Cows and Calves.

     By far, the most numerous stock animal in Owyhee County are cattle. Today, I'll be talking about beef cattle as opposed to dairy cattle. It's calving time! Those of you with a keen eye for patterns will realize immediately that calving means: The time when calves are born.



     Often people will refer to cattle in general as cows. This is often incorrect as cow refers only to female cattle and usually only those of breeding age. At any rate the picture above is full of cows. They don't do much, but what they do they are very good at. First and foremost they can live and thrive off of plant material that we cannot. This allows them to effectively gather resources in places we could not, namely the hills and mountains. Cows are also good at making babies.



     A cow's baby is called a calf. Each cow can produce one and sometimes two in a year, though most beef cows will have difficulty raising more than one at a time. A cow will nurse and protect her calf for several months until the calf is strong enough to feed and protect itself, but for now, they mostly just lie around waiting for the next feeding time.