How do Cows Make Milk?
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Intro
For cows to make milk they need to first give birth to a calf. After this, all dairy cows are able to produce milk through a multi-step process.
Dairy Animal Terms
- A male dairy animal is called a bull
- A female dairy animal (prior to giving birth) is called a calve or heifer
- A female dairy animal (after giving birth) is called a cow
Types of Dairy Cows
There are six main types of dairy cows.
- Ayrshire
- Brown Swiss
- Guernsey
- Holstein
- Jersey
- Milking Shorthorn.
Cow Facts
- The average dairy cow typically weighs around 1,000 pounds.
- No two cows have the same spots
The Process
There's a multi-step process, that cows go through, to make the milk.
- Eating
- Digestion
- Conversion
- Milking
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1) Eating
A cow eats, on average, 100 pounds of feed per day. Feed is typically a combination of hay, grain, and silage.
On average, a cow can spend up to 8 hours a day eating. Cows regurgitate food, like grass, that is difficult to digest. This is referred to as "chewing cud".
2) Digestion
After the cow chews her food, it passes into the stomach. A cow's stomach is referred to as a ruminent. It has 4 compartmenst, which is why people think a cow has more than one stomach.
- Rumen
- Reticulum
- Omasum
- Abomasum
After the food has been digested in the stomach it then passes to the small intestine.
Cow Fact
A cow can produce an average of 8 gallons of milk per day.
3) Coversion
After the digested food enters the small intestine, the nutrients are then absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to the utter. Once in the udder, the nutrients are trasformed into milk.
4) Milking
Milking a cow can be done by hand or a machine. Please check out one of the following reources to learn about this process.
- A step-by-step guide on how to milk a cow
- Or, watch the cool video on how to milk a cow
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a simple, effective method to kill potentially harmful bacteria without affecting the taste or nutritional value of milk. With standard pasteurization, milk is heated to a temperature of at least 161 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 15 seconds, followed by rapid cooling.
From the Cow to the Store
After the milk is collected, it normally takes about 2 days before the milk reaches the store. The milk has to be tested for any pesticides or antibiotics. It's then pasteurized and homogenized.
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Comments
I often visited my grand-father's farm as a child and we were always around cows and bulls when we visited there! The only way a cow starts producing milk is when she and a bull breed, she then conceives a calf growing inside of her womb, much like when a woman conceives a child,her body's hormones let her know she is pregnant and therefore her milk glands start to produce milk for her baby soon to be born! The same way works for a cow when the cow is expecting a calf her udders start producing milk for her calf soon to be born!I never milked a cow before but, a cow always produces enough milk for her calf and to be milked! I do remember drinking fresh milk from the cow that my grand-father had just milked and it contains a cream on top and it was very good! Now they have to pasturize the milk according to the FDA standards and I rememember that I drank it alot and it never effected me! Also you have to watch out for mad cow disease(years ago)and watch what you eat now and eat healthy foods and watch your weight! This according to to the FDA and the American Cancer Society will help us to live longer lives!
darkside says:
7 months ago
I've been living in rural Australia now for almost 2 years, SURROUNDED by cows.
As a matter of fact I've got a half a dozen or so in my back paddock that don't belong to me. There's a gap in the fence and I think they must think the grass is greener on the other side.
This has been the most simple, yet understandable bit of information I've come across that explains the how's, what's and why's.
Thank you.