Discrimination

[LoveMoo11]

Do you think cattle discriminate based on color or a similar physical difference? I know they will pick on a herd member for other reasons...but I am curious because I have one hereford and the rest angus and the hereford is always a little distance away from the others, last one in, etc. She is not a passive cow and is one of the bigger ones I have, so she isn't singled out for those reasons. It sounds kind of silly but I was just wonderin

 

[peg4x4]

Doubtful.. It's attitude- I know you've seen the smallest cow in the bunch be "Queen"

 

[Frankie]

Do you think cattle discriminate based on color or a similar physical difference? I know they will pick on a herd member for other reasons...but I am curious because I have one hereford and the rest angus and the hereford is always a little distance away from the others, last one in, etc. She is not a passive cow and is one of the bigger ones I have, so she isn't singled out for those reasons. It sounds kind of silly but I was just wonderin

I'm with Peg on this one. Actually, aren't cows color blind? Attitude is important. We've got one cow that's not even boss, but she'll jump on anything "new." Even if it's only been separated from the herd for a couple of days, a cow has to get past #21 to take her rightful position in the herd. The younger ones are usually pushed around by the older ones. And sometimes they seem to carry that pushing around with them through their lives. My 878 cow was the youngest, smallest, in her contemporary group when she was born in 2003. The bigger ones were mean to her. Today she still seems to prefer to stay by herself. Even though she does push the bred heifers around and will assert herself at the feed trough in winter, she usually hangs around the edges of the herd.

 

[LoveMoo11]

I was wondering if cows were color blind too but apparently they can see reds and yellows best, and greens and blues not as well.

 

[peg4x4]

I thought it was greens and blues best and dim reds and yellows-----------or mabe that's dogs

 

[Jogeephus]

Doesn't have anything to do with cows but it is nature related and may have some relevance. I used to work on a quail farm and we raised huge numbers of the birds. If any one of them got a blemish or a sore the others would peck it to death. My boss told me this was a protection mechanism the birds used. That said, I had a calf this fall that no one would take. I gave it to a guy who bottle feeds them and does a pretty good job doing it. Calf got on its feet good and put on about 200 pounds and was eating just fine. One day he went to pen and it was dead for no apparant reason. Did the cows sense and ailment in the calf? Its possible I think.

 

[regolith]

I always presumed it was colour for some reason - in a Holstein-Friesian herd the Jersey cows are the 'outcasts', preferring to hang out with each other than the black girls.
A herd like mine which is totally mixed, I've never seen them split off into 'like' groups. Anything actively fighting is usually well-matched - similar size and age.
When I put a bunch of weaner (crossbred, about 11 months old) calves with the herd the cows used them to check the electric fences. About six months later those yearlings were pushing the mature Jersey cows around.

 

[CKC1586]

My brother has colored cattle as well as Piedmontese. The Pieds stay to themselves away from the colored girls. Odd. But once the bull gets turned in he keeps them all together, he must be part blue heeler cuz he is good at keeping the herd where he wants them.

 

[TheBullLady]

My Brahmans and Simmentals definately hang with "their own kind". The Simbrahs are a little confused, but generally hang with the Simmentals also. When we run a straight bull (Simmental usually, sometimes Brahman) if there are two cows in heat the same day, they will choose the one that is the same breed.

Interesting... I just assumed it was the hump! :kid:

 

[rockridgecattle]

because we spend so much time with our cows during calving season we noticed that they segregate themselves by color when they are laying down for the night.
The blacks with the blacks, reds with reds and tans on their owns. the more of the one color got the best or prime spot and the least got the the last. Even when the numbers dwindld as they calved. This was noted in a confined area, not on pasture.

 

[bigbull338]

my beefmaster cows stay pretty close to an with eachother.it was the longest before the beefmasters would mix with the crossbred cows.the beefmasters pretty much come up togather.

 

[TexasBred]

Do you think cattle discriminate based on color or a similar physical difference? I know they will pick on a herd member for other reasons...but I am curious because I have one hereford and the rest angus and the hereford is always a little distance away from the others, last one in, etc. She is not a passive cow and is one of the bigger ones I have, so she isn't singled out for those reasons. It sounds kind of silly but I was just wonderin

Thta old hereford lady knows she's prettiest so she's doing her thing and if they don't want to join her then it's their problem. :nod: