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Do you know there are several terms we use to refer to a group of cows? No? Have you only heard of “herd”? You probably have been living in the dark but it’s time to get enlightened. In this brief today’s post, we have decided to discuss what the group of cows called? Or what should it be called? So, without further ado, allow us to get astonished how many terms can we use;
What is a Group of Cows Called?
A group of cows is called a herd, flink, team, drove, fold, cattle, or kine. Though this group can be called by any of the above-mentioned names, we usually call this gathering a herd, flink, or cattle.
As you know that the group is most commonly and recklessly referred to as “herd” or a “flink”. It must not be noted here that the group can not always be called a ” herd”; the number of cows and a few other factors determine if it should be called a herd, flink, drove, fold, kine, or a team.
You probably have been searching to know how you must be referring to your group of cows. So, let’s get to know the terms(cattle, herd, flink, team, drove, team, fold, and kine) so you can judge what you should be calling from now on;
Herd
A herd is “actually” a group of wild or domestic animals of the same species. The term herd is applied to mammals only. To be more specific, grazing ungulates are known for showing a classic behavior.
As you know not every group of domestic or wild animals can be called a herd, only a team of cows, deers, elephants, buffalos, seals, sheep, and whales.
In the USA, if the group contains over 200 animals it is called a herd. However, in Canada 80 animals and for the rest of the world, three animals are enough to be called a herd.
So, if you live in the USA you can only call a group of cows herd if it has 200 cows, Canadians can refer to a group of 80 cows as a herd, and if you belong to any other country a group of 3 cows roaming around can be referred to as herd.
Flink
Flink is another fancy name we often give to a group of cows. Quite a few of us know and call the group of cows a flink as referring to it as the herd is breathtakingly more common.
To call a group of cows “flink” you must at least have 12 or more cows. It does not matter whether the cows are wild or domestic, if the number is 12 or above, it’s a flink.
Cattle
Cattle is the most used term for cows, it is even more famous than a herd. Cows are not the only large domesticated hoofed animals that get referred to as “cattle”, oxen, bulls, calves, and buffalos, etc can also be called cattle.
Kine
The group of cows can also be called ” kine”. The group of cows does not have to reach a specific number to be called kine, it rather must have sexually mature cows. If the group has both sexes(bulls and cows), it can still be called kine.
Drove
Drove, as described in the books, is a group of animals driven or moving in a body. It is also not the sort of term we use only for cows, it can rather be used for sheep and goats as well.
To be called a group of cows drove by the livestock keeper, the group must contain at least two or three adult cows that move together and act alike.
Team
“Team” is not an official term for a group of cows. However, it is still used when the groups of cows are kept in pens or segments.
Fold
Like all other farm animals, there are almost 100 breeds of cows. The term “fold” can only be used for a group of Highland cows. The Highland cows live in a special kind of shelter that is called folds. While calling their shelters folds, we began referring to the group of Highland cattle as “fold”.
Lastly, I hope you have found the answer. We would be delighted to know in the comments section below.
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