The use of these byproducts is endorsed by animal nutritionists who work with dairy farmers on creating optimal diets for cows. Photo: Farm Sanctuary What You Can Do I think I will start a new series of blogs called “what do cows eat.” It may surprise some people what cows actually eat because on the farm, we use a variety of feeds for the cows. Grain: Dairy cows do eat some grain, which usually makes up less than one-quarter of their diet. Daily rations are scientifically formulated according to the energy, protein and other nutritional needs of each animal. Cows drink 30–50 gallons of water each day – a bathtub full. Deconstructing Dairy Cow Diets Overview: The What Do Cows Eat? • Dairy cattle have been selectively bred for milk production and type, so their udders are larger and their bodies more streamlined than their beef cattle cousins. The cows also have constant access to fresh, clean water. Of the 9 million dairy cows in the U.S., 3 million are slaughtered each year at only a fraction of their natural lifespan. Cows treated with excessive amounts of dextrose do not eat because they have high blood sugar levels. Most of our cows are used for personal consumption for farm employees, family, friends and local charities. The main factor in how much a cow will eat depends on her milk production. Reticulum is called the hardware stomach because if cows accidentally eat hardware (like a piece of a pop can – please do not litter), it will often lodge here causing no further damage. As a group, participants will discuss and identity important feedstuffs of a dairy What are the feed requirements of the milking cow? Dairy cows often eat as much as 100 pounds of rations a day, made up of a balanced combination of forage, grain, mineral supplements and protein-rich feeds such as soybean meal. Quantity and quality are important. Forage is the basis for a cow’s diet. I've had animals in the herd from four years all of the way up to eleven years old. Cows eat more than 100 pounds of – called a Total Mixed Ration. If you ate like a cow you would have to eat 360 cheeseburgers and drink 600 cartons of milk every day! California also has a lot of different crops growing, and many of these crops have by-products that we can feed our cows. (9) Cows are highly sensitive, affectionate and gentle, forming deep friendships and family bonds. If eating the meat of dairy cows seems like an obvious and economical old-world custom, one merely lost in the rise of quick-to-market factory farming of America, it’s surprisingly not. But what do cows eat? Even in Europe, eating the meat from dairy cows, which typically have less meat on them, is rare. They primarily eat grass, but they feed on other things too, which helps to give good quality milk, and fatten them up for superior quality beef. If a cow does not eat, there is something wrong and she needs to be examined and evaluated for follow-up care. Dairy cows are ruminants; this means, when they eat, they chew their food (called cud), swallow, and return the food to their mouth before chewing again. Cows are known as our foster mothers as they bring forth large quantities of milk that is fit for human consumption. “In the case of grass-fed cows, that means five times more time spent roaming on pasture and developing intramuscular fat.