Are there male cows

Always wondered. Did not know there was a difference between a cow and s heifer. I thought they were the same thing. I was not raised in the city or county. Not enough land to have cows and found the article very informative. Thank you! My kiddos just asked me if there are boy cows, and I knew they had different names, but I wanted to be sure to share the correct info.

This article is perfect for parents who want to give the correct answers to their curious kids. I found it interesting that you said that bulls can weigh up to 2, pounds when they are full grown.

My brother told me that he was going to check if owning a farm would be a good idea. Thank you for helping me learn more about bull types and bios. I always thought that steers were beef-cattle castrated bulls, and that oxen were castrated dairy bulls. And that although dairy bulls were fierce and dangerous, oxen were more placid than steers ] castrated beef bulls. We should actually use bovine instead of cow when generally speaking of these mammals since this term covers them all, whereas cows are specifically matured females.

Or use ox since it narrows it down to domestic bovines. So a heifer can become a cow but never the reverse. A steer used to be a bull but never a heifer or cow. All bovine are just fine.

My brother is wanting to get a new bull to breed with some of his cattle now that he has had some experience. He should look for ones that are healthy and of the same breed. Reading this article has shed some light for me. I was really confused and thought that all cows were cows. I know that comment still makes me sound confused. We are glad you have chosen to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy. Toll-Free Saturday, November 13, Western Pa.

Co-ops that once brought electricity to rural Ohio work to offer…. Public hearing set for Hancock Co. Stay safe against hepatitis A outbreak. Home How To How to determine if cattle are bulls, steers, cows or heifers. How To Top Stories. Share on Facebook. Sign Up. Co-ops that once brought electricity to rural Ohio work to offer high speed internet. How to conduct a leaf chromatography experiment at home. We wanted to provide correct information about cattle, just in case anyone needed clarification!

So, yes, even those who are part bovine need explanation! Sad to say, but this HAS got to be taught and lernt today by the city and suburban crowd. The joke about the cow that was a horse is funny! You are awesome! Love your comments and the lesson about drums.

Subscribe to Comments. About Farm and Dairy Newspaper. The dairy industry has no use for male calves, so they're either sold for beef, sent to veal facilities, or shot shortly after they're born. M uch has been written about the tragic lives of female dairy cows, who face many physical and emotional hardships thanks to factory farming and the demand for dairy products.

Less obvious has been the plight of male dairy cows, who also suffer within the industry. Cattle, no matter their age or sex, do not deserve the cruelty or exploitation they experience. A baby bovine of either sex is known as a calf. The only time males factor into dairy operations is for breeding purposes. A bull refers to a male who can reproduce. Some farms deploy bulls to inseminate cows. Finally, a steer is a bull who has been castrated , meaning their scrotums are damaged beyond repair, rendering them incapable of reproduction.

Castration is virtually always carried out without painkillers. As with all mammals, it's exclusively the female sex that is physically able to produce milk. Because male cattle are not born with udders, they cannot make milk. Male calves are often considered entirely disposable by the dairy industry, though some farms are equipped to exploit them for other purposes.

Regardless, no male calf will live beyond the age of a couple of years before being killed—and in some cases, this bloody end can come within the first few hours of life. Male dairy calves can be sold for beef production to eventually be turned into food like hamburgers. They're sent to feedlots, which are penned-in facilities that can hold up to , cattle, where they are confined and fed grain diets so that they gain weight and can be slaughtered as quickly as possible.

Young male calves, and female calves who are not needed on dairy farms, may be slaughtered while they're still young and turned into veal. For 1 in 5 of these calves , that means being sent to veal crates: small plastic huts, sometimes with a tiny outdoor fenced area, containing one calf per crate.

In veal crates, calves are prevented from running or even strenuous walking in order to keep their muscles from developing. This is to keep their flesh more tender for the humans who will consume them. Calves are separated from their mothers, fed an artificial milk replacement, and prevented from fully socializing or even touching another animal until they are sent to the slaughterhouse, which occurs when calves are weeks old. From an outsider's point of view, just looking out into the field, how can we see the difference?

An even easier way to spot the difference - heifers have teats, while cows have udders. Now for our mooscular men; a bull is a mature male, at least 2 years old, used for breeding. I went my entire life thinking only males had horns. The next time you are out on the farm, at trivia night, or just making cow-versation, I hope you remember these simple tricks for spotting the difference between a heifer, a cow, a bull, and a steer. Fortunately, understanding and recognizing the differences between sexes in cattle isn't difficult.

In the text and photos below we describe how to tell the difference between male and female animals in the biological subfamily Bovinae commonly called bovines which includes the species cattle. In other words, how to tell a boy cow from a girl cow. And we repeat: There's no such thing as a "boy cow. In cattle, males boys are either bulls, steers, or oxen.

We can also use the word "calf" for a boy because in bovines it's a word that is used for both young males and females. Note: Since steers are more common than oxen the plural of ox , and for the simplicity of the remainder of this article, we will refer to all castrated bulls as steers. Bulls and steers both have a penis and a sheath. Since they both have a penis, bulls and steers both have a sheath, which is the external pouch that contains the penis.

The sheath is located on the underneath side of a bull or steer's belly. Depending on the individual the sheath might be large and very noticeable, or particularly in steers barely visible. Bulls and steers both have an anus. The anus is the outlet of the rectum. In both bulls and steers the anus is located underneath the tail. Females also have an anus underneath the tail, but they also have the added presence of a vulva.