By Hunter Riggs Age 8
The largest cow is the Chianina Cow. This cow is the tallest breed of cattle. The average cow is taller than my mom. They can weigh more than 3300 pounds. Chianina cows are from Italy. These cows have been used by people for over 2000 years. They have been used for pulling carts and wagons. People used them on their fields to pull plows. Now they are used for beef.
Dexter Cows are the smallest breed from Europe. They first came from Ireland. They are 3-3 1/2 feet tall. They weigh around 700 lbs and are shorter than me! They are less than half the size of most cows. They come in 3 different colors. They can be red, black or brown. I have 4 Dexter cows, 3 girls and 1 boy. People raise Dexters for meat or their rich milk.
Belgian Blue Cattle
They are from Belgium and are a recently developed breed. They have been around for about 80 years. They were developed to have more muscle for more meat. They also are huge and are calm animals. They can weigh up to 2700 lbs and are about 5 feet tall.
Watusi cattle are from Africa. They have the longest horns of any cattle in the world! Even longer than Longhorns! Their horns can be 7 to 8 feet wide. They help the cows by cooling them down and can be used for defense. The breed has been traded and used as money by tribes in Africa. These cows live in Africa with many predators. They have an instinct to sleep in a circle with the babies in center and the adults horns pointing out.
