what do Cows eat !!!!!

Thiruvallikkeni, the land of Bhagwan Sree Krishna has sizable cattle population and Cows loiter around. 

Ever wondered what Cows eat !  -  in my school days, have seen Nagoji rao street cattle owners feed them well with green grass (பச்சை புல்); hay/dry grass (வைக்கோல்); bran (தவிடு); nutrient water (கழனி நீர்); bananas, other fruits and more !!  When most of us picture a cow enjoying a meal, we think of  beautiful pastures with grass and other plants for cows to graze. Unfortunately, this picturesque ideal is not the reality for most cows. Cows’ welfare and nutrition is deprioritized in order for factory farms to implement cost-cutting and unsustainable animal feed, such as corn, soybeans, and their byproducts. Cows’ natural diet consists mainly of grasses, legumes, alfalfa, clover, and hay. They are grazing animals, after all.   

Cows are unique in that they have fewer teeth than other animals. In the front of the mouth, teeth (known as incisors) are only located on the bottom jaw. In place of the top incisors, there is a hard leathery pad (known as the “dental pad”). Digestion is the process our bodies use to break down and absorb nutrients stored within food, but the ability to digest food is not the same for all animals. Cows,  have a very different digestive system than our own, and this allows them to thrive on a menu predominantly made up of grass.  

The cow has four stomachs and undergoes a special digestive process to break down the tough and coarse food it eats. When the cow first eats, it chews the food just enough to swallow it. The unchewed food travels to the first two stomachs, the rumen and the reticulum, where it is stored until later. When the cow is full from this eating process, she rests. Later, the cow coughs up bits of the unchewed food called cud and chews it completely this time before swallowing it again. The cud then goes to the third and fourth stomachs, the omasum and abomasum, where it is fully digested. Some of this digested food enters the bloodstream and travels to a bag called the udder, where it is made into milk that will come out of her teats, while the rest goes towards the cow's nourishment.

 

Cattle are normally fed green fodder, this cow was fond of the rice flour contained in the beautiful kolam put up in front of Sri Parthasarathi swami temple on Vijayadasami day.

 
Interesting !
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
13.10.2024