How Now Brown Cow Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

A healthy cow normally only requires about four hours of sleep per night, about half that of a human. In general, the amount of sleep a mammal requires is related to their diet. Herbivores tend to require the least amount while carnivores require the most.

Answer: Chew its cud

Chewing the cud is a special digestive feature that animals such as cows, sheep, and deer all have. It involves food being eaten, regurgitated, chewed, and swallowed again. It is done with plant food so mammals that are carnivorous are not kosher.

In addition to chewing its cud, a mammal also needs cloven hooves to be considered kosher. Cloven hooves are hooves that are split into two parts similar to the way human feet have five toes on the end. (Don't worry, humans don't chew their cud so they are not kosher).

Another requirement for a cow to be kosher is that it be killed in a humane manner.

Answer: Calf

Calves are often killed for their meat which is called veal. Veal is usually tenderer than meat from an adult cow. It can be prepared in many forms such as breaded veal cutlets, veal Parmigiana, and Wiener schnitzel.

Answer: Bovine

In addition to cattle, other members of the Bovine family include antelopes, bison and oxen. They are part of the suborder Ruminantia which also includes deer, sheep, and goats.

Ursine animals are bears, canine animals are dogs, and felines are cats.

Answer: False

Cows are female, otherwise they wouldn't be able to produce milk. Males are either bulls or steers, depending on whether or not they have been castrated. Bulls have not been castrated.

Answer: Hereford

While many cows worldwide are used for both meat and dairy, the above four are normally used for just one. The Hereford breed originated in England but has since been exported worldwide.

Answer: Color blindness

Cattle are red-green colorblind. This means that contrary to popular belief, bulls are not enraged when a red cape is waved in front of them during a bullfight. Instead it is the way the matador waves the cape that gets the bull to run and excites the crowd.

Answer: Multiple times per day

When milk builds up in a cow, it becomes uncomfortable for the cow and she must be milked. With modern technology, milking her two or three times a day isn't normally an issue. However, my wife has told me stories that growing up in a rural area, if the power went out, all the neighborhood kids would get called in to help milk the cows by hand.

Answer: 9 months

Yes, the cow's gestation period is about the same as a human's. Actually, it is about 280-285 days which is about a week to ten days longer than nine months but still in the same ballpark. A calf weighs about ten times as much as a human baby.

Answer: 48

According to the "Guinness World Records" (older copies since it is no longer listed in current copies), the oldest cow ever died in 1993 at the age of 48. She lived in Ireland and was named Big Bertha. She also held the record for most offspring with 39 calves.