The Secret Life of Cows - Book Review

[Louisa Gidney]

Has anyone else read this? I was very disappointed. I'm sure we are all well aware that each of our cows has a distinct personality and are extremely good at both verbal & non-verbal communication with we dumb humans. The author does not seem to record the bull being on nursery duty yet mine, the late Aiskew Juglans Nigra in particular, take this responsibilty seriously, grooming calves to the extent of sucking out and swallowing those nasty eartags.
The author very carefully skates round the whole topic of why the cows are kept & what happens to all those cute little bull calves....
No attempt is made to evaluate or compare the author's observations of behaviour with, for example, Chillingham White Park cattle kept under similar conditions but with no castration and extensively studied by Stephen Hall et al.
Priced at £14.99 I'm jolly glad it's a library book as I would feel more than disappointed if I'd paid good money for it.
Given that the introductory blurb states the farm provides a living, meets high interest rates and employs labour, more information on how this is really achieved, other than by writing the book, would be fascinating.
It may just be me in critical mode after marking too many essays........

[SteveM]

£7.99 from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Life-Cow ... 1904871119

[forestblaze]

Worth every penny , Sue