I’m trying not to let it get to me, but today I am addressing the haters. 
I’ve gotten some negative comments lately about Beulah’s weight. Mostly they come from well-meaning people who have never been around a dairy animal. Some come from internet trolls who go to lengths to seek out pictures of my healthy cow and insult me for not “feeding her a sandwich.” (Hey, Bozo, cow’s don’t eat sandwiches!)
Either way, I know from my homestead blogging friends that I’m not the only one who gets comments like this, so perhaps it’s time for a little bovine body-type education. (Or maybe I’m just feeling feisty today. I did just get my purple streak dyed back in my hair and it brings out my wild side. Whatever.)
Let me put this is human terms.
Perhaps you have met someone who can just eat anything they want and never gain a pound. Perhaps you are that person. Dairy cows are that person. I have a friend like this and people constantly make rude comments about how thin she is. It really bothers her despite the fact that most folks would sell a kidney to fit into her jeans!
Likewise, perhaps you know someone *cough ME cough* who can just look at a cheesecake and gain weight. This would be the beef cow.
Just like in humans, cows can certainly gain and lose weight, but no amount of body shaming will change beef cow genetics into dairy cow genetics. You can call my cow too fat or too thin, but it won’t change her basic body type.
Dairy cows are bony creatures. Instead of storing excess calories as fat, extra grain, grass and hay are converted almost immediately into milk, no matter how much my cow eats. More calories in = more milk in the bucket. (Not that the pig and I are complaining, mind you…)
And let me tell you, she eats a lot! She enjoys a nice non-GMO grain in the milk room while she is getting milked each day. She also has fresh pasture in the warmer months, and in the cooler months, she has an all you can eat hay bale that she spends large portions of her day bellied up to. That is in addition to vegetable scraps, treats, apples and the odd cabbage I pick up at the store when I want to spoil her.
Heck, my mom once showed up with a brand new bag of Honey Crisp apples for the COW! Um, hey mom, don’t worry about me, I didn’t need a snack. I’ll be fine.
Where was I? Oh yes, body type. Beef cattle, on the other hand store excess calories as, you guessed it . . . BEEF! Mama beef cows do produce milk, but generally just enough for their calf. They aren’t nearly as productive as a Jersey or other homestead family cow. And that’s OK. They are doing what they have been bred to do!
It isn’t just the cows either.
Dairy goats have the same body shaming issues the cows do! Recently, I proudly posted a picture of my goat Daisy on the milk stand and I almost immediately received a comment about how thin she looked. Luckily, it was worded nicely and I was able to politely educate the concerned reader on goat body types. (Notice that Daisy is sticking her tongue out at the haters! I have NO idea where she gets her attitude!)
That particular goat actually eats more than any other goat here. She produces more milk too, but she is very tall and has the boniest back I’ve ever seen paired with her little fat belly. I have another goat, however, who eats less than Daisy and has a stockier build. People often ask when she’s due to kid. (Y’all know never to ask a woman that, right?) Well, she isn’t bred yet, but she’ll kid five months after that. Sheesh.
But wait! Some cows DON’T have good body condition!
Yes, that is a perfectly valid point. I will defend the body condition of my cow, Beulah, but that doesn’t mean that a milk cow can’t be too skinny. It does happen for a variety of reasons ranging from inadequate pasture to illness to parasites.
I managed, with help from my friend Quinn from Reformation Acres, to find a very good article from the University of Arkansas on the web about appropriate body condition for dairy cattle. Perhaps you will find it helpful. And of course there is great information on Jersey cow body type in the amazing book Keeping a Family Cow. *affiliate link* Read my review of it here.
To demonstrate the difference between normal Jersey cow body type and one that is too thin, my friend Katie from LivinLovinFarmin offered to show off the “before and after” pictures of her cow, Marley.
Now poor Marley was rather thin and sad looking when they got her, but she has been on good pasture and hay for about 6 months now and is looking so much healthier! Notice, however, that you can still see her hips and ribs in the “after” picture. That is NORMAL for a Jersey cow. Don’t worry!
Isn’t Marley a pretty girl now? (I particularly like the fact that she is color coordinated with the cat. That is very farm chic!)
So, the moral of the story is, that just like women dislike being shamed by unrealistic body images in glossy magazines, our DAIRY animals should not be expected to live up to the standards in your head of what a BEEF cow or a fat petting zoo goat should look like. Thanks for understanding.
If you think Beulah is just right, she would sure like for you to join her email mooooooosletter! You’ll get all the farm news from the cow’s point of view! PLUS, as a bonus, you will receive Frugal Kitchen Tips, a FREE preview chapter of my book, The Homestead Kitchen!
***This post contains affiliate links. That means that a small percentage of the purchase price of items bought through my links goes toward keeping this blog up and running and food in Beulah’s bowl, so thanks!***
I love this post! Dairy animals are the workhorse of the homestead, often paying their way plus supporting the rest of the livestock. Whether bony or beefy, cows earn their keep for sure! Great article. I especially love Beaulahs name, as it was my grandmothers.
So true. We have dairy goats that are all different sizes. One can eat her weight in food and keeps the “dairy” look. Another one eats the exact same diet but looks like she’s about to kid triplets. I think people are so used to seeing beef cows they expect dairy to look the same.
So true! Just like people, they are all built differently! Thanks for stopping by!
Amen, sister. My workin’ girls are skinny!
I love Beulah. She’s cute and funny- and it certainly makes more sense for a dairy cow to put her calories into milk rather than meat production!
She opinionated too! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Yes! This is so true. Dairy animals are typically never going to be “fat”, they just aren’t made that way. Thanks for posting this! 🙂
I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Many years ago, when I was lamenting a less than sleek body formation, my mother informed me, “that some of us were dairy cows, and others are beef cows…and there is nothing we can do about it!”. This story just confirms what my mother knew as truth.
Your mother sounds like a wise woman!
I absolutely love this article and kudo’s to you for speaking up. Although I’m a city girl, I frequented a dairy farm back in the day with my first boyfriend who worked the farm. Always wondered why dairy cows were “thinner”, but it never mattered because I enjoyed every single visit. It was explained to me exactly as you explained it here as: T here are DIFFERENT KIND OF COWS, just like there are DIFFERENT KIND OF PEOPLE. Doah… hopefully everyone is now on the same page now. Hopefully. Oh yea, there is nothing better than milk fresh from a dairy cow. Thanks for the good memories!
Very true and you made me laugh which is equally important:)
Bahaha! I am a dairy cow. Oh my goodness. Thanks for a great article, I learned a lot!
Hi-
I truly do understand that it would get really old explaining this to people, but I think your annoyance is making you extremely irrational and unfair. When someone sees a cow that looks the way a horse looks whose owner just got charged with animal cruelty and neglect, or a street dog that is about to die, it is absurd to expect them to be like, “well, this time owner knows best!” I’d take the annoyance of having to explain about dairy cows over and over to people any day over people NOT being concerned with starving animals and animal abuse. How many times have we seen cases where people knew what someone was doing to an animal but didn’t report it? The dog who’s been tied up for years and all the neighbors know it – there’s no reason to even list a bunch of scenarios but they happen every day all over the country. I arrived at this page because I am trying to find out if some cows I found are too skinny and if I should report them. If they were your cows you would see it as busybody criticism but for me it was shock and pain at seeing an animal that appears to be starving to death. I am delighted and relieved to discover they might be fine! I am still unsure whether they are so skinny that I should report them, and after looking at pictures I’m leaning towards yes. But at least they aren’t nearly as far away from their ideal shape as I thought.. I am going to look at more pictures and go look at the cows again tomorrow. You should be glad you have the opportunity to educate people like me who know ZERO about dairy cows instead of being irritated we don’t already know. (p.s. feed it a sandwich is just a common expression to indicate someone is too skinny, especially on the internet – often spelled “sammich.’ Nobody thinks you should actually feed the cow a sandwich.)
– A Fellow Animal Lover