Yep, the cows, or to be correct, cattle, are back on Exminster Marsh and I have been brushing up on my bovine terminology.
Do you know your heifers from your cows and your yearlings from your calves? If not, read on.
Bos Taurus, domesticated cattle, have been traced back to the Neolithic period and origins in the Taurus mountains. Their importance in human culture is wide and diverse, from food, clothing and tools through to working load bearers and revered religious icons.
In conservation, they are key components in habitat management and help maintain healthy and diverse grasslands by controlling the height and thickness of the grass (sward), which lets other flowers and plants prosper. Plus their cow pats both provide nutrients to the soil and support a wide variety of beetles and flies. It is therefore great to have them back, swelling the ranks of the Exe Estuary Reserve team, literally chewing the cud, as opposed to our figurative efforts.
On Exminster Marsh, we have a number of graziers, or farmers, who have tenancies to put out cattle. You may well notice when you are walking around the reserve that there are a number of different breeds, which often relates to the grazier and their preferences. Often cattle can be mixed heritage and herds, but the typical breeds that you are likely to see are related to Devons, South Devons, Galloways, Blue Grey’s, Charolais and Herefords.
Galloways and Blue Grey’s
South Devons and Hereford crosses
So, what is a cow and more importantly, what isn’t? Well let’s clear that up first. Although commonly used as a generic term for all cattle, if you wish to be accurate in your bovine parlance, a cow is female that has had one or more calves, or is over three years of age. Hence, ‘that cow is a bull’ is an oxymoron of the highest order in pedant farming circles.
A calf is also quite a specific term which applies to bovines up to 12 months of age. The mother cows are correspondingly referred to as wet-cows during this period. A dry cow is predictably one that has finished lactating and producing milk.
After 12 months, calves become known as yearlings, but dependent on their gender and purpose, there are further monikers which they bear. Female cattle are heifers up to their first calving and castrated male yearlings are steers or bullocks. An ‘intact’ male over a year is a bull or a young bull if it isn’t yet ready to breed.
And to finish with my personal favourite, any adult bovine can legitimately be referred to as a beast. As a little aside, and not something you will see on our reserves, but a beast used for labour is an ox.
So that’s it with The Wonder Stuff. Now that you are armed with a smattering of the lingo you can not only knowledgeably listen to The Archers, but also keep an eye on the beasts roaming the marsh.
Photo credits: Phill Catton