Browsing Category:
cow tales, Pat Post
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Sacrificial Cow Kills Man At Palestinian Muslim Slaughter Feast
by Pat_S on October 27, 2012We’re not doing Cow Tales on a regular basis but this one warrants our attention. Panicking cow kills Palestinian in Muslim feast A panicking cow killed a Palestinian man who was trying to slaughter the beast on Saturday during the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, a Gaza health official said. I’m trying to picture this. In addition to the death, Gaza heath official Ashraf al-Kidra said that 150 other people were hospitalized in the Gaza Strip with knife wounds or other injuries caused by animals trying to break away. It is a rough neighborhood over there.
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Cow Tales: Ruminomics
by Pat_S on February 15, 2012(h/t RuBegonia) Ruminants(which include cattle, sheep and goats) have a complicated digestive system which allows them to digest very fibrous food. They have a multi-chambered stomach which digests food via a fermentation process. The by-product of that process is methane.The process has served ruminants well for 54 million years, but now European scientists want to find ways to change it so as to save the planet from the havoc of climate change. There have been attempts to capture the rear end emissions using bags. What do do about the belching? Scientists are gathering in Scotland (flying in from all over) to come up with a plan. They will be spending millions of dollars on the four-year Ruminonmics research project. It...
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Cow Tales: Cows Munch On Cap’n Crunch
by Pat_S on February 8, 2012Never mind the argument about grass-fed vs grain-fed beef, what about Cap’n Crunch-fed beef or even Twizzler-fed beef? When we put corn in our cars, it costs too much to put it in our cows. The solution, let them eat scraps, everything from Cap’n Crunch cereal to Hershey candy bars. Nearly all can be pulverized and turned into feed. The candy wrappers are vacuumed out of the processed dust but the machine can’t digest Twizzlers. They are fed whole to the livestock. Cows munch on recycled Captain Crunch Throwing food scraps to hogs and other farm animals is an age-old practice. As food production has become more industrialized, food factories have found ways to continue to recycle massive amounts of would-be food waste. Often, more than 50...
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Cow Tales: Cow-cuddle Therapy (Koeknuffelen)
by Pat_S on February 1, 2012The Netherlands now has three “care farms” specializing in cow-cuddle therapy (or as they say it, “koeknuffelen”). Originally used as therapy for special needs children, care farms now cater to children and adults with behavior problems, overstressed managers and the just plain curious. Marente Hupkes, the cow-cuddling pioneer, thinks it has something to do with the cows digestive system. I think she may be trying too hard with that explanation, especially considering cows are notorious for the gaseous finish of that process. Her “cowmunnication” theory sounds more realistic, literally getting in touch with nature. There is no scientific proof that cuddling with cows is soothing, but the response from cuddlers is an overwhelming “ja”. The calming effect of cuddling cows...
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Cow Tales: Purple Cow
by Pat_S on January 25, 2012I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you here and now I’d rather see than be one —–Gillett Burgess For those who do want to see one, here is a video of a purple calf born in Serbia. From the looks of things, I’d rather not be any form of life in Serbia. I had to strain to see purple but I’ll take their word for it. Milka, A Swiss chocolate company using a purple cow logo believes it. After hearing about the purple calf, the company sent dozens of boxes of chocolate to the farmers. Milking It Looks like the Milka brand is only available overseas. From their UK website:...
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Cow Tales: Where’s The Sacred Beef?
by Pat_S on January 11, 2012Sacred cows have been in politics for a long time. Actual sacred cows have been in India much longer. Now the two concepts have converged in that country. Hindus venerated the cow for centuries. The cow was vital to agriculture in ancient times. Milk and butter (ghee) were dietary essentials as they are to this day. Cow dung was a natural fertilizer as well as a heat source and used as a building material. Cow urine was used as a natural fertilizer. Cow sacrifice is noted in ancient Hindu scripture but somewhere along the way, the Hindus began to impute the cow with divine essence. The culture of a prosperous agriculture and a gentle religion was upset when the British...
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Cow Tales: Runaway Finds Refuge In Canada
by Pat_S on January 4, 2012Another runaway cow story with a happy ending. Cow that spent 9 months on run learns to relax at rescue farm A runaway cow that survived months in the wilderness has been rescued and is now lazing around a farm in Summerland. “She is doing magnificently here,” said Deborah Silk of Critteraid, an animal rescue charity that runs the farm. “She spent a lot of time in the wild, so is still a bit feral, but is settling down to life here.” It survived, living off the grass in the bog and the kindness of strangers who fed it hay when winter fell. On Dec. 11, when someone contacted Lifeforce and Hamilton learned of the cow’s plight, he took action....
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Cow Tales: Bunny Has Twins
by Pat_S on December 28, 2011Rachel and Eddie Hart, owners of the Hart to Hart farm in CT, name their cows based on the holiday nearest to their birth. There’s Pilgrim, Independence and Bunny. Pretty obvious holiday references there. This Christmas Bunny gave birth to Mary and Joseph, twin calves born on Christmas Day. Twins are a rarity in the bovine world. The odds are a thousand to one. Maybe naming a cow Bunny creates identity issues about fecundity. Joseph and Mary are the newest Christmas related names on the Hart to Hart farm. There is also Clarice. Clarice? Clarice is Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’s girlfriend. Rare twin calves born Christmas Day in Plainfield I think Mother’s Day ought to be the most special holiday...
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Cow Tales: Mootunes for Christmas
by Pat_S on December 21, 2011DairyCo is a non-profit organization in the UK trying to educate the public in understanding more about the dairy industry. Farmer Andrew Gilman, aware of how technology is a critical part of modern day farming, relies a lot on his cellphone (or mobile as they call it over there). One day he had the idea to use his phone to record his cows mooing. It was challenging because the cows being well cared for by farmer Gilman are usually quietly content. They do get noisy around eating time when they are excited about getting their food. (Me too.) DairyCo thought it would be a great way to promote public awareness of dairy farming by creating some Christmas tunes using farmer...
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Cow Tales: Ninja Cow
by Pat_S on December 14, 2011The citizens of Plattsmouth, NE were being startled by sudden appearances of an Angus cow around town. They named the cow Ninja. Her appearances among the townsfolk went on for a couple of months and then she vanished altogether for several days. She was tracked down in the woods by following her hoof prints in the snow. They found Ninja and the reason for her departure from town was discovered nearby, a calf. Ninja is presumed to be an escapee from a cattle truck, but now a new life awaits her and her calf. They are considered local celebrities. The pair will live with an animal-loving family and most likely be a featured attraction at the fall festivals. Plattsmouth ‘ninja...
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Cow Tales: Head Waters
by Pat_S on December 7, 2011It pays to be self-reliant even if you’re sacred. This clever cow in India methodically and efficiently gets a drink of water from a roadside fountain. Then there’s this incompetent extravagant approach to getting a drink of water. As a cat lover I find the exhibition quite embarrassing. With this kind of approach to problem solving, the kitty must be a Democ(r)at.
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Cow Tales: Good-bye Good Vibes
by Pat_S on November 30, 2011According to the European Commission, it is an overstatement to claim water may prevent dehydration, but not far fetched to claim you could contract mad cow disease from violin strings. In fact the EC wants to ban instrument strings made of cow gut for that very reason. Musicians apparently are willing to take the risk for the sake of artistic purity. Bach-ing mad: EU could ban orchestras from using cow gut for strings …even compositions by the likes of Bach, Vivaldi and Purcell aren’t safe from the Brussels busybodies. Performers warn it may soon be impossible to play such music as the composers intended it to be heard because of EU rules restricting the manufacture of traditional cow gut...
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Cow Tales: Magnetic Cow Controversy
by Pat_S on November 23, 2011Magnetoreception, the ability to detect changes in a magnetic field to perceive direction or altitude, has long been observed in many animals, most notably birds. It wasn’t until 2008 using Google Earth that a German-led team of scientists concluded cows might also be able to sense the Earth’s magnetic field. ‘Magnetic cows’ are visible from space. A Czech team of scientists was critical of the German teams’ findings. While it is good science to confirm hypotheses, apparently it can cause bad feelings. The Germans fired back that the Czechs included images taken of cows near power lines which would throw off the magnetic effect. Not only that, the stupid Czechs mistook sheep and haystacks as cows. The Czechs said no,...
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Cow Tales: Gold And Cows
by Pat_S on November 16, 2011Cattle (and pigs) outpaced gold last year as an investment but we aren’t likely to see G. Gordon Liddy hawking cows on TV. Herd mentality: Price gains for cows, pigs outpace gold “Given all the uncertainty in financial markets, inflation fears, and negative real interest rates, anyone might be forgiven for thinking that gold was the star performer among commodities over the past year,” says Kenrick Jordan of BMO Nesbitt Burns. “Well, it turns out that it wasn’t. It was eclipsed by some much less lustrous counterparts.” As Mr. Jordan notes, gold has gained a “not-too-shabby” 24 per cent, while hog prices have climbed 29 per cent and cattle prices 25 per cent. I paint from the top down. From...