Farm Pet-ect.

SpeckledBlue

Shaina

Well, my sister and I raised a calf from bottle to full size (say about two years?). However, it was a steer, so its fate was sealed, so I don't know whether you'd count that or not. It used to follow us around its pen though, would come when called, and was great friends with our (now belated) dog. We never actually had cows, although I understand they are generally much more docile.

I have a hard time calling cattle pets though for some reason...upbringing I guess.

Durbkat

What does it mean when a cow is a steer?

Shaina

"Cows" refers to the females. "Bulls" are the intact males and "steers" are the neutered males and generally the source of the beef you eat. The species in general is referred to as "cow." Similar to how "dog" is technically the male of the species and whereas females are "bitches," but the species is generally referred to as "dog."

Hope that makes sense...not sure it even made sense to me when I reread it lol

Curbside Prophet

No, I can't say I've had a cow as a pet...but I did spend some time on a dairy farm, and I have to say I'm quite impressed with cows despite their mundane existence. My favorite memory of that time was standing outside early in the morning, with all the cows on the other side of the pasture, and within minutes the cows would be where I was. Most likely looking for some hay, but they also enjoy a nice head scratch too.

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SpeckledBlue

A steer is a male cow-that will get made into beef-well there are cows called beef-cows.A cow is a female and a bull is a-male.Dairy cows/bulls are mainly black and white.

Shaina

Erm, that's true, but incomplete. Steers are males intended to be made into beef, but they are almost always neutered for temperament and weight gain purposes. Many dairy cows/bulls are black and white because such a high percentage of dairy cattle are Holsteins; they have been bred for generations to do one thing: produce extreme quantities of milk. There are several other dairy breeds, though: Jerseys are considered premium milk producers, and are the only cow I would call pretty (and as far as I know are never black and white)


Jersey Cow

SpeckledBlue

My step-father and his dad have black/white cows-they usely come here alredy breed-or they sometimes will get some younger females(say around a year old) that will be shiped to other place to get bred-i thiink.They never milk them-unless they have to.There pretty cows and when a calf is born you can play with it all day and the mothers really dont mind.Did you know that the long-horn is i think the only breed of cow that does not have problems giving birth?

Puppy_love_122

We had about 14 herefords a few years back when I was little but have since sold them all. Now we have just 3 goats and 2 horses.

Love's_Sophie

We had bucket calves every once in a while when I was growing up; we raised them specifically for meat though, so they weren't really considered 'pets'...although they were friendly, lol.

I have raised Pygmy goats for about 14 years though, and have always considered them just as much pets as my other 'normal' pet type animals (dogs\cats). I also had sheep for many years as well, and some of them became more like pets than livestock as well.

nrhareiner

Cattle are good for only 3 things. Eating, Milk, and to chase/cut with a horse other then that they have little use in my book. I do at times keep cattle normally heafers that are about 300-500 lbs as they are what you use to work the horses on.

Heidi

SpeckledBlue

MuffinsMom

My Aunt and Uncle have a dairy farm. They have so many cows! When I was younger we would always visit them and I will never forget that smell!

sobreeze

I have Irish Dexters they are a very small breed of cattle . Very docile horned come in 3 colors black dun and red they have very small calves not many calving problems . The Longhorn are a very easy calving breed if bred to longhorn . I also agree Jersey cattle a dairy breed are some of the best looking cattle when you look in the eyes of a Jersey cow you will melt . I raise my Dexters for meat but I do have one older cow that is a pet she was hand raised will give you kisses if you ask for them . My new bull is a cross between a Dexter and Longhorn he is the small size and shape of dexter with the color red,black and brown spots of the longhorn with a great gentle dispostion . Thats my cow story

Spicy1_VV

DH had one calf given to him (guy had a several calves and she was to be bred once raised up to one of his bulls) and another he rescued (almost froze to death, farmer said it would be ok but was near death). So kind of yes.

ChrissyBz

My sister had a Jersey named, Elsa I think, I was just a baby then, so long time ago and My Dad had a Pet Boar, Lol we're talking close to if not over 1000 lbs. He loved my dad and would come over for scratches and belly rubs. He was one of the big pink ones. This was back in Dad's gentleman farmer days.

misspr85

My parents live on a cattle ranch because their landlord is a good friend of the family. All I know about our cows is they are loud and look at me funny. Their babies are cute (moo-moos as we call them) but their adorable factor tends to go down when I'm visiting and it's 6 in the morning and they are right up next to my window calling to each other. Then when the dogs get to herding them, well, there goes any chances of sleeping in.

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