As gentle giants of the pasture, cows are SO much more than just a source of dairy and beef. They’re surprisingly complex creatures with a lot of intriguing quirks and characteristics.
We all know what a cow looks like and most importantly we all know what they’re like. Even if you’ve been living in the city all of your life and you’ve never been to the countryside, chances are that you know a thing or two about cows.
But there are more than a few fun facts out there about cows that even the most well-versed cattle enthusiast has missed out on.
This is why in this article we decided to show you some of the most interesting and unique cow facts we could think of. While you may know some of these, we made sure to make the facts as obscure as possible so that at least one will catch you off-guard.
With all that being said though, let’s stop wasting any more of your time and instead just hop right into the first pick of the day:
1. All Cows Originate from Turkey
All domestic cows nowadays are descendants of the ancient wild oxen that were known as the aurochs, and, you guessed it, they all originated from Turkey around 10,500 years ago.
Interestingly enough, the second subspecies to be domesticated was known as the zebu cattle, and it originated in India around 7,000 years ago or so.
It is believed that the wild aurochs went extinct around 1627, but luckily they still managed to pass on their genes to their descendants.
2. Cows Have Best Friends
If you’ve ever been around a cow before then you should know that they are social animals that will always stay around their favorite humans to either comfort them or be comforted by them.
So, if your cow tends to follow you around everywhere and it just constantly asks for head pats then chances are that your cow considers you to be her best friend. But they also have other and apparently they even panic if you separate them from their friends.
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3. Cows Can Smell You From 6-Miles Away
Another fun fact that you should know about is that you physically can’t sneak up on your cow simply because they will literally smell you way before they see you.
They can easily smell you coming from 6 miles away, and they can use this super sense to stray away from predators, locate food and even make their way back to you if they’re lost.
4. All Cows Are Female
This is a bit of a tricky statement, because while it is true, it also means a lot more than you’d think. That’s because when we say all “cows” are female, it’s the same as saying that all hens are females and all drakes are males.
But if all cows are female, then what do we call them before they mature? Well, before having a half, any and all females are referred to as and after their first born they are technically considered to be cows.
5. There Are Well Over 800 Different Cow Breeds
Not a lot of people realize this, but there are a lot of out there, and for good reason too.
Because of how easily accessible they are and how proficient they are on farms, pretty much every place on Earth has bred their very own cow breed.
This is why today we have around 800 or more cow breeds to choose from, and that’s only amongst the ones that are recognized by their individual federations.
This does work out in your favor though as a buyer, since different breeds were created for different reasons, so you can perfectly find the best breed for you by simply looking for the ones that fit your requirements best.
So, if you’re primarily looking for a good-sized breed that you can butcher later on to get a lot of high-quality meat from, you can always just invest in a beef breed.
At the same time, there are plenty of dairy breeds that are perfect for milk production, or you can just go for a hybrid dual-purpose breed, the choice is yours.
6. Cows Are Excellent Swimmers
Despite how large and slow they are, cows are actually quite formidable swimmers, to the point where they can probably outswim most of us.
This is because their legs are especially powerful after carrying around all of their weight, so it’s no wonder that they can easily swim for a few miles without a care in the world.
There was even a case in which a Netherlands cow managed to swim for a total of 62 miles or 100km to shore during a flood, so you just know that they’re not to be messed with in the water.
7. Cows Love to Solve Puzzles
You may snicker at the thought of your cow sitting down and playing a chess game with you, but you’d definitely be surprised to see just how intelligent and curious they can get.
That’s because cows will often times look through their surroundings a lot to find some way to pass the time.
Thanks to their high intelligence, they will quickly realize how the world works around them and if specifically trained for it, we do believe that cows could even complete the same puzzles that monkeys can with ease.
8. Cows Can See Almost 360 Degrees Around Them
That’s right, cows almost have a full panoramic view of their surroundings. They specifically evolved this trait so that they could survive in the wilderness.
Interestingly enough though, their only real blind spot is right in front of them, which is why they will always turn their head to look at you.
9. Cows Have No Upper Front Teeth
But if cows don’t have front teeth, then how do they eat food?
Well, to put it bluntly, when they chew down on grass, cows will literally push their sharp bottom teeth row into the top palate of their mouth until the food was successfully cut into digestible pieces.
10. Cows Chew Eight Hours Per Day
Most cows have around 32 teeth, give or take, and as soon as they get food in their mouth they will continue to chew down on it for as long as 40-50 times per minute.
Interestingly enough, most cows will move their jaw around 40,000 times per day, which is mostly due to the fact that they can chew for up to eight hours every single day without a care in the world.
11. Cows Spend 10 Hours Every Day Laying Down
This is very interesting to us because even though they do tend to lie down for so long, they also tend to stand up and lie down around fourteen times per day.
12. Cows Can Sleep Standing
Their reasoning behind this is quite simple, there could technically always be a predator right around the corner so they need to be ready to run as fast as possible to save their lives.
If you’ve ever seen a cow getting up then you know what we’re talking about here, as most cows will need as long as a few minutes to properly get up and make their way out to safety.
13. Missouri is One of the Top Producers of Beef in the US
This shouldn’t shock anyone, as Missouri has ranked high among the top here states for quite some time now.
That’s because the economy of the state is closely tied to their beef production. As such, it’s no wonder that Missouri has more beef cows than all of the other states, with the only exception being Texas of course.
14. The Adult Wagyu Cow Costs More Than a Brand-New Car
While most adult cows will cost you around $2,000 or so, there are a few breeds out there that will fetch a much larger price tag.
And if we’re talking about enormous price tags, we can’t forget about the most expensive cow breed in the world, aka the Wagyu cow.
Depending on how large the cow is, you can expect to have to pay around $30,000 to 40,000 which in a lot of cases can be more expensive than a brand-new car.
15. Their Stomach Holds Up To 50 Gallons of Food
That’s basically how the average American feels after Thanksgiving, so it shouldn’t come off as all that surprising.
16. Cows Are Quite Cold Resistant
Not enough people realize this but thanks to their thick skin and short thick coats, most cow breeds can easily make it through bitter cold climates.
17. Back in the 1750s, Almost Every Family in the US Had a Cow
