COWS

Anatomy
Cattle have one stomach with four compartments. They are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum, with the rumen being the largest compartment. The reticulum, the smallest compartment, is known as the "honeycomb". Cattle sometimes consume metal objects which are deposited in the reticulum and irritation from the metal objects causes hardware disease. The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The omasum is known as the "many plies". The abomasum is like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "true stomach". Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a digestive system that allows use of otherwise indigestible foods by regurgitating and re-chewing them as "cud". The cud is then re-swallowed and further digested by specialised microorganisms in the rumen. These microbes are primarily responsible for decomposing cellulose and other carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids that cattle use as their primary metabolic fuel. The microbes inside the rumen are also able to synthesize amino acids from nonprotein nitrogenous sources, such as urea and ammonia. The gestation period (the time in which the fetus develops) for a cow is nine months. A newborn calf weighs 25 to 45 kilograms (55 to 99 lb).

Domestication and Husbandry

Cows occupy a unique role in human history, domesticated since at least the early Neolithic. They are raised for meat (beef), dairy products and hides. They are also used as draft animals and in certain sports. Some consider them the oldest form of wealth, and cattle raiding consequently one of the earliest forms of theft. Cows are farmed for beef, veal, dairy, leather and they are less commonly used for conservation grazing, simply to maintain grassland for wildlife. They are often used in some of the wildest places for livestock. Depending on the breed, cows can survive on hill grazing, heaths, marshes, moors and semi desert. Modern cows are more commercial than older breeds and, having become more specialized, are less versatile. For this reason many smaller farmers still favor old breeds, like the dairy breed of cattle Jersey.

Mythology
Hindu tradition Cows are venerated within the Hindu religion. According to Vedic scriptures they are to be treated with the same respect 'as one's mother' because of the milk they provide. They appear in numerous stories from the Puranas and Vedas. The deity Krishna was brought up in a family of cowherders, and given the name Govinda (protector of the cows). Also Shiva is traditionally said to ride on the back of a bull named Nandi. In ancient rural

India every household had a few cows which provided a constant supply of milk and a few bulls that helped as draft animals. Observant Hindus, even though they might eat meat of other animals, almost always abstain from beef, and the slaughter of cows is considered a heinous sin in mainstream Orthodox Hinduism. Slaughter of cows (including oxen, bulls and calves) is forbidden by law in several states of the Indian Union. McDonalds outlets in India do not serve any beef burgers. At one time the death sentence was imposed for killing a cow in India, and as late as 1960, an individual could serve three months in jail for killing a pedestrian, but one year for injuring a cow, and life imprisonment for killing a cow.