![Milking-a-cow-past](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Milking-a-cow-past.jpg)
A house cow is a
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
kept to provide milk for a home kitchen.
This differentiates them from
dairy cow
Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''.
Historically, little distinction was mad ...
s, which are
farmed commercially. They can also provide
manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...
, for use as a
garden fertilizer,
and their offspring can be a source of meat.
House cows are used in locations, usually rural, without convenient access to a supply of commercial
dairy products.
They can also be kept for household
self-sufficiency,
and a preference for
organically farmed food.
History
In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, during the 18th century, families would take their house cow, and other livestock, to graze on the local
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has a ...
.
In the 1770s, before
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has a ...
began to be
enclosed
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
as private land, it was estimated that even a 'poor' house cow, 'providing a gallon of milk per day' was worth, in the milking season, 'half the equivalent of a labourer's annual wage' to a family.
Writing for an
American audience in 1905, Kate Saint Maur asserted:
In 1910, during the
United States' Presidency of
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, Senator
Isaac Stephenson
Isaac Stephenson (June 18, 1829March 15, 1918) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Wisconsin as both a United States representative and a United States senator.
He was born in the community of Yorkton, near Fr ...
had a house cow called 'Pauline Wayne', a
Holstein Friesian
Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Hols ...
, sent from his
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
farm to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
to provide fresh milk for the first family.
After arrival she 'grazed contentedly upon the White House lot, oblivious to the general fuss being made'.
In
Australia, house cows were still common enough for the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
government to issue a free booklet on their management and care in 1953.
Popular breeds
In the 19th century,
Breton cattle, from
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, were imported into
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and promoted as an ideal house cow breed because of their docile nature and small size.
Shetland cattle, from the
Shetland Isles
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
, off the north coast of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, are a small, hardy cattle breed, which, until recent times, were traditionally milked three times a day—morning, ''twall'' (midday) and night—to produce the maximum amount of milk, which could be more than three gallons.
The
Dexter cattle
The Dexter is an Irish breed of small cattle. It originated in the eighteenth century in County Kerry, in south-western Ireland, and appears to be named after a man named Dexter, who was factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Isla ...
breed, which originated in southwestern
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, is small, easy-to-keep and suited for milk and meat, is known as 'the poor man's house cow'.
References
{{reflist, 2
Dairy farming