Ears
Posture is one of the best-studied mood signals in cattle.
For exampleEars hanging loosely or slightly back usually mean a relaxed cow. Ears held stiffly up and forward mean she is focused on something or wary.
Species / Cows
Cowbody language.
A calm herd animal whose ears, tail and distance from you say far more than her moo.
95Signals mapped
49Science-backed references
164Unique scenarios
Start with the animal
Who the cow is.
Cows are calm, social herd animals with strong friendships and long memories. Most of their communication is quiet: where they stand, how they hold their ears and who they choose to lie down next to.
As prey animals they also hide discomfort well, so the small signals matter.
What FaunaVera looks at
The signals we read.
A few of the channels FaunaVera watches and listens to in every cow video, weighed together with context and checked against a cow-specific ethogram.
Eyes
How much white is showing.
For exampleMore white showing around the eye is linked to stress or frustration. Less white shows when a cow is relaxed, for example while being groomed.
Head and neck
Carriage and where the cow is looking.
For exampleA head held high and turned to watch you means a cow is alert or unsure. A low head while grazing or chewing cud means she is at ease.
Tail
Position and swishing.
For exampleA loosely hanging tail is relaxed. A tail tucked between the legs can mean fear, cold or pain, and hard swishing often means irritation.
Distance and herd
How close a cow lets you come, and where she is in the group.
For exampleA cow that keeps a wide distance from people may be fearful of handling. One that leaves the herd may be unwell or about to calve.
Voice
Calls in context, from contact calls to distress.
For exampleLoud, high calls with the mouth open are linked to distress, such as a cow separated from her calf. Low, closed-mouth calls are quieter contact calls.
Did you know?
Relaxed, content cows tend to hold their ears hanging loosely, and the visible white of the eye shrinks when they are being groomed.
Common misreads
- “A cow standing still is a relaxed cow.”Standing still with a low head and drooping ears, and not chewing cud, can mean pain or illness. A relaxed cow chews cud and lies down to rest.
- “Shifting weight is just fidgeting.”A cow that keeps shifting weight between her feet or stands with an arched back may be lame or in pain.
- “A moo means the same thing every time.”Cows have individual voices, and their calls change with the situation: separation from a calf, hunger and distress all sound different.
Being around a cow
Approach slowly from the side where she can see you, move calmly and give her space to move away. Cows remember people who have handled them kindly.
See it for yourself
Your cow, read in seconds.
Upload a short video and FaunaVera reads the whole picture for you: an Interpretation, Voice of Animal, practical Tips and Ethogram Insights that explain exactly which signals it saw.
Where this comes from
A few of the studies.
FaunaVera's cow ethogram draws on 49 science-backed references. Here are a handful of them.
- Proctor HS & Carder G (2014). Can ear postures reliably measure the positive emotional state of cows? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 161, 20-27. Read
- Sandem AI, Braastad BO & Bøe KE (2002). Eye white may indicate emotional state on a frustration–contentedness axis in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 79(1), 1-10. Read
- Lambert H & Carder G (2019). Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure? Behavioural Processes, 158, 172-180. Read
- Gleerup KB, Andersen PH, Munksgaard L et al. (2015). Pain evaluation in dairy cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 171, 25-32. Read
- Sato S, Tarumizu K & Hatae K (1993). The influence of social factors on allogrooming in cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 38(3-4), 235-244. Read
- Padilla de la Torre M, Briefer EF, Reader T et al. (2015). Acoustic analysis of cattle (Bos taurus) mother–offspring contact calls from a source–filter theory perspective. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 163, 58-68. Read
