About the cow needing to chew a lot...

And so I've heard that humans think that we're weird because of how much we need to chew. Well then, Muggles, (Yes, I did attend the Friday barn movie screening... Not that cows were invited, but since the humans didn't notice that I was watching...) I would like to clear up some confusion on behalf of my proud kind.

I asked my doctor about it, and this is what he told me:

"Cow are ruminants, means the digestive system of cow allows to use of otherwise indigestible foods by continually regurgitating and rechewing them as "cud"."

Well, to put in simpler terms, we cows can eat food that humans find indigestible as we can chew and chew and chew and eventually swallow it. Pretty cool, huh?

Apparently, cows are herbivores, and we feed on plants. Food is consumed through the mouth. The tongue helps us to gather grass and then the grass is pinched off between our incisors and dental pad, thus entering our mouths. Our teeth helps in chewing and grinding food. Chewing helps the feed to mix thoroughly with the saliva. Saliva is secreted by salivary glands initiates starch digestion and contains sodium bicarbonate which helps to maintain neutral pH (6.5-7.2) for microbial growth. 

Hmm I'll go look up other information, and I'll post them here later. :) Maybe I'll ask the smart owl for some help...

-MooMoo