Cow growling. Why do cows moo? Why does the calf moo?
The cow is a domestic herbivore. Everyone knows it from childhood. Usually they are kept in every village. For what? To have your own milk, meat, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese and other healthy products. You can make cheese from cottage cheese, or make fermented baked milk or kefir from milk. And all these products can be obtained from one cow. They are natural and delicious, which is something you don’t often find in the store.
In many eastern countries, the bull and cow are considered sacred animals. In India, this animal is a symbol of fertility, childbirth and abundance. And even in our country, this pet is the goddess of the sky and the nurse of our land. And it is true. Is there anything healthier than cow's milk? It’s not for nothing that they say: “Children, drink milk and you will be healthy!”
What sounds does a cow make?
Do you know the sound of a cow? Many will answer that they know. Every child is taught how they moo: “moo-oo-oo-oo.” However, this pet can moo in different ways. Listen to the sound of a cow mooing:
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But why do they make such sounds? Let's find out!
Reasons why cows moo
Why do cows moo? It makes such sounds for a reason; this is how this pet communicates with others and conveys information to them. And she can do this in different ways. Its sounds are more or less drawn-out, with different intonations. The mooing of a cow indicates its condition.
Let's look at the reasons in more detail.
Sexual cycle
The sexual cycle of these pets lasts about twenty days. It continues for those who are not pregnant after twenty-one days. During this period, she refuses to eat, moos like a bull, does not lie down, raises her tail, gives very little milk, and jumps on other cows.
What happens to the animal at this moment? The bubble containing the egg bursts. If he meets a sperm, then fertilization will occur.
As a rule, the release of the egg occurs in the evening. At this time, measures must be taken: mating with a bull or artificial insemination. But fertilization is not always successful. This may be due to poor nutrition and lack of vitamins.
Ovarian boneiness
What it is? This is a process in which the egg is not released and cannot meet the sperm, and eventually it dies. So, a cyst forms.
As a result of this, the cow is constantly excited, does not eat, roars, and almost does not give milk. This condition repeats after three days. To cure an animal the ovaries must be removed. That is, the cow undergoes surgery. After the operation, the animal recovers, behaves normally, but becomes infertile.
But it turns out that not only the cow moos, but also the calf. The mooing of the calf is also explained.
Why does the calf moo?
If a calf moos, it means something is bothering him or he is hungry. To make the calf feel comfortable, you need to do the following:
Calves can also moo as a result of illness:
- Diarrhea. Most often it occurs due to overeating or because the milk was not at the right temperature or fat content. In this case, it is necessary to give the calf a certain dose of castor oil.
- Salmonella. The calf's temperature rises, it roars, and there may be diarrhea. Treatment is based on taking antibiotics. To prevent the spread of the disease, it is necessary to disinfect the premises.
- Pneumonia. This disease occurs due to poor maintenance of the calf.
- Vitamin D deficiency.
- Vitamin A deficiency.
- Ringworm. This disease is dangerous because it can be transmitted to humans. Therefore, you need to be careful and promptly treat such animals.
- Septicemic diseases. They arise due to bacteria that enter the calf’s body through a poorly treated umbilical cord. To prevent this from happening, the umbilical cord should be treated with iodine.
There are also folk beliefs associated with these animals that explain why they moo.
All animals speak with one sound or another, this also applies to cows, whose sounds in Russian are called mooing. Anyone who has ever heard the sound of a cow mooing will say that it does vaguely resemble “mu,” but the letter “m” is not obvious in this sound.
If we take a simpler comparison with a clear connection in words, then this bull and boo. In Slavic languages, the word bukat means to moo or roar. Of course, many centuries have passed since the original meaning of this word was used, and now few people know that the word bull is based on the verb to roar. As for the cow, looking at this word in other languages will help you figure it out.
- So, in Latin she moos - mugire
- In German - muhen
- In Lithuanian - mukti
And so on in a number of languages of the Indo-European group. All these words came from imitation of the sound that a cow makes - mooing. In all of them, mooing begins with the syllable “mu”, and in Russian for some reason with “we”.
In principle, it is known that different peoples often depict animal sounds in different ways. Sometimes they are even very different. For example, in German the dog says “klifklaf”, which bears little resemblance to the Russian “woof”.
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But with the sound of cows everything is different. The muttering turned into a mooing due to the phonetic change of the letter “u” to “s”. This explains why the sounds made by the cow in the Russian language began to be called mooing, although they are heard more like muttering.
Why do cows moo?
Now it’s worth figuring out when and why they make sounds. Should you be concerned at this point or is it just a way of communicating that you don't necessarily need to pay attention to. Of course, a cow, like any other animal, can make sounds just like that. But there are cases when this happens for certain reasons that are worth listening to.
For example, mooing can be associated with the sexual cycle. In cows it lasts about twenty-one days, and in females that remain uncovered, it will continue every twenty-one days throughout the year. It is completely normal for a cow to be restless during sexual activity, moo more often, lift her tail, and show other signs of restlessness and activity. If this behavior of the animal fits normally within the prescribed time frame, then there is nothing to worry about - this is its normal behavior.
If this behavior, including mooing, is repeated too often, then it is worth taking a closer look at the animal - there are individuals with nymphomania in which sexual activity occurs almost constantly, with breaks of a maximum of three days. Based on the frequency of sounds made by the animal at this time and its other behavior, one can draw conclusions about how healthy the animal is, and even predict the possible offspring and milk yield from a particular individual.
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In addition to sexual activity, there may be other causes of mooing:
- Expressing emotions
- Communication with the rest of the herd, for example, they often make sounds when they first go out to pasture in the morning
- Communication with the calf or screams, quite alarming if the mother loses sight of the calf
- Reaction to a bull, especially during heat. Then even the calmest females begin to roar often and loudly
- If the heifer has not been milked for a long time. She has an overcrowded udder and will attract the attention of her owners by making sounds
- Reaction to something new or strange for an animal, expression of anxiety
- Poor health, hunger or thirst - then the animal will moo more heavily or pitifully.
- They moo, fighting off something annoying, for example, horse flies.
If the heifer moos as usual and there is nothing alarming about it, you just don’t need to pay attention. But, if the sounds made by the animal seem strange, changed and cause concern, or she screams without stopping, you should pay more attention to the animal and understand if everything is fine with him.
If the problem is that the animal has not been fed or watered for a long time, this needs to be corrected. If she screams because they forgot to milk her, you need to take action. During heat, the female must be sent to the bull or inseminated. If a cow is sick, you need to do everything necessary to treat it and calm the animal. In each case, you just need to understand what happened and make sure the cow calms down.
Every person at least once in his life has heard a cow moo or make a similar sound. Why this happens, what is behind these familiar “mu” sounds, whether there are any differences between them - all this will be discussed below. From an early age, children are taught that this pet “talks” using mooing sounds, which is reflected in folklore, children's stories and songs. But mooing can be different. It is caused by various reasons, which makes sense to talk about in more detail.
What are the reasons for cow mooing?
Those people who have many years of experience in raising cattle are well aware that a cow mooes for a reason. This is due to certain events in her life. Animals that are well-fed, happy with what is happening around them and are calm will not make any sounds for no reason.
The reasons may be different, but you should always pay attention to this fact, since in this way cows signal something, show their desires, and make requests. By mooing, the animal communicates with the outside world and with humans.
So why does a cow still make different sounds? This usually happens due to the following situations:
- physical discomfort, such as hunger or thirst;
- when the animal is separated from the calves, calls or looks for them;
- pain associated with the injury;
- long absence of milking;
- when cows find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, they can moo for a long time, often and obnoxiously, and in fact even scream;
- during the onset of sexual heat, which usually lasts for two days.
If the heifer's mooing does not contain any alarming notes and stops quickly, then there is no cause for concern. But if a cow constantly moos and does it for a long time and loudly, then there are some problems.
All animals sound different
To an uninitiated person far from the livestock industry, it may seem that cows make the same sounds. However, if you are more careful, it is easy to notice that they moo differently. Moreover, the same chick may “sound” differently in different situations. Long-term contact with animals, caring for and observing them allows you to understand why they can moo, what reasons this is associated with, and whether the sounds produced become a problem that requires an urgent solution.
Much will depend on the mood or desires of the cows, on the situation in which they find themselves. For example, a bull makes sounds that cannot be confused with the mooing of a heifer, and the mooing of a calf cannot be confused with the “sounding” of an adult animal. In addition, this aspect is also influenced by the breed of a particular individual, its individual characteristics and characteristics.
The tone of the sound, its duration and frequency - all this can be different even for one animal, depending on the events occurring in its life.
Folk signs
In some cultures, many traditions are associated with cows, including their deification and interpretation as sacred animals, for example, in India. In our country, things have not come to this, but their importance for the household is difficult to overestimate. Accordingly, this is reflected in various signs and beliefs.
Thus, it is generally accepted that long mooing in the morning is a harbinger of receiving bad news. According to popular belief, the long night mooing of a cow does not bode well for its owners. But if a bull exhibits similar behavior, then this is, on the contrary, considered a good omen.
Often in beliefs there is a direct connection between the sound of an animal and the character and even fate of its owner. Thus, it is common to believe that when cows moo, their owner is angry or simply an angry person.
And if a cow roars and begins to “cry,” then popular belief prophesies a sad fate for the owner, including imminent death. Naturally, these and other signs have no scientific basis. Each person decides for himself whether he should believe in them or not.
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