Did you know?
Cows can on a hot summers day drink up to 120 litres of water, that is equivalent to about 500 cups of water.
Australian cows produce an average of 4,670 litre of milk each year. More than half of Australia's milk comes from Victoria.
The first cows arrived in Australia in 1788 on the First Fleet, There were 2 bulls and 7 cows on board. By 1800 the 9 cows had multiplied to a population of 1034 cows.
Australia exports a large amount of dairy produce to other countries such as Asia and the Middle East. These countries have limited farming areas because of the dense population, or have very hot and dry climates unsuitable for cows to graze.
Before a cow can produce milk, she must give birth to a calf. A cow usually gives birth to one calf each year.
Cows are vegetarians and eat a balanced diet of different grasses and clover's, hay, oats, millet and turnips.
Cows have four stomachs to help digest all the grass they eat. As demonstrated below.
1st stomach
The 1st stomach, the "Rumen", stores the freshly half chewed grass. The grass remains here until it is soften by fluids then is passed to the 2nd stomach.
2nd stomach
The 2nd stomach, the "Reticulum", is where the grass is softened more and formed into cuds (small wads of soft grass), then is returned to the mouth to be chewed 40 to 60 times a minute.
3rd stomach
The 3rd stomach, the "Omasum" receives the chewed cud, where it is broken down and is passed to the 4th stomach.
4th stomach
The 4th stomach, the "Abomasum" is where the grass is finally digested, the cow separates the necessary nutrients to survive on, the remainder is directed to the udder to produce milk.
|
