Our number one priority

The Dairy Farmer always says that cow comfort is a top priority here at Brechland Farms.  Happy cows make lots of milk and that's kind of important around here.  He says when he walks in the barn he wants to see the ladies laying down and chewing their cud.  

Cud, you say?  What on earth is a "cud?"  Well, in my terms it's a big, wadded up ball of food that they've already eaten, which they yack back up and chew all over again.   That, my farm following friends.....is a cud.    Now....why, you say would a cow do such a thing?    Well....now I have to go find The DF and ask him why they do that.  Actually, I do know.   I think I've mentioned that I have a degree in veterinary medical technology, so, I am not just some fool bumbling about this place (even though it may appear that way on the outside), I kinda have a clue on somethings.  It so happens, I know a thing or two about cows....and cuds. 

Back up a bit to my definition of a cud:  it's really a bolus of partially digested food substance that is eructated by the ruminant for further mastication.  Why DO they do that?  Well, contrary to popular belief, a cow does NOT have four stomachs.  They have one stomach with four compartments.  

When a cow eats, the food is partially chewed, mainly just to get it wet and then swallowed into the first compartment (rumen) where it mixes with chemicals and is then regurgitated back up so they can continue chewing it.  When a cow chews her cud, she secretes a lot of saliva.  The saliva is like an antacid and helps to buffer the rumen.  Proper buffering allows the cow to digest her food more efficiently and to eat more food which produces more milk.   Interesting....why yes.....yes it is.  

There is another theory of why ruminants chew their cud as well and it stems from ages ago, before domestication.   Many grazing herbivores would eat quickly, so they weren't in harms way...grabbing some food, giving it a quick chew and then moving on to their safe hiding place where they would then calmly burp and rechew.....out of harms way.   True?  I don't know....sounds good....but then why aren't horses ruminants?  They only have one stomach.   Guess maybe they are faster and can get away  much more quickly than a lumbering dairy cow?    That God.....always amazes me. 


Dairy cows spend over 8 hrs a day chewing their cuds for a total of almost 30,000 chews daily.

It can be said that a content cow is one who is seen chewing her cud.  And, that's what our farmer likes to see, happy, content cows laz-ing around the barn chewing away.

Now, to quickly go on, since I started this lesson in digestion:  once they have rechewed their food, it's swallowed again and goes into the reticulum.  Ever heard of tripe?  Well.....this is it.   If anyone offers you tripe soup....well.....consider yourself edumacated.   

Here is an interesting fact- many times cows will ingest metal (nails/staples/pieces of fencing etc) while they are eating.  It goes into the reticulum.  Most times, it's broken down by the stomach juices, but sometimes cow's can get ill from it and it's called "hardware" disease.  They may have eaten a nail- and that sharp nail could puncture the stomach wall or even the heart, which is close by.   Cows can be given a big magnet- which is placed into the reticulum and all the metal will be attracted to...hopefully, preventing further issues.   Cool, huh?

Once food moves out of the reticulum, it heads to the omasum.   It will help continue breaking down the food.  Up to now- the main function of these 3 compartments is basically breaking down the food item.....it then moves on to the abomasum- often called the "true" stomach because digestion/absorption finally begin here.    There you have it,  cow digestion in a nutshell.  You're welcome. 

That's not what my post started out to be.  It was about cow comfort.  And one day, a few weeks ago, I looked out my bathroom window and saw this:

What on earth is that?  So, I had to get out my camera and take a closer look:

That little turkey.  It's a wayward calf.  She escaped the pen during the night and decided to climb up in the straw pile and make herself a little nest. 

She's on about 8 feet of bedding, all nestled in, snug as a bug.  It kind of reminded me of the Princess and the Pea story.    When the princess couldn't sleep because there was a pea underneath her twenty mattresses.   I'm pretty sure this princess slept pretty well though.  



Side note from The DF:  we normally do not have that much bedding piled up. That's what's been cleaned out of the barns over the winter and when this picture was taken, we were having torrential rainfalls and couldn't get out in the fields.  And, cows are opportunists, so when they find a nice comfy place to doze and chew their cud, they're not gonna be picky.  Like I say, cow comfort is our number one priority.