I love cows

Yes, I love cows dearly. For years a beef suckler herd was our nearest neighbour - so fascinating to watch the family groups’ behaviour close-up. They had a whole valley to roam in and a very definite social structure. They seemed able to behave more or less as they would in the wild most of the time.

There’s a lovely book called, I think, The Secret Life of Cows.

MissAdventure

*Macadia*.
The Gentle Barn on YouTube features some beautiful cow clips.
Also pigs, cuddly ducks and geese.

MissAdventure, thank you for the reference to The Gentle Barn. I had never heard of it before. It's just lovely that people dedicate their lives like this. On their web site, they say, "Through the stories and interactions with our animals, we can raise future generations to have reverence for all life" That is so important in today's world and we (grans and grampas) can pass down to our GC the art of compassion.

Callistemon213

Pigs anyone? 🐷

Hens?

Yes, both of those.

Shelflife

I am an animal lover but cows
are not on my list! Are cow lovers aware of how dangerous a herd of these cows can be ? I keep well away , calves in tow or not.

I agree, and I don’t like them either.
Sheep are ok but not keen on goats, like chickens and ducks but not pigs. Horses, lovely to look at.

Cows have slimey tongues.

I am an animal lover but cows
are not on my list! Are cow lovers aware of how dangerous a herd of these cows can be ? I keep well away , calves in tow or not.

That’s a lovely story, Wyllow. I’ve weeded out my collection (I got given some real,y ugly things!) but I cannot part with a teatowel with a lovely photo of a sheep on it, even though it has a hole from a burn on it. How that happened I have no idea - I have an induction hob!

I’d never go into a field of cows, lovely as they are, they are so big.

A reminder in today’s Times. Always pick up your dogs poo on farmland as farm animals can pick up life threatening illnesses from it. When I first knew my partner I found that he was chucking dog poo into the field at the end of his garden. I was furious with him!

You can talk to sheep, they listen.
🙂
They may not always answer though.

silverlining48

I am 100% with the go careful with cows folk. We had a very frightening experience a few years ago, no dogs, bulls or calves around, just 25 cows who crowded us into a corner of a field and would not let us walk away. I was terrified.

I must have been about 8 when I was followed by a herd of cows in a field on my uncle's farm. They were just being inquisitive but I remember being quite unnerved and climbing over the gate into the garden.

A little Jersey I met a while ago. They are so cute.

We take milk cows inside in winter, partly because there's not enough grass but mainly to protect their milk supply, and they like to be warm. Some of our mature beef animals stay out although it gets cold up here. They grow lovely thick coats.
I love seeing them in spring when we let them outside again, they're like excited kids - jumping and running and rolling in the grass, udders swaying from side to side (makes you want to recommend a good sports bra )
But you're all quite right about keeping a sensible distance, I like a wall or gate between me and a cow.

SueDonim

I love sheep, too. I had a big collection of sheep-related things at one time because once people cottoned on to it, they gave me sheep things for every birthday and Christmas. Mugs, table mats, umbrellas, ornaments, socks, soaps, you name it.

I like most animals, really. I love cows’ big eyes, and the noses on horses. My GC had pony rides at a fete last weekend and the ponies were such patient souls. I stroked the nose of one of them and he shut his eyes in bliss. ❤️

My animal loving sister (generally speaking) once had a sheep gift and had to say she liked it. So everyone in the family started giving her sheep related gifts. It went on for a long time before she was able to say no thank you but her collection was magnificent!
and has now gone to a good home.

silverlining48

I am 100% with the go careful with cows folk. We had a very frightening experience a few years ago, no dogs, bulls or calves around, just 25 cows who crowded us into a corner of a field and would not let us walk away. I was terrified.

That’s why I avoid the L shaped field near to my house. A herd of bullocks charged straight at me and my two dogs and pinned us into a corner of the field. I scrambled over a gate with them into a crop field. I was terrified.

Cows have such doleful eyes. Lovely animals.
Aberdeen Angus are like politicians, a point here and a point there with a whole lot of bull in between.

I love cows and sheep.

I am 100% with the go careful with cows folk. We had a very frightening experience a few years ago, no dogs, bulls or calves around, just 25 cows who crowded us into a corner of a field and would not let us walk away. I was terrified.

I was on holiday in Greece and a local restaurant had a pet sheep that used to follow people around.That was the first time I realised that herd animals like sheep had individual personalities. A friend (or more of an acquaintance) of mine had a huge garden and used sheep to keep the grass down. He used to cry when he sent them to market, but still sent them to market; I couldn’t have done that. Someone once told me that hand reared sheep were a nightmare because they didn’t follow the rules. I once came upon a herd of Grey Faced Dartmoor whilst on holiday in Cornwall and think the are the most beautiful of all the sheep breeds, especially the lambs.

Sheep are my favourite, we had a pet ewe who used to head butt the dogs if they went in her field. She lived to the ripe old age of 15.

I love tapirs.
The zoo do a one hour tapir grooming session, and I'd said I love to have it as a birthday present, but it never happened.

I love cows and I’m a bit partial to a bull too

I love Alpacas. I was stood next to some at a country fair and I said what’s that strange humming noise? It was the Alpacas. I’ve never heard anything like it!

Oh I can't take to goats.

My friend was lucky to survive when she walked between a Highland cow and her newborn calf ( they were her cattle, too). Two farmers wives in my village have had legs broken by cattle and another farm worker has had problems for most of his adult life from a kick he received. I don’t walk across the fields at the back of my house because because I never know if there will be cattle there ( one field is L shaped and you don’t know till you’re in it if there are livestock in the field).The only time I walk past cattle is when they graze the dunes in winter and aren’t in an enclosed space and I know there are no calves around. I assume cattle are only kept inside in winter to protect the grass as these cows are outside throughout the winter?

Have you read “The Secret Life of Cows” by Rosamund Young? It’s a wonderful little book which really opened my eyes.

www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Life-Cows-Rosamund-Young/dp/0571345794/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&tag=gransnetforum-21&qid&sr

We were in Costa Rica last month and met a horse and cow who are best friends and spend all their time together. They were standing grooming each other.