The Private Life of ... Cows

[Florence Fennel]

I've just had notification of this programme on this evening, 7th July at 8.00 p.m. BBC2. It's Jimmy Doherty looking at the intelligence level of cows, pigs and chickens. Cows tonight.

[lindyloo]

yes, i'm going to watch that, too. cows are lovely.

[di]

I was reading an article about this at A&E the other night...apparently chooks can play basketball
Cheers for the Heads up,I didn't realise it was on tonight.

[Two_Sheds]

Cows aren't clever ... are they?

[rustylady]

Watch the programme and find out. I used to help out on a farm when I was little, mainly with the calves, but also bringing cows in for milking. We had some pretty crafty ones.

[Two_Sheds]

Crafty yes, but if cows were clever, they wouldn't be made of leather and beef, would they?

[di]

Thanks to a bunch of chappies having a bit of a kick around with a football.....I missed it
Was it good...and are they clever or crafty?...and more importantly,is it worth me taking a basketball up to the lottie to start chook training???

[Jeanied]

Cows are officially clever. I bet they play a mean game of football too given half the chance.

[Glutton4...]

Crafty yes, but if cows were clever, they wouldn't be made of leather and beef, would they?

Ya Daft Tart!

[Glutton4...]

Cows are officially clever. I bet they play a mean game of football too given half the chance.

Couldn't be any worse than our bunch of overpaid Primadonnas!

[lindyloo]

i was a bit dissapointed with the program to be honest. my family had cows, ussually around 160 odd, so i have been around them a lot of my life. it didnt take into account that the cows, as many herd animals, are creatures of habit. so they haven't really had to think , their needs are met. also, they would mainly operate by instinct, and reaction. thats what would have kept them alive in the wild. i thought the test of intelligence wasn't very well thought out, as most cattle will have had contact with a water feeder wich is very similar to the device they made. and many calves are reared using teats on a wooden board- very similar again. the last cow at the end of the progarm was actually just rubbing her head, not ringing the bell. so i was dissapointed that that is all the researchers could come up with. however, i do think cattle are intelligent to a degree, more than was shown by the experiment. it would have been better perhaps, if they had used calves, rather than cows that had been systemized for several years of adult life. but i also think that any program that makes the general public think of animals as a living feeling creature, rather than something that has just been put on the planet for we human's convenience, must be a good thing--- i just think it could have been done much better than it was.

[HeyWayne]

We (I believe this is the correct term) "Sky plussed" it.

What I don't get, is why do all cows wear a wig?

[Nicos]

What I don't get, is why do all cows wear a wig?

....tis a toupee lad!

[Nicos]

They'd look stupid if they all had to use these to hide their bald patches...

[HeyWayne]

Watched it last night and - as always with Mr Doherty's programmes, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Still didn't explain why all cows wear toupee's though - most disappointing.

Should imagine there'll be quite a few folk on here watching next weeks...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t3tl1