Types of cows!

There are 5 major types of cows. They are Holstein-Freisian cows(they come from West Germany and the Netherlands, are the only black and white breed of cows and are the biggest of all dairy cows producing most milk), Jersey cows(they are the smallest dairy cow and are fawn-coloured), Guernsey cows(they are named after an island off the English Channel and are yellowish, brownish and reddish-fawn in colour), Brown Swiss cows(they are from Switzerland,are all different shades of brown and have black hoofs with white horns) and Ayrshire cows(they are from Scotland and are red or brown with white spots) . Many of these cows were named after the places where they originated. Different types of cows produce different types of milk. Cows produce 90% of the worlds milk which is a huge amount. "Cow" is the name of the mature female. "Bull" is the name of the mature male. "Calf" is the name given to the offspring of a cow and a bull. "Yearling" is the name of a calf when it turns one year old. "Heifer" is any cow under three years old that has not had a calf yet.

Lifecycle of Cows

Life for a cow starts as a calf or baby cow. With a lot of care the female calf is reared till it is able to cope on its own. This usually takes 3 months. The calf is then removed from milk and allowed to graze with the older animals.

As the young female calf grows she is called a Heifer.
Cows have the same pregnancy time as humans: 9 months. The pregnant Heifer will normally have her first calf at an age of 27 months old. Before the calf is born the cow’s body begins to prepare for its birth by producing milk in the udder. Soon after the calf is born it automatically feels for the mother’s udder. Once a calf is born the cow will give milk for about 300 days.
About 60 days after calving, the cow will be mated again so that she will have a calf to initiate milk production in 9 months from mating. This will mean she should be back milking 360 days or a year after she had her first calf.

Introduction

I'm Claire and my blog is all about cows! I'm writing about the different types of cows, the geography of cows and the lives of cows.