Cows do lie down!!!

Supposed to be an old wives' tale but the cows are sitting down and it's raining!! It has been raining constantly here for hours and we went to an early church service this morning and a drive in the country. Well, we are in the country now, but I mean more country - cows, meat and dairy, and horses!! Would you believe temps in the lower 60s but I'm not complaing, just loving it. Not all the cows were lying down, some were huddled together under some trees to escape the downpouring. So is the tale true? Do cows lie down when it's about to rain (or raining)!!

Louisa
At our count fair yesterday a bull fell asleep and fell down. He had rested his head on the cow next to him and when it moved, he fell down. His head was tied to the rail and he was choking. When the groomer tried to get him loose, he made the rope tighter. The poor bull was afraid to go to sleep for the rest of the day. He was okay when they got him loose, and they walked him around to calm him down.
I walked thru the barn and quite a few of the cows were lying down.
Susie

The other day it was raining and I was a herd of cows ALL standing and eating. They need to make up their minds !

Susie that poor bull - now don't tell me he has a phobia!!! I bet his lovely eyes were staring and frightened!! Yes, I'm a big softie, no matter what the creature!! GL - I wonder if they lie down when they think it's going to rain and proceed to do so, or whether they lie down after the rain? Maybe they lie down before the rain in order to keep 'their patch' dry!! If the cows you saw were all standing up maybe its because they were in a barn, came outside and it was too wet to sit down.....lol!!!!

Oh boy! Cows generally sleep lying down, although as with the bull, they will doze standing. Our cows generally huddle together with their tails to the wind in a rain storm, but if it goes on long enough, they all go eat - not much in the world will stop a cow from eating! Several years ago, we had an earthquake here. Stan was at a neighbor's in the barn and at the moment of the quake, all the cows bellered at the same time. In the barn, the men couldn't feel the quake, but the cows sure did.

It is also a myth, and a dangerous one, that if you sneak up on a "sleeping" cow who is standing, you can tip her. Cows have only two decent senses and those are smell and hearing and if you startle a cow, she will kick or trample you, and if it's dark and she's standing, she's not asleep.

Well Kathleen, you live and learn!!! The men in the barn didn't feel the quake but I bet they were startled when all the cows started to beller!!

When Stan came home he told me about the cows and he said it was the darnedest thing, and when I told him about the quake he put 2 and 2 together. Since then we have read severat times about animals and quake sensitivity.

Cows like to stand around on their hind legs, they drop down to all four when people are around. The other night after an electrical storm the well was not pumping, the well is located out in the pasture. I went to check the electrical circuits on the well, to speed things up I took a short cut thru the cornfield. When I got to the pasture fence there were seven cattle standing around on their hind legs, when they saw me they all dropped down to all fours. I told my wife about this, she accused me of being out in the barn drinking instead of working on the tractor. Thought I would post this to the forum to see if anyone else has experienced this strange cattle behavior.

Texia

Tex I would love to know all the answers, especially about animals. Would that we could all be Dr. Dolittle!! Maybe Kathleen will comment further on this. I am certainly interested!

I've always found cows do as they please. My first boss always insited I take a length of blue plastic piping with me to get the cows in. Reason being Elsie the beautiful Guernsey liked to human tip.

Tex, I too have heard these stories about cattle really being a strange bipedal race sent to fool us. This was of course at college and I don't remember a great deal of sense being talked at the time (and that was just the lectures!) :)

I have to say though..I'm glad I don't know what the animals are thinking. I wouldn't like to know what they thought of me after foot trimming and such like :)

Texia, I saw a Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon years ago illustrating this strange phenonimon. I didn't believe it then and don't believe it now. Funny to emagine tho. :)

Hi Louisa, When I was a kid my Mother and Grandmother always said when you see the backs of the leaf's on the tree's, and the cows are lying down it's going to rain. Now whether the cows stay down or not I don't know, but I have seen this strange phenonimon. It might have been just by luck because I had told that story to my Husband and he just gave me a funny look, well wouldn't you know it, that day the cows where lying down and we could see the back side of the leaf's. It did rain that day, not for long but rain anyway.

This message was edited Saturday, Aug 11th 9:28 AM

I find it interesting you posted this on the Wild Life Forum and not the Farm Forum :).
I think my cows may lay down before a rain, of course they lay down when it's not going to rain too. I mean my little heifer was just laying down and not a drop of rain. but then again I just hang out 5 loads of laundry. I haven't washed the car but may run do that if it helps.
I do believe the one about the leaves turning over. I see that all the time.
Texia, I had breakfast down at the liar's club cafe this morning.. Maybe you were there? but surely with all that corn you folks grow up there in Iowa you would know a little about cows too.
P.S. I get a big kick out of Larson.
P.P.S. Cool about the quake thing Kathleen.