Cow in Farmstead World — animal in the game, and what it is on a real farm.
Cattle are large grazing animals raised for milk, meat and leather, and a mature cow is a heavy, slow, herd-minded animal that eats a great deal.
A dairy cow gives milk only after she calves, so a dairy herd is really a cycle of cows, calves and the young stock that replace them.
Farm facts about cow
A cow has one stomach with four compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The reticulum is nicknamed the 'honeycomb' for its textured lining. (en.wikipedia.org)
Cows swallow grass almost without chewing it, then bring it back up later as cud to chew again. Microbes in the rumen break down the tough cellulose that most animals can't digest. (en.wikipedia.org)
A single millilitre of fluid from a cow's rumen can hold 10-50 billion bacteria and around a million protozoa - a miniature fermentation factory. (en.wikipedia.org)
Cows have no upper front teeth - they press grass against a leathery dental pad instead. Their teeth grow continuously to offset the wear from gritty, silica-rich grass. (en.wikipedia.org)
Cattle have around 22,000 genes, about 80% of which are shared with humans. (en.wikipedia.org)
A cow carries her calf for about nine months - the same as a human pregnancy. At birth, calves are roughly 52% male and 48% female. (en.wikipedia.org)