerne that had been harvested and stored in airtight conditions). A lot of the supplementary feeds they get use up waste products from the food industry.

In my limited experience cows eat grass, silage, tender shoots on all hedging plants which dare to grow, netting protecting allotment plants, handles of wheelbarrows (wood), fencing (not eaten but pulled around like dental floss maybe), any and all new plants they can reach through the previously strong now pulled and trampled fencing Oh and salt licks.

@countdowntonap

My husband grew up thinking dogs were male and cats were female

That’s amazing

I also thought this until I was about 7 years old

They usually eat silage not hay.

When I was first dating my now dh (we were 19) he came to lunch at my parents house. My mum made beef casserole and dumplings and he had no idea what a dumpling was! Had apparently never heard of them or seen one. To top it off, when he used the bathroom he was confused about the nail brush we kept on the sink. My mum still says 'it's a good job you found him young' I think she feels like we rescued him?! My mum is a little nuts too 😂

"Do I need my passport to go to Scotland" is what I got the other day. I didn't know whether to laugh/cry/stare in disbelief

@Zhampagne

Yeah but he actually thought they could climb up your body with their tiny hands and just sort of sucker on to your nipple dangling off.

There is actually a phenomenon called the 'breast crawl'; placed on its mother's abdomen, a newborn is instinctively able to crawl to her breast and latch, so he's not a million miles away from the truth.

I have seen that, when I was in the maternity ward after having DD. There was a very young Mum with LDs who wasn't very good yet at responding to her baby's needs (she was a very loving Mum, with a v supportive Mum of her own and I imagine turned out to be a great parent with support). She often did not pick up the baby straight away when it cried but it did that crawling thing.

The midwife said she had heard of it as a phenomenon but never actually seen it before.

"Do I need my passport to go to Scotland" is what I got the other day. I didn't know whether to laugh/cry/stare in disbelief

My parents ran an English language school for foreign students when I was growing up and they regularly organised coach trips to Edinburgh. On one occasion, the coach driver apparently announced to the passengers, 'We're approaching the Scottish boarder, make sure you have your passports handy.' Cue panic.

You can understand foreign students not being sure about this, but from someone who grew up in this country???

I think I’ve got you all beat. . . My dp thought that dinosaurs and Neanderthals lived at the same time.

I thought this until a couple of years ago.

Hermione Makepeace BSc (hons) MBA.

LTB

My Dad is Scottish but did his National Service at an army base in England in the early 1950s. He was often asked some very odd questions about what it was like in Scotland, e.g. did they have electricity. Some of it may have been legpulling but some definitely sounded like insularity and lack of general knowledge and common sense.

I've seen the same insularity in Americans I've known. I remember one young American woman genuinely thinking that Sweden was a part of Switzerland.

*@Mittens030869
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My parents ran an English language school for foreign students when I was growing up and they regularly organised coach trips to Edinburgh. On one occasion, the coach driver apparently announced to the passengers, 'We're approaching the Scottish boarder, make sure you have your passports handy.' Cue panic.

You can understand foreign students not being sure about this, but from someone who grew up in this country???*

Honestly, I have no clue why it came out of his mouth- he did start it with "I think this is an absolutely ridiculous questions but.."

The fact that we've been to Scotland together makes it even worse!

@Mittens030869

I've seen the same insularity in Americans I've known. I remember one young American woman genuinely thinking that Sweden was a part of Switzerland.

Only 42% of Americans have a passport, and that figure is an all-time high.

“I get a gem like this from my DH at least once a week! He is not stupid but exceedingly oblivious!

Recently he announced he didnt know Paul McCartney could play the guitar!!!“

Well, he’s mostly known for playing bass... so... that’s not that oblivious tbh.

@LakieLady

My DP didn’t know which planet was Jupiter and which was Saturn

I think that's understandable. During a blonde moment a couple of years ago, I asked DP if the moon went round the earth or round the sun. He's still taking the piss out of me about it,

Well, the moon does go round the sun, as well as round the earth...

When I was 8 or 9 in the early 60s. I remember going camping and the field has lots of lambs tails with a tight rubber ring round the bit where they had been docked. Being that age, we thought it was fun to collect them.

Could be worse. I’ve spoken to many adults who think that cows have to eat grass to produce milk 😂😂
They produce milk because they’re mothers and were pregnant first dumbass

Actually, I think it's quite a reasonable question! I think what cows eat generally depends on which country they live in, what the climate is and what parts of the year their grazing is limited. I know that where I live they are fed silage in winter. And it stinks! So YABU!

@Lincslady53

When I was 8 or 9 in the early 60s. I remember going camping and the field has lots of lambs tails with a tight rubber ring round the bit where they had been docked. Being that age, we thought it was fun to collect them.

Some of those may have been the male lambs testicles however. Those are also ringed so the blood is cut off and the ball bag shrivels up and drops off. One orange rubber ring for females and two for males (both testicles in one ring).

If you said jackdaws and crows dine off lambs sweetbreads nobody would believe you.

Sat next to my 5 year old and I asked her what cows eat and without hesitating said grass

They no longer dock sheep tails as it’s cruel to them

Not quite the same, I always thought coleslaw had vinegar in it, which I hate with a passion. Found out the truth a couple of years ago, love the stuff now.

Stile...I think the joke is on you