If cows dream (MIT researchers have evidence that animals do dream…), what do they dream about?
Well, we hope a day in the life at the sanctuary lines up pretty close to a dream-like existence for a cow, pig, or anyone, really.
Hank, our most recently rescued calf, joined the herd not too long ago, which means he is adapting to his normal schedule.
We think he'd describe his dreamy day like this:
8 am – Hey there! My friends that walk on two feet are arriving! I’m hanging out with my four-feet friends, who are just starting to move around. We’re still in the same spot in the pasture where we went to sleep last night. Don’t tell the others, but my best buddies are Brownie, Shiloh, Eliza, and Luna.
9 am – Ok, I’m bored. No one else is ready to get up, but I can’t take it. My two-feet friends are busy. Hopefully, I’ll get some attention from them soon. I’ll just munch on some grass until then.
11 am – Yay! The two-feet friends are coming with some extra cattle cubes, maybe even some hay.
11:02 am – I’m so excited; time to put my tail up in the air and run.
11:15 am – I’ll probably have to wait until all the bigger cows have gotten their share, but maybe I can sneak in a bit early while they aren’t looking. I can’t wait until I’m big so I get some of those special sandwiches the older cows get.
2 pm – You know what? I could eat. I’m down for some serious grazing on this grass.
4 pm – Ooh, that patch of grass by Brownie looks good. I’m going to move over there. This is nice. I like grazing. I'm going to see how much grass I can get in my mouth all at once.
4:05 pm – Hm, most of the grass fell out of my mouth. I'll try that again.
6 pm – I have the best friends. Maybe Luna will be ok with me laying with her for a few. Maybe she'll groom me for a little bit. That would be nice.
7 pm – I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit.
Note: Hank needs to eat about 3-5% of his total body weight each day while he is growing.
He spends most of the morning and afternoon grazing. And he's getting bigger every day. It's hard to remember that he came in because his growth was stunted - and he was days from going to the slaughter auction. He's just such a sweet boy, and making friends with his big pasture-mates.
We love hearing from you. What do you think cows dream about?
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AWE! 😘 I love Hank 🐄 💚 His days are now filled with happy diary entries 😁💖. What kind of cow 🐄 is Hank? Is he Brahma? Anyway, I just adore his ears. 😘🐄💚
I bet they dream exactly as you described in the post! When I watch my animals sleep and notice their faces and body motion, they look relaxed as if they are enjoying something peaceful. However, when they are first rescued from a bad situation, I would not be surprised if their dreams were disturbing, until they feel safe in their new surroundings and have people they can trust. Sweet dreams to ALL animals everywhere.
Wonderful article and I often see my dog dreaming - twitching 😉 his legs as he is running perhaps in the dream and hope it's a wonderful dream for him. Your organization is so caring and helping so many animals that really need love and attention that you provide. If I ever get close to your location I will schedule a visit as I would love to see it and all the animals you have helped.
Sharon Blewitt
Cows dream about listening to good moosic while grazing in the calf-eteria. 😊