Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital cow page



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"The cow is of the bovine ilk,
One end is moo, the other milk."
-Ogden Nash

There are over one billion cattle in the world today, with over half living in South America, Europe, and countries of the former Soviet Union. Cattle were first domesticated in southeastern Europe and southern Asia about 8500 years ago. Among over 250 breeds, the major breeds of dairy cattle include the Holstein-Friesian, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, and Jersey. The Holstein-Friesian is the familiar black and white spotted cow, and is the largest starting at 1500 pounds.

In addition to the production of milk and meat, cattle are sources of leather, glue and gelatin. Milk from dairy cattle is sold as whole fluid milk, low-fat fluid milk, flavored milk, whole and nonfat dry milk, butter, cheese, evaporated and condensed milk, frozen dairy products, and fermented products such as sour cream and yogurt.

Cows are members of the suborder Ruminantia. Ruminants have stomachs divided into four compartments, and chew a cud composed of regurgitated, partially digested food. Besides the close relatives of cattle such as bison, buffalo and yak, sheep, goats, deer, hippopotami and giraffes are also ruminants.

For an update on diseases and health issues in dairy cattle, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Or get a pdf brochure about foot and mouth disease.

Look for bovine newsletters on the News & Events page.