Wednesday, 22 January 2020 12:43

Cow talk

Written by  Milking It

Cows do talk, researchers say.

A new study shows that cows communicate using unique voices, which remain consistent across a range of emotional circumstances.

Alexandra Green, a PhD student at the University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences, headed to a free-range farm on the university’s campus, equipped with headphones and a shotgun mic.

In total, Green and her colleagues recorded 333 high-frequency vocalisations from 13 heifers, none of which had been pregnant.

The calls were collected during a number of different situations, like when the cows were in heat and when they were anticipating a tasty meal, which the researchers identified as “positive” contexts.

Calls were also collected when the animals were denied food: physically isolated from the herd, and when they were both physically and visually isolated from the rest of the herd, which researchers identified as “negative” contexts.

Featured

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

110,000 visitors!

OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.

Sticky situation

OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter