Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All animals are intelligent. We just don’t take the time to understand them. As a society we abuse so many intelligent sentient beings it’s a disgrace.

This is not accurate.

Farmer here. Cows and horses are extremely intelligent. Goats as well.

Sheep and chickens are stupid. I mean, really, really stupid.

Rural person here.

Horses are essentially people.
Agree cows are extremely intelligent and also kind.
Goats are total self-absorbed a-holes. Never trust an animal with rectangular pupils.

I dunno. They are 10-15 times as big as me but when I walk up to my brother's cows in his feedlot and wave a handful of grass at them they sook and jump back (a dozen or so since they tend to crowd together). Then ever so slowly, if I stand still, they draw closer until one sticks its head out and checks out the grass, at which point the others figure out there's a treat. There are tricks for setting things up to load them into trailers or direct them into pens because they think a dark space is a wall.

Cows did not make this list but I think they should have …

The 30 Most Intelligent Animals in the World Might Surprise You
By Grace Hussain September 20, 2023

Nonhuman animals are constantly proving themselves to be capable of thought, empathy and intelligence in ways we never expected. Our increasing understanding of the minds of animals continues to fascinate. What’s becoming more and more obvious is that there aren’t just a few highly intelligent animals, but rather a vast number, all of whom demonstrate their intelligence in unique ways. 

https://sentientmedia.org/which-animals-are-most-intelligent/


(Crows make both lists for highly intelligent animals )

Which animals are smartest?
https://www.britannica.com/story/which-animal-is-the-smartest


Ten Smartest Animals
https://a-z-animals.com/blog/the-10-smartest-animals-in-the-world/


3 types of birds - crows, pigeons and African gray parrots - make this top ten smart animal list … bottle nosed dolphins make all three lists as well as crows.


Not sure why cows don’t make any of the lists - Bovinism?

Cows manage to defeat fences by waiting for the fence to fall down. They aren't that bright.

I ❤️ the animal threads 🐄 🐮 🐕 🦘 🐦‍⬛

Here ya go …

Snapshot Comparisons

Cows vs Dogs 🐄 = 🐕
Cows are often compared to dogs in terms of intelligence. They have been found to have excellent critical thinking skills and a strong understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. Cows are famous for their ability to learn how to use a lever to activate a drinking fountain and a button to unlock food when they’re hungry or thirsty. Researchers have found that cows not only can figure out problems but also enjoy the intellectual challenge and get excited when they find a solution, just as dogs do.

Cows vs Other Animals 🐮 > many animals

Cows are generally quite intelligent animals who can remember things for a long time. Animal behaviorists have found that they interact in socially complex ways. They develop friendships by spending time together, as humans do. And like us, they are known to hold grudges against fellow cows that treat them badly.

Cows vs Humans 🐮 ? 👧🧒👶
While it’s not entirely fair to compare the intelligence of cows to humans due to our different evolutionary paths and needs, cows do exhibit advanced cognitive abilities. They understand cause-and-effect relationships, can solve problems (as mentioned above), and even celebrate their successes.

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/how-smart-are-cows-everything-we-know-about-their-intelligence/

Anonymous wrote:I love cows. My dream has always been to spend a summer on a mountain hut in the Alps and take care of the cows and make cheese.

They are actually quite intimidating up close and personal.

I used to feel like you until I was surrounded by a herd of them on a narrow alpine path.

Basically, anyone who hasn't actually taken care of animals projects intelligence onto them.

I love my city chickens, but they can't be trained to poop in one spot, they will dehydrate if I change the water feeder to something else suddenly (it takes them like a month to learn the new one), and they cant find their way home if someone blocks the normal route.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All animals are intelligent. We just don’t take the time to understand them. As a society we abuse so many intelligent sentient beings it’s a disgrace.

This is not accurate.

Farmer here. Cows and horses are extremely intelligent. Goats as well.

Sheep and chickens are stupid. I mean, really, really stupid.

Yeah. I own chickens, and I can't figure out how they survived up until now. They are extremely dumb.

I have spent time with sheep and they were so absolutely sweet and loving. I think a lot of this is how they're raised and exposure to humans in terms of what humans experience from them (like the 4h cows were probably not raised like cows and sheep in the alps or like the pp whose dog might not survive in a forest). Education/ training/ exposure makes a difference too. Someone observing chimps in a lab will have a different opinion about them than Jane Goodall.

Anonymous wrote:As someone who raised cows and steer as part of 4-H and actually paid for a considerable chunk of my college tuition with cows, I can tell you 100% authority they are not very smart. I’d put them at about the same intelligence-level as goldfish, in fact. Just about every domestic animal I can think of is probably smarter on average than a cow. Dogs - even dumb dogs - are Einstein compared to an average cow or steer.

In fact, you are wrong. Many studies being done now on animal intelligence (I just googled and found several). So you either are not that bright or chose not to pay attention.

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea cows were so smart!

Haven't spend a lot of time around them and then recently I ended up in a mountain village full of cows and the cows pretty much manage their own lives. They come and go on their own from their homes to wherever they want to graze. They know where they and the other cows all live, they can tell time and when they should head home, they actively communicate with each other about their plans for the day, they express frustation if another cow isn't doing what they are supposed to do, they have leaders and followers...it is a whole society. We just never see cows here living this kind of independent life!

All of the animals you eat are intelligent. All of them. There have been lots of studies that animals of all sorts have more intelligence than we thought. And, ofc, they all experience fear, panic, pain, anxiety. Follow The Gentle Barn, Arthur's Acres, and lots of other SM farm sanctuaries . . . you will see it first hand. Poplar SPrings in MD is a great place to visit. These animals know their names and exhibit social behaviors.

It's why many people choose to be vegan or to make more informed choices where their food comes from. The way most people eat in this country, and the amount of meat from what amounts to torturous conditions, is obscene. (And I'm not vegan but eat very little animal products from humanely sourced places).

Anonymous wrote:As someone who raised cows and steer as part of 4-H and actually paid for a considerable chunk of my college tuition with cows, I can tell you 100% authority they are not very smart. I’d put them at about the same intelligence-level as goldfish, in fact. Just about every domestic animal I can think of is probably smarter on average than a cow. Dogs - even dumb dogs - are Einstein compared to an average cow or steer.

I think you maybe had either very dumb cows or super smart goldfish. Cows are quite intelligent (obviously not every cow - there are dumb humans dumb dogs, and dumb cows!).

As someone who raised cows and steer as part of 4-H and actually paid for a considerable chunk of my college tuition with cows, I can tell you 100% authority they are not very smart. I’d put them at about the same intelligence-level as goldfish, in fact. Just about every domestic animal I can think of is probably smarter on average than a cow. Dogs - even dumb dogs - are Einstein compared to an average cow or steer.

What do you mean by smart? Can't all animals "manage their own lives?" I would call that ... I don't know... instinct, not intelligent. Whereas my dog I'm sure would flop over and die if he were dumped in the woods. He's not an idiot, just been stripped of his animal instincts by hundreds of years of breeding choices by humans. I mean, he's also kind of an idiot.

Cows are social and smart. I love the videos of them listening to music.

I had sheep in 4-H as a kid, I really like them. They are not too bright when stressed, but in a calm situation they do fine. I prefer them to goats.