Why do cows have tails?

A cow’s tail is not only an ornament. It is an extension of the spinal column, which is important in the body’s energy balance. By the movement of the tail and its appearance, one can draw conclusions about the animal’s well-being and the presence of diseases.

Why does a cow have a tail?

The tail serves cows to fight off annoying insects – horseflies, gadflies, flies, mosquitoes, wasps. If the animal exhibits restless behavior, then one can suspect the spread of lice. In this case, urgent measures must be taken to stop the infestation of parasites.

The cow is distinguished by its good nature and affection. It recognizes and remembers the faces of people who look after it. If it is given a nickname and used when communicating with the animal, the cow will remember and respond to it.

If someone hurts or makes her feel uncomfortable, she can hit with her tail. This organ in a cow can replace a hand in some situations.

The hair on the tail is dense and strong when healthy. It is more elastic than the hair on a horse’s mane. Cow tail hair is valued. After slaughter, it is used for stuffing furniture and mattresses.

In nature, there are no species of cattle without a tail. This organ is necessary for the animal, so evolutionary selection has preserved it. At the end of the last century, it was popular among farmers in New Zealand to dock the tail section of cows.

Milking reduced the risk of unexpected tail blows and also hoped to reduce leptospirosis.

Pathogens were spread with manure and urine, which often settle on the tassels of a cow’s tail. Veterinarians and farmers thought that docking would improve hygiene in the barn and reduce the incidence of leptospirosis. But this method did not prove highly effective.

Gradually, docking was abandoned, as it was noticed that the animals were covered with blood-sucking insects. The cows had nothing to drive them away with.

Now they only trim the fluffy tassel at the tip. It does not reach the bedding in the barn, does not have the opportunity to get dirty in manure and urine, so the risk of catching an infectious disease pathogen is reduced.

Tail signals

Attentive owners can determine the animal’s health by certain signals from the cow’s tail. If the cow constantly lifts it up, this indicates an approaching calving.

In order to be completely sure that labor is imminent, you need to pay attention to the accompanying signs:

• restless behavior of the cow;
• vaginal mucus discharge;
• swelling of the external genitalia;
• relaxation of the ligaments on the sides;
• restless, prolonged mooing.

Important! A cow can raise her tail during inflammatory processes in the postpartum period. This indicates discomfort in the genitals. To make a diagnosis, you need to call a veterinarian so that he can conduct a histological examination of the vagina.

Diseases

The tail itself can also hurt. Pathologies can develop quickly, infect other individuals, so characteristic symptoms should be treated carefully.

Fracture

Fracture of the tail section is not uncommon among cattle. Such an injury is caused when a lying animal is dragged away, during a blow, when the tail is strongly twisted during a drive, or when a gunshot wound occurs.

Typical symptoms:

• the tail is motionless, hanging down;
• the fracture site swells;
• pain at the site of injury when palpated;
• crunching at the fracture site.

The lower part of the tail section gradually gets colder. If the fracture is closer to the base, it makes it difficult for the cow to empty her bowels. With a closed fracture, the prognosis is favorable. An open, especially a fractional fracture of the tail vertebrae threatens necrosis.

To treat a fracture, apply an adhesive bandage for 25 days. In case of an open fracture, the tail is often amputated. To prevent such injuries, it is not recommended to twist the tail of cows to speed up their movement and roughly drag away lying animals.

Osteodystrophy

The main distinguishing feature of this chronic pathology is a soft tail. The cause of the disease is a lack of essential vitamins, phosphorus, calcium, and protein in the animal’s diet. Unbalanced nutrition leads to such a change in the cow’s physiology. The situation can be corrected by adding special phosphates, vitamin complexes, and bone meal to the feed.

Gangrene

Cows may experience gangrene of the tail section, that is, necrosis.

Veterinary experts cite the following reasons:

• tail pinching;
• crushing;
• bites;
• burns from potent substances;
• ergot poisoning.

Inflammation with pus and necrotic areas appears on the tail area, hair begins to fall out, an unpleasant odor appears. For treatment, it is necessary to establish the cause of the disease and eliminate it.

Important! Staphylococcus can cause gangrene in cows. In case of mass infection of animals, the entire barn and equipment are disinfected.

Eczema

Another disease is eczema of the root of the tail section. This pathology is more common among horses and dogs, but cows can also get sick with this disease.

Eczema manifests itself as a chronic inflammation of the base of the tail, which is accompanied by severe itching. The main causes of the disease are considered to be improper care and the spread of parasites on the skin.

Characteristic signs are blisters on the skin of animals, which gradually burst, covering the cow’s skin with their contents. It dries, forms a crust, which falls off, leaving behind a wet surface.

All this is accompanied by unbearable itching. Because of this, the animal behaves nervously, restlessly, tries to scratch the itchy place on any protrusions. As a result, scratches, damage, even ulcers form on the sore area.

The tail becomes disfigured. To alleviate the cow’s condition, the painful area should be washed with a solution of mercury chloride in a ratio of 1:300, then with a solution of Burow’s solution (3-5%), then with a solution of tar with fish oil (3-5%), thymol or camphor alcohol.

At the weeping stages, it is necessary to use drying agents that will disinfect the sore spot and reduce itching, for example, sulfur flowers.

Traumatic paraplegia

Paralysis of the lower limbs most often occurs in bulls due to crushing of the tip of the tail, but the injury can also be caused by a ribbed floor. Hair falls out on the affected part of the body, cracks form on the skin, swelling and inflammation appear, and in some cases wet gangrene develops.

The pelvic limbs gradually begin to weaken. The animal begins to spend more time in a lying position, loses weight and appetite, although the temperature and pulse remain within normal limits. In this case, amputation of the damaged tail does not bring a positive result.

Tail control

There is a persistent expression among the people: “twisting the cows’ tails.” Few people understand its direct or even figurative meaning. But owners and farmers use this technique.

The tails of farm animals are indeed twisted to control their behavior. After all, the base of the tail section is a painful spot.

The nostrils and ears are also centers of pain. This is used to make the animal obey. This is done with stubborn cows and bulls to make them go in the right direction or speed up their pace.

Twisting the tail around the axis causes pain to the animal, which makes it obedient. But you need to know when to stop, so as not to break the vertebrae, otherwise you will have to treat the animal.

Cows don’t like having their tails held. It has been noted that if a cow or a bull is grabbed by the tail by a stranger, the animal begins to worry and may even kick. If the owner does this, the animal begins to obey.

For cows, the tail serves as protection against blood-sucking insects. When docking the tail, the animal must be protected from flies, horseflies and mosquitoes using repellents.

Numerous diseases often have mechanical causes. With proper care and attentive attitude to the animal, it will be possible to avoid damage and injuries.

Why does he always bully me?

If you notice that the cow is constantly walking with her tail raised, this most likely indicates that she is about to give birth.

To determine the cause for sure, pay attention to the following symptoms indicating imminent labor:

• relaxation of the ligaments on the sides;
• swollen external genitalia;
• mucous discharge from the vagina;
• restless behavior;
• prolonged, restless mooing.

Also, a raised tail may indicate postpartum inflammatory processes – endometriosis. To recognize this disease, it is necessary to conduct a histological examination of the vaginal tissue.

Is it possible to trim it?

Docking is done for hygienic purposes – dirt accumulating in the hair at the tip of the shoot can cause the development of various diseases.

It is also cut for the convenience of service personnel, so that farm workers can be sure that an unhappy cow will not hit them with her tail.

There are two methods of pruning:

1. Amputation of the lower quarter and application of a tight tourniquet.
2. Using a special machine to shorten the hair at the end of the shoot.