Cows aligning to magnetic north

[Skepvet]

Has anyone seen the news release about google earth images of cows aligning themselves to magnetic north?

Found it to be intersting.


As a veterinarian I have long made an association between cows (dairy cows at least) and magnetism. Dairy cows are intentionally fed small magnets to prevent "hardware disease". Dairy cows often will consume nails and other bits of metal that are common in a typical barnyard. These objects, if sharp, can puncture the reticulum, the first chamber of the bovine stomach. This can lead to septic peritonitis, death and financial loses to the farmer. The intentionally fed magnets stay in the reticulum and magnetically attract any metal bits that the cow might consume. At least this is what we were taught in vet school. Does it really work? Not sure, but feeding magnets is really done.

Now having said all this, I don't necessarily think that these magnets are making cows worldwide orient themselves towards magnetic north. I am first and foremost skeptical that the observation is a real one and I can't imagine that so many cows worldwide are being fed magnets to prevent hardware disease.

But....if these observations are independently confirmed to be accurate it would be very interesting to do a double blind experiment to see if cows that have magnets in them align compared to those who don't.

[Professor Yaffle]

With stories like these, I really wish Ruth Rosin (AKA The Bee Lady) posted here. Google Ruth Rosin magnets to find some of her very wonderful contributions to the subject.

[RecoveringYuppy]

Saw that article. It wasn't just cows, it was wild deer also and I doubt anyone is feeding them magnets. There was also an interesting aside that mentioned that humans get more REM sleep if they sleep N/S vs. E/W. I couldn't find a good link to back up the article I saw but did the methods cited struck me as if there might be something to it.

ETA: Here's a link about cattle (no mention of the REM sleep) http://www.livescience.com/animals/080825-magnetism-cows.html

Here's some that mention the human REM connection, but they contain no citations for the alleged human studies. (There's a comment in the blog asking for a citation already).

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2008/08/google_earth_shows_that_cow_and_deer_herds_align_l ike_compas.php

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/magnetism_mammals_dc

[SteveGrenard]

Many different animal are well known for their uncanny navigational abilities. The study of animal navigation includes orientation to light (solar/lunar compass), use of odors, sounds, visual cues other than light ... at least some of senses we normally accept. However there are some researchers who believe that a sixth sense of magnetic compass is built in to some species or is more developed in some. This is why, I suppose, this thread appears in the skepticism subforum instead of the science one. There is serious research going on, however, that is seeking this magnetic compass and some think they have confirmed it. Here are abstracts of two papers, one in bats and the other for sea turtles.



Open Access, full text at:

www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0001676

BATS



Bats Use Magnetite to Detect the Earth's Magnetic Field

Richard A. Holland1,2*, Joseph L. Kirschvink3, Thomas G. Doak1, Martin Wikelski1
1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America, 2 Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom, 3 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America

Abstract

While the role of magnetic cues for compass orientation has been confirmed in numerous animals, the mechanism of detection is still debated. Two hypotheses have been proposed, one based on a light dependent mechanism, apparently used by birds and another based on a “compass organelle” containing the iron oxide particles magnetite (Fe3O4). Bats have recently been shown to use magnetic cues for compass orientation but the method by which they detect the Earth's magnetic field remains unknown. Here we use the classic “Kalmijn-Blakemore” pulse re-magnetization experiment, whereby the polarity of cellular magnetite is reversed. The results demonstrate that the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus uses single domain magnetite to detect the Earths magnetic field and the response indicates a polarity based receptor. Polarity detection is a prerequisite for the use of magnetite as a compass and suggests that big brown bats use magnetite to detect the magnetic field as a compass. Our results indicate the possibility that sensory cells in bats contain freely rotating magnetite particles, which appears not to be the case in birds.


It is crucial that the ultrastructure of the magnetite containing magnetoreceptors is described for our understanding of magnetoreception in animals.



http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AGUFM.B21B0884F


SEA TURTLES



AA(Instituto de Geofisica UNAM, Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Coyoacan, Mexico, 04510 Mexico ; almafuentes70@hotmail.com), AB(Instituto de Geofisica UNAM, Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Coyoacan, Mexico, 04510 Mexico ; juf@geofisica.unam.mx), AC(Instituto de Investigaciones Metalurgicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Metalurgicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hildalgo, Ciudad Universitaria, Michoacan, Morelia, 58000 Mexico ; ), AD(Instituto de Investigaciones Quimico-Biologicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Quimico-Biologicas, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Micoacan, Morelia, 58260 Mexico ; ), AE(Universidad Ardito Desio, Departamento Microscopia Electronica, Universidad Ardito Desio, Milano, 4000 Italy ; )

Publication: American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #B21B-0884

Publication Date: 12/2004
Origin: AGU

AGU Keywords: 1540 Rock and mineral magnetism, 0400 Biogeosciences

Bibliographic Code: 2004AGUFM.B21B0884F

Abstract

Previous studies have reported experimental evidence for magnetoreception in marine turtles. In order to increase our knowledge about magnetoreception and biogenic mineralization, we have isolated magnetite particles from the brain of specimens of black sea turtles Chelonia agassizi. Our samples come from natural deceased organisms collected the reserve area of Colola Maruata in southern Mexico. The occurrence of magnetite particles in brain tissue of black sea turtles offers the opportunity for further studies to investigate possible function of ferrimagnetic material, its mineralogical composition, grain size, texture and its location and structural arrangement within the host tissue. After sample preparation and microscopic examination, we localized and identified the ultrafine unidimensional particles of magnetite by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Particles present grain sizes between 10.0 to 40.0Mm. Our study provides, for the first time, evidence for biogenic formation of this material in the black sea turtles. The ultrafine particles are apparently superparamagnetic. Preliminary results from rock magnetic measurements are also reported and correlated to the SEM observations. The black turtle story on the Michoacan coast is an example of formerly abundant resource which was utilized as a subsistence level by Nahuatl indigenous group for centuries, but which is collapsing because of intensive illegal commercial exploitation. The most important nesting and breeding grounds for the black sea turtle on any mainland shore are the eastern Pacific coastal areas of Maruata and Colola, in Michoacan. These beaches are characterized by important amounts of magnetic mineral (magnetites and titanomagnetites) mixed in their sediments.

[RecoveringYuppy]

BTW did anyone see an article titled "Google map makers tend to orient cows and deers North-South, could indicate magnetic sixth sense in humans"? Just checking.

[SteveGrenard]

Now having said all this, I don't necessarily think that these magnets are making cows worldwide orient themselves towards magnetic north. I am first and foremost skeptical that the observation is a real one and I can't imagine that so many cows worldwide are being fed magnets to prevent hardware disease.

But....if these observations are independently confirmed to be accurate it would be very interesting to do a double blind experiment to see if cows that have magnets in them align compared to those who don't.

Don't think feeding magnets to cows to treat hardware disorder has any bearing on this phenomenon for two reasons: the magnetic material found naturally in bats (organelles) and sea turtles is in contact/proximity with the brain whereas magnets artificially inserted in cattle are placed in the stomach. I can't think of any way that magnets in the reticulum can cause a behavioral voluntary phenomenon such as n/s alignment. In addition other herds, both domestic (sheep) and wild (deer and wildebeest) have been discovered lining up n/s. In fact the reference indicates deer even do so with greater statistical strength than cows.

[NobbyNobbs]

Assuming that cows do align north, might it have nothing to do with magnetics? I know that many herd species tend to face into/away from (I can't remember which) the wind. Could it be that where this has been noticed, the wind sweeps down out of/up into the north?

[Mojo]

There's an old country saying hereabouts, that if all the cows in a field lie down facing the same way, it's a sign that they're tired.

Actually, I think it might have been supposed to be a sign of rain, but I've certainly heard some "old saying" about cattle aligning themselves, so I guess it's not an especially new phenomenon.

[alfaniner]

I propose that this newly discovered phenomenon be called "cow-orking".

[SteveGrenard]

Assuming that cows do align north, might it have nothing to do with magnetics? I know that many herd species tend to face into/away from (I can't remember which) the wind. Could it be that where this has been noticed, the wind sweeps down out of/up into the north?

The researchers were able to rule out wind as a factor.

[Emerson Street]

Wait till some woo uses this for cow-dowsing or some such:rolleyes:

[Garrette]

It explains why I was a failure at cow-tipping. Hint: Don't plan a stealth approach from the southern flank...

[Rob Lister]

BTW did anyone see an article titled "Google map makers tend to orient cows and deers North-South, could indicate magnetic sixth sense in humans"? Just checking.

Now THAT is comedy.

[gerdbonk]

So, if I get lost in the wilderness I can just pull out a hamburger?

[quarky]

There are claims that Australian aborigines can/could do likewise..and never got lost during vast treks. Could be woo. could be that moderns have too much noise in their heads to notice some of our subtle abilities.

bees and pigeons can do it; why not me?

[Gene L]

A very strong magnet won't penetrate much through skin. A program on TV, "The Skeptic" or something like that, addressed the power of magnets in one show. Even strong ones aren't capable of much.

As for cow tipping, country boys know that cows sleep lying down! Horses sleep standing, but never heard of horse-tipping.

[Garrette]

As for cow tipping, country boys know that cows sleep lying down! Put 'em on a leaf in a bowl of water. It's how the Ancient Minnesotans navigated the Atlantic and discovered Vikings.

Want proof (http://www.artemar.es/tienda/images/ref_254.gifhttp://)? Them thar is Holstein Horns!

[alfaniner]

A very strong magnet won't penetrate much through skin. A program on TV, "The Skeptic" or something like that, addressed the power of magnets in one show. Even strong ones aren't capable of much.

I have a couple of not-too-terribly strong magnets that I can put on the back and palm of my hand and have the bottom one stay in place.

[TiaH]

There's an old country saying hereabouts, that if all the cows in a field lie down facing the same way, it's a sign that they're tired.

Actually, I think it might have been supposed to be a sign of rain, but I've certainly heard some "old saying" about cattle aligning themselves, so I guess it's not an especially new phenomenon.

I was raised on a dairy farm. The saying there was "don't stand on the south end of a north-bound cow!" But I have heard the one about if the cows are all lying down, it means rain is coming. So I checked it out with our herd. There was no correlation...none...zip...zilch. 200 cows in my sample.

[gdtbiker]

So what's the margin of error here? Does standing northeast to southwest count as north to south. And were these cows/deer aligning themselves according to geographic north/south or magnetic north south which is slightly different these days and would vary according to longitude.

[Gene L]

I have a couple of not-too-terribly strong magnets that I can put on the back and palm of my hand and have the bottom one stay in place.


I've got some rare-earth magnets from a big computer hard drive. It is so strong you can't pull two of them apart, pulling straight, that is. If you angle them, you can slide them apart, but not at 90 degrees.

They don't go thru my palm to stick a paper clip on the other side.

But maybe you got lots of iron i n your blood! :)

They do hold steel on steel with remarkable tenacity. I tie flies or used to, and I could pick up dropped flies in my carpet with the magnet. If you have cause to trash a com puter, get the magnets out of the hard drive. Outstanding!

If birds are on a wire and I mean lots of birds with none flying, it generally means rain as the pressure changes and is uncomfortable to the birds' ears. Or so I've heard.

[Gene L]

There are claims that Australian aborigines can/could do likewise..and never got lost during vast treks. Could be woo. could be that moderns have too much noise in their heads to notice some of our subtle abilities.

bees and pigeons can do it; why not me?

Ancient Polynesians could navigate by subtle signs of curents, water appearance, and prevaling winds during day, stars by night. Or so I read. Did the Aboriginies navigate much? According to Jarred Diamond, they got to Australia when there was more dry land between. Don't think they did, but hey, what do I know.

[Brian-M]

As a veterinarian I have long made an association between cows (dairy cows at least) and magnetism. Dairy cows are intentionally fed small magnets to prevent "hardware disease". Dairy cows often will consume nails and other bits of metal that are common in a typical barnyard.


I'm not a vet... can you explain to me the difference between 'hardware disease' and pica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder))? And why feed them magnets instead of mineral supplements of whatever ferrous material their diet is lacking?

I've got some rare-earth magnets from a big computer hard drive. It is so strong you can't pull two of them apart, pulling straight, that is. If you angle them, you can slide them apart, but not at 90 degrees.

They don't go thru my palm to stick a paper clip on the other side.


Will they pick up a paper clip through a piece of wood or Styrofoam the same thickness as your palm? I'm just curious.

[alexg]

re: the magnets. Don't know if this was mentioned but magnetic north and true north are not usually the same, depending on your location there is a declination factor. Were the cows pointing true north or magnetic north?

[RecoveringYuppy]

Magnetic north according to the article.

[Gene L]

=Brian-M;3983461]I'm not a vet... can you explain to me the difference between 'hardware disease' and pica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder))? And why feed them magnets instead of mineral supplements of whatever ferrous material their diet is lacking? I'm not a dairy farmer, but cows don't eat ferrous materials becuase their diet is lacking. They eat it accidently. Wires from hay, stuff that happens to fall into hay, etc. The magnets just collect the stuff so it doesn't get passed along, of it it does, it all gets passed at the same time. Right, Farmer/Vet?


Will they pick up a paper clip through a piece of wood or Styrofoam the same thickness as your palm? I'm just curious.[/QUOTE]

Never made the test, but I'm almost sure it wouldn't.

[Jonquill]

My old horse aligns itself so that it's broadest side gets the most sun, especially in the early morning when the sun is coming up and it is still a bit nippy, maybe that is what the cows are doing?

[TjW]

There are claims that Australian aborigines can/could do likewise..and never got lost during vast treks. Could be woo. could be that moderns have too much noise in their heads to notice some of our subtle abilities.

bees and pigeons can do it; why not me?

Kit Carson was a famous trapper who never got lost. Although he did recall three days when he was "a mite confused".

[Hamradioguy]

Until recently Vermont had more cows than people (We prefered it that way). I am surrounded by dairy farms, and worked many a summer on a dairy farm. I don't recall noticing cows aligning themselves to magnetic north...or any other particular direction for that matter.

I'll have to ask around among my farmer friends, but I'm skeptical. (What I DO know for sure is that you never want to stand behind a sneezing cow....)

[Amapola]

I'm not a vet... can you explain to me the difference between 'hardware disease' and pica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder))? And why feed them magnets instead of mineral supplements of whatever ferrous material their diet is lacking?




Will they pick up a paper clip through a piece of wood or Styrofoam the same thickness as your palm? I'm just curious.

Gene L already gave a good answer but this is a little bit expanded because it's kind of humorous: As explained cows are not real discriminating about what they eat and will ingest nails, wire etc. and the magnet attracts this stuff and keeps it in one place. Now, if a vet goes out to a farm for a sick cow and suspects hardware disease, one thing to do is feed the cow a magnet... but you don't want to feed the cow a magnet if there is already a magnet in the cow; the two magnets interfere with each other and are not as efficient at gathering odd metal junk. Rarely can anyone remember if that particular cow has been fed a magnet already, so the vet gets out a compass, and if the compass points at the cow... :D

I've got to admit, as soon as I saw the title of this thread that was all I could think of. Every vet I've ever known carries a compass in the truck for this reason, but of course I rib them about getting lost.

I was just up in the high country looking at some cattle, but they were all oriented to the slope of the mountain. (It was a little over 10,000' and very steep terrain.) In the winter, they seem to orient to food. I've never noticed the cattle here orienting to north, magnetic or otherwise, but maybe they only do it at special times.

[Gagglegnash]

Hi

I worked on a cattle ranch every summer all through high school and beyond.

In my experience, cattle align their front ends towards forage, and their back ends towards ranch hands.

[rjh01]

Most things have been mentioned but one has not - when are the photos taken? If around noon local time and the cows face the sun at that time then the conclusion is that they face north when in fact they face towards the sun at midday.

And as others have pointed out it would be hard to tell the difference between magnetic north and true north. In fact in certain parts of the world there is no difference.

[nzric]

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/thum_2054548b676e2a66d5.jpg (http://forums.randi.org/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=13584)
Courtesy of Gary Larsen

[alfaniner]

If around noon local time and the cows face the sun at that time then the conclusion is that they face north when in fact they face towards the sun at midday.

You must be from Australia.

[Amapola]

I'm going to have to remember to photograph the cattle when they lay down. All the fields here sit sort of strangely angled in a NE-SW configuration, and the cattle tend to lie down so they can see the ROAD - where the "food guy" comes from - and don't pay attention to compass directions at all. It's easier to see when there is snow.

[catbasket]

I don't recall noticing cows aligning themselves to magnetic north...or any other particular direction for that matter.

I'll have to ask around among my farmer friends, but I'm skeptical.

If this does turn out to be true I'll just have +1 to my amazing lack of observational powers. I have lived near dairy farms almost all my life and I have never noticed cows lying down facing the same general direction.

I'll be keeping an eye on the local fields ...


ETA - Just noticed that standing cows are allowed as well. I shall widen my field of research (sorry!)

[Skepvet]

[QUOTE=Brian-M;3983461]I'm not a vet... can you explain to me the difference between 'hardware disease' and And why feed them magnets instead of mineral supplements of whatever ferrous material their diet is lacking?



I am a small animal vet (cats and dogs) but in vet school had to learn about all the other domesticated species.

If my memory serves me hardware disease is not a form of pica. If you put a small nail in a perfectly well nourished cow's grain bucket it will likely swallow it. In fact that's how they feed the magnets. Perhaps someone with more bovine experience can elaborate.

[jadebox]

I read this in one of the reports:

With satellite images they could tell the north-south orientation of the animals, but not whether an individual cow was facing north or south. You have to get closer to tell which end is which.

Therefore, I doubt the resolution was great enough for them to tell whether the cows were facing "magnetic north," ",true north" ... or ... simply ... away from the sun.

Since the photos are taken when the sun is high in the sky, cows facing away from the sun would appear to be facing north (or south).

-- Roger

[rockinkt]

[QUOTE=Brian-M;3983461]

If my memory serves me hardware disease is not a form of pica. If you put a small nail in a perfectly well nourished cow's grain bucket it will likely swallow it. In fact that's how they feed the magnets. Perhaps someone with more bovine experience can elaborate.

I grew up on a large cattle ranch and now live in an area of many large dairy farms.
Cows eat all sorts of junk because they can't see what they are eating - and/or they just don't care. (Cattle are not bred or purchased according to brain power). It has nothing to do with any lack of minerals in their system.

In our neck of the woods - BC, Canada - the magnets are inserted via a tube down the cows throat. This invariably resulted in all concerned getting covered in cow snot. (Just another part of the idyllic life of a cattleman one never sees in a John Wayne movie ;))

Can't say that I ever noticed such specific compass alignments in our herds.
What I do know is that cows that are grazing will usually all face the same general direction.

My personal recollections and explanations are:
General herd behaviour due to possible threats or other things of interest.
Weather (butt end to the wind/rain or snow).
Time of day (one direction during the morning - other direction during afternoon/evening)
Field orientation (cows prefer to move across hills - not up and down them).

Driving through a number of fields with holsteins in them yesterday - I stopped to look for the express purpose of checking the orientation of the cattle.
There was no specific alignment as cows in one field were facing different directions to cows in neighboring fields.

Conclusion - the researchers inhaled too much methane gas during their study.

[six7s]

Assuming that cows do align northQuite an assumption on their part... based - it seems to me - on nothing more than BS-fueled confirmation bias

Driving through a number of fields with holsteins in them yesterday - I stopped to look for the express purpose of checking the orientation of the cattle.
There was no specific alignment as cows in one field were facing different directions to cows in neighboring fields.

Conclusion - the researchers inhaled too much methane gas during their study.I have a hunch that methane is a by-product of their research and any inhaling is being done by those who accept their findings

dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/26/cows-compass-north.html (http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/26/cows-compass-north.html)
Cows Use Inner Compass to Point North-South
Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press
...
The study sent Tina Hinchley, who with her husband Duane operates a dairy farm in Cambridge, Wis., to take a new look at an aerial photo taken of their farm a few years ago.

"The cows that were in the pasture were all over the place ... about two-thirds were north-south," Hinchley said.

Two-thirds is close to what the researchers found in their look at 8,510 cattle in 308 pastures. No mention of the time frame (seasonal variations), weather conditions, topography...

In the study, 60 percent to 70 percent of cattle were oriented north-south, which Begall termed a "highly significant deviation from random distribution."Oh yeah! Wow! So... it MUST be magnetism!

Hinchley stressed that one factor that must be considered is cow comfort.

"They don't like to get hot. Their body temperature is 102, and they are wearing black leather jackets, literally! If turning north-south would keep them cooler, they would stand that way."

The research team noted that in very windy conditions cattle tend to face the wind, and have been known to seek out the sun on cold days. But they said they were able to discount weather effects in the study by analyzing clues such as the position of the sun based on shadows.'Able to' rule out != 'Rightly did' rule out


"This is a surprising discovery," said Kenneth J. Lohmann of the biology department at the University of North Carolina. "Nothing like this has been observed before in cattle or in any large animal."

However Lohmann, who was not part of the research team, cautioned that "the study is based entirely on correlations. To demonstrate conclusively that cattle have a magnetic sense, some kind of experimental manipulation will eventually be needed."IOW: it's way too soon to draw ANY conclusions from what is only preliminary research (which seems, to me, as being fundamentally flawed)

"If they have evidence suggesting that mammals are using magnetic fields to orient their movements, this is very cool," said Mark A. Willis, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.Cool, yes, but that's a pretty big IF

With satellite images they could tell the north-south orientation of the animals, but not whether an individual cow was facing north or south. You have to get closer to tell which end is which.

Now the researchers are moving on to study sheep, goats, horses, wild boar and some further deer species, Begall added.Why not "get closer to tell which end is which" next?:confused: One (admittedly wild) guess is that doing so may well show that the hypothesis is BS and the funding would dry up

[madurobob]

I've got some rare-earth magnets from a big computer hard drive. It is so strong you can't pull two of them apart, pulling straight, that is. If you angle them, you can slide them apart, but not at 90 degrees.

They don't go thru my palm to stick a paper clip on the other side.
Your RE magnets must be pretty small. I have one about 2 X 1 X 3/4 (inches) that when placed on the back of my hand will easily hold a 15MM combination wrench in my palm.. with dozens of paperclips suspended from the ends of the wrench. Hold it a few inches from a CRT monitor and you can paint with the colors.

If this does turn out to be true I'll just have +1 to my amazing lack of observational powers. I have lived near dairy farms almost all my life and I have never noticed cows lying down facing the same general direction.
Me, too. I live today with a dairy farm in my backyard. The farmer already thinks I'm weird... wait'll he sees me walking amongst the herd with my Silva Spectra.

[blutoski]

Actually: I have a question about this... how do we know the cows are aligning themselves to 'magnetic' north?

How did we exclude the possibility that they are aligning to polar north instead? ie: that they are not orienting themselves in terms of the sky?

[Brian-M]

If my memory serves me hardware disease is not a form of pica. If you put a small nail in a perfectly well nourished cow's grain bucket it will likely swallow it. In fact that's how they feed the magnets. Perhaps someone with more bovine experience can elaborate.

Sorry, I thought you meant the cows were deliberately eating metal objects. My mistake. :)

[six7s]

how do we know the cows are aligning themselves to 'magnetic' north?We don't... and many, many observations indicate that cows are not aligning towards any particular sector on the compass

I suspect that for "Scientific Assistants (http://www.uni-due.de/zoology/begall)" at Douchebag-Eating University, field research doesn't actually involve going into any fields

[George152]

[QUOTE I'm not a dairy farmer, but cows don't eat ferrous materials becuase their diet is lacking. They eat it accidently. Wires from hay, stuff that happens to fall into hay, etc. The magnets just collect the stuff so it doesn't get passed along, of it it does, it all gets passed at the same time. Right, Farmer/Vet?




It makes it all into a ball in the cows gut.
Either to be removed by a vet or left until the cow dies of old age or the meatworks

[Tristan Chi]

It may deserve to be pointed out that the theory applies perfectly to cows located on the South or North Pole, although I doubt this has been empirically verified.

[TiaH]

So what's the margin of error here? Does standing northeast to southwest count as north to south. And were these cows/deer aligning themselves according to geographic north/south or magnetic north south which is slightly different these days and would vary according to longitude.

Well...since my study was only anecdotal and watching cows is BORING, I'd have to say that my study probably had a pretty wide margin of error. The the study about being on the south end of the northbound cow....now THAT study was done every time I had some city kid come and visit...however, they only fell for it once.