Editing User:Raven/ignore me (section)

=== Description ===

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Cattle are large [[artiodactyl]]s, [[mammal]]s with [[cloven hooves]], meaning that they walk on two toes, the third and fourth digits. Like all bovid species, they can have horns, which are unbranched and are not shed annually.<ref>{{cite web |title=Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives: Introduction |url=http://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/i10713.pdf |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |access-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117012951/http://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/i10713.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2024 |pages=1–23 |url-status=live}}</ref> Coloration varies with breed; common colors are black, white, and red/brown, and some breeds are spotted or have mixed colors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rolf |first1=Megan |title=Color Patterns in Crossbred Beef Cattle |url=https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/color-patterns-in-crossbred-beef-cattle.html |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma]] Extension |access-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204134435/https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/color-patterns-in-crossbred-beef-cattle.html |archive-date=4 December 2023 |page=AFS-3173 |date=February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Bulls are larger than cows of the same breed by up to a few hundred kilograms. British Hereford cows, for example, weigh {{cvt|600|-|800|kg}}, while the bulls weigh {{cvt|1000|-|1200|kg}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cattlenetwork.net/breeds/hereford.htm |title=Hereford cattle weight |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124050154/http://www.cattlenetwork.net/breeds/hereford.htm |archive-date=24 January 2015}}</ref> Before 1790, beef cattle averaged only {{convert|350|lb|order=flip|abbr=on}} net. Thereafter, weights climbed steadily.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gallman |first1=Robert E. |last2=Wallis |first2=John Joseph |title=American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War |year=2007 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-1-2812-2349-4 |page=248}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://beefmagazine.com/genetics/0201-increased-beef-cows |title=Cattle increasing in size |last=McMurry |first=Bryan |access-date=5 May 2015 |website=Beef Magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503101557/http://beefmagazine.com/genetics/0201-increased-beef-cows |archive-date=3 May 2015 |date=February 1, 2009}}</ref><!--<ref>{{cite book |last=Mathews |first=Kenneth H. |title=U.S. Beef Industry: Cattle Cycles, Price Spreads, and Packer concentration |year=1999 |publisher=[[US Department of Agriculture]] |page=6}}</ref>-->
Cattle breeds vary widely in size; the tallest and heaviest is the [[Chianina]], where a mature bull may be up to {{cvt|1.8|m}} at the shoulder, and may reach {{cvt|1280|kg}} in weight.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chianina |url=https://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/44/chianina |website=The Cattle Site |access-date=26 March 2024 |date=29 September 2022}}</ref>
The natural life of domestic cattle is some 25–30 years. Beef cattle go to slaughter at around 18 months, and dairy cows at about five years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cattle factsheet |url=https://education.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494931/0/FS+Cattle+Factsheet.pdf/7e17fe59-ca4d-fbec-ef60-fd1f2a9eff3f?t=1555165974046 |publisher=[[RSPCA]] |access-date=13 February 2024}}</ref>