COWS MOO

COWS MOO

Learning French - French Expressions with Cows

The French have a very special relationship with cows, a kind of entente cordiale where it is agreed that in return for milk to make excellent cheeses, cows get a special place in French culture, notably in popular expressions, slang and humour.

French television commercials for cheese show pampered cows getting massages from the farmer, while children's books show cheeky cows laughing when someone accidentally steps in one of their cowpats.

Even if you're only beginning in French, it's still a good idea to learn a few expressions that are commonly used in the French language, so let's have a look at some ones involving the animal that has a special place in French people's heart, the cow.

The French word for 'cow' is la vache, from Latin vacca. I haven't found any English word related to it, the Germanic word 'cow' seems to be sufficient for us.

Being such a large animal, it has an impressive bladder, so in French you can say il pleut comme vache qui pisse, meaning, 'it's raining like a pissing cow'. It's the French equivalent of 'raining cats and dogs'.

Not being noted for their linguistic abilities, however, cows are also mentioned in an expression about someone who speaks a foreign language badly. Il parle français comme une vache espagnole - 'he speaks French like a Spanish cow'. If Spanish humans were the victims of this kind of racist stereotyping I dread to think what the consequences would be. Unfortunately, Spanish cows, not being able to string a coherent sentence together in French, have never been able to defend themselves.

French financial journalists sometimes refer to economic downturns as 'periods of skinny cows' (vaches maigres). This is a reference to the biblical account of Joseph (of Technicolor dreamcoat fame) who interpreted Pharaoh's dream about seven fat cows and seven skinny cows as periods of prosperity and famine respectively.

There is, paradoxically, a negative use of the word vache. As an adjective, it means a nasty, disagreable person: il est vache - 'he's nasty'. It only took one nasty cow to spoil it for all the others...

Finally, you can simply say 'la vache!' as a kind of exclamation. Say it when you are surprised, shocked or angry. In addition, you can turn it into an adverb - c'est vachement bien means, 'it's cowingly good'.

So next time you're in France, you'll be able to apologize for your level of French, talk about the rain 'persisting' down, chat about the American economy and curse your bad luck - all by referring to our bovine friends!

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Jonathan Lewis has helped thousands of French speakers learn English, and can help you learn French. Since moving to France in 2001, he has worked on language projects for the French Ministry of Education and published a book on learning French with HarperCollins. Visit his Learn French website [http://speak-french-now.blogspot.com].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Lewis/27802

How To Take Care Of Cows - Tips For Beginners

Rearing cows can be a good source of income. It can be a tedious process as in raising other farm animals but it is one profitable venture. There are three types of cows. One type is raised for production of dairy products like milk, butter and cheese, the other is raised for its meat called beef. The third kind is used as drafts. Knowing how to take care of cows is very important so that you can get quality products from your cows. You have to keep them strong and healthy for whatever purpose they may serve. Naturally, you have to feed them well and keep them away from diseases.

The first tip on how to take care of cows is to provide your cows a good area of pasture for grazing. Grass feeding is ideal for cows. It is approximated that a cow needs one to two acres of grazing land. Also, those who live in dry regions require more acres of grazing land per cow. They need to graze to have good health and to have plenty of exercise they need. However, if it is not enough pasture especially if you have little land or because of the climate changes, supplement hay, alfalfa, corn and grain as your cow food. Make sure that you give your cows enough fresh water daily. It is said that a full grown cow can consume about 20 gallons of water per day so make sure it gets adequate supply of water.

Aside from providing them shelter, another tip on how to take care of cows is to place a good fencing. Since cattle need to graze freely they should be left alone for some time. The only way to ensure that they will not stray is to fence your property with barbed or woven wire which can be at least 4 feet high. This can guard your cows and make them stay within the boundaries of the fenced land. Sometimes cow ranchers tie their cows to an object held firmly on the ground so that they can graze freely. While this is okay, fencing your property is the best way to keep your cows guarded.

The next tip on how to take care of cows is to provide them with shelter. Cattle are huge animals so you need to provide them with enough space. They need a place where they can be protected from the sun and heat during summer and the rainy and cold days especially during winter. The shelter need not look exceptional. It just needs to have a space where there is adequate ventilation. Also keep in mind that you have to separate the cattle from the drafts unless you have to mate them already. Make sure to clean their shelter daily so that they will not get sick because of their unhealthy surroundings. If your cows are kept inside a barn, be sure to clean the stalls and give them fresh straw every day.

There are many other tips on how to take care of cows which include keeping them away from lice and parasites. Make sure that they are de-wormed. Vaccinations are also advised to keep your cattle away from diseases. Let the veterinarian have your cattle checked regularly so that they can be given proper medication or vitamins and minerals supplements. You should also brush their hair and touch them. Lastly, although cattle are generally gentle animals, keep caution in handling them because they are big animals and they can accidentally hurt you.

Are you looking for more tips about raising and feeding cattle? Raising cattle can improve quality of life and provide great satisfaction and responsibility for families. Explore your options and then decide. If you would like more tips on dairy cattle farming and how to raise cattle, just go to: howtoraisecattle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Tim_R_Smith/424652

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Teaching Cows to Count

Cows have a 9-month gestation so it is a long wait from conception to birth. This is anticipatory interval is expected, but farmers and ranchers are always hoping too that they have fertile cows and bulls. It is tragic and costly in the livestock industry for a cow to not render a calf each year. While livestock folk figure on a 10-20% loss each year, the loss of even one hurts. Sometimes this loss is made up for by the production of twins. We had one cow who carried this genetic strain so the double delivery year after year was exciting and helped fill the ratio gap.

The delivery of twins also taught me about cows and math. It appears that nature has endowed cows with the ability to count to one and not beyond. So when the first calf tumbles out of the womb, Mama turns around and licks it dry while encouraging it to latch onto her utter to nurse. In the meantime a second calf might drop to the gorund, but Mama, delighted with one is quite likely to walk away with the first born and ignore the arrival of the second. We always had to be ready for this because of the vulnerability of calves during those first hours after birth. Sometimes Mama could be turned and sort of herded toward the second calf, but at other times a more forceful union was required. This included shoving the calf forward, trying to mark the baby with Mama's scent so the cow could recognize and accept it, and generally spending the day reuniting the family. Eventually the mother of twins will accept that there are two, but at times she will forget and leave one in the meadow and one in the corn and only wailing bellows will bring all three together again.

Sometimes a calf might arrive and the Mama falls ill, does not lactate, or will not accept the calf. You would think you could fool another lactating cow by just urging the new calf on her, but again, cows count to one. "I have my baby. Who is this freeloader?" Again, with great encouragement and determination a second calf might "take" but more likely it is labeled a Leppie and this calf has to be bottle fed and babied. We did not have many of these but when we did, those calves really became pets, following us around as feeding time neared and springing into action when a bottle appeared. Calves make excellent devoted companions, however with age comes size and 800 pound buddies are difficult to handle.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Gini_Cunningham/146831

Why Test Your Cow For Pregnancy?

Improved productivity is something every farmer yearns for. There are so many factors that can determine how productive a herd is and every serious dairy farmer needs to be aware of every factor and how to make improvements for better production. Apart from ensuring that your cows are well fed, you ought to be in control of their reproduction. The cow pregnancy test is amongst the things that you should consider doing for your cattle. Here are some of the reasons why the test can be helpful to your herd.

Accurate heat detection

One of the reasons behind low conception rates in a herd is inaccurate heat detection or heat detection that is inefficient. A pregnancy test tool can help the herd manager and even veterinarians deal with poor reproductive performance. It helps in increasing profitability and reproductive management for better and healthier herds.

Early pregnancy detection

The cow pregnancy test makes it possible for dairy farmers and managers to detect pregnancy early enough for the right measures to be out of place for the pregnant cows. It is actually very helpful to test the cows after the end of the mating season or after insemination so you can decide when to go back to the same in case conception has not yet taken place with the first trial.

Estimation of calving dates

A pregnancy test can in some cases tell the age of the calf thus making it possible to estimate the likely calving date. This way, a farmer is able to separate cows with a likelihood of calving early from those expected to calve later. The calving spread reduction is made manageable for the farmer if need be.

Culling cows

A pregnancy test can also help a dairy farmer have an easy time culling cows where it is necessary to reduce the size of the herd. This can be necessitated by issues such as shortage of feed. When there is proper pregnancy detection, it is possible for a farmer to know what is expected and hence make the right decisions in terms of keeping the herd sizeable.

Identification of abnormalities

Cows are exposed to a number of diseases and abnormalities that can be responsible for infertility. A pregnancy test can help identify such issues and have them dealt with on time. When such abnormalities are taken care of, fertility is improved hence there are better reproduction rates and healthier calves for that matter.

Marketing decisions

Overwintering cows that are not likely to produce calves can be costly for farmers, but with the pregnancy test, a farmer can make marketing decisions on time and the best ones for that matter. When selling, it is also easier to inform the buyer about the status of the cows and get the real value of it in case it has a calf in waiting. It is best for both the buyer and seller to know the real state of the cows in question to get the best returns and satisfaction with the transactions.

A Cow pregnancy test strip is one of the best methods you can use to test your cows for pregnancy. It is easy to use and non-invasive in that you can use it on your own on the farm without any assistance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jovia_D'Souza/2007086

Diet supplementation with cinnamon oil, cinnamaldehyde, or monensin does not reduce enteric methane production of dairy cows.

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary addition of cinnamon oil (CIN), cinnamaldehyde (CDH), or monensin (MON) on enteric methane (CH4) emission in dairy cows. Eight multiparous lactating Holstein cows fitted with ruminal cannulas were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square design (28-day periods). Cows were fed (ad libitum) a total mixed ration ((TMR); 60 : 40 forage : concentrate ratio, on a dry matter (DM) basis) not supplemented (CTL), or supplemented with CIN (50 mg/kg DM intake), CDH (50 mg/kg DM intake), or monensin (24 mg/kg of DM intake). Dry matter intake (DMI), nutrient digestibility, N retention, and milk performance were measured over 6 consecutive days. Ruminal degradability of the basal diet (with no additive) was assessed using in sacco incubations (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h). Ruminal fermentation characteristics (pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), and ammonia (NH3)) and protozoa were determined over 2 days. Enteric CH4 emissions were measured over 6 consecutive days using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas technique. Adding CIN, CDH or MON to the diet had no effects on DMI, N retention, in sacco ruminal degradation and nutrient digestibility of the diet. Ruminal fermentation characteristics and protozoa numbers were not modified by including the feed additives in the diet. Enteric CH4 emission and CH4 energy losses averaged 491 g/day and 6.59% of gross energy intake, respectively, and were not affected by adding CIN, CDH or MON to the diet. Results of this study indicate that CIN, CDH and MON are not viable CH4 mitigation strategies in dairy cows.

source article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26888487

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Antibodies to bovine beta-casein in diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.

Abstract

Cow's milk is thought to be an environmental trigger for autoimmune response in Type 1 diabetes. In the present study, our aim was to investigate the antibody response to bovine beta-casein in different immune- and non-immune-mediated diseases and to establish whether such an antibody response is specific to Type 1 diabetes. We measured antibodies to bovine beta-casein using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a total of 519 sera from subjects as follows: 71 patients with Type 1 diabetes, 33 patients with coeliac disease, 100 patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), 50 patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD), 50 patients with Type 2 diabetes, 24 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and 3 different groups of controls (n = 191). Significantly increased levels of antibodies to beta-casein were found in patients with Type 1 diabetes, coeliac disease and in LADA compared to age-matched controls (p = 0.01, p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). No differences were observed in beta-casein antibody titres between patients with other disease conditions (MS, and ATD) and age-matched controls. The highest antibody response to beta-casein in Type 1 diabetic patients and in patients with coeliac disease could reflect the gut mucosal immune disorders common to Type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease. Furthermore, the elevated beta-casein antibody levels found in LADA patients suggest that the antibody response to this protein may be relevant in autoimmune diabetes.

Sources for this article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12198602

Exclisive cows moo t-shurt

i had summer of fun , frolicking in the sea . what better way to show what a right bunch of cows we are than to wear it on our chests ?! available in a ladies cut you a freaking awesome pug mom ? then this shirt is perfect for you!check it out here