Will Cows Eat Snow?

Call it crazy, but I was watching the snow fall last night here in southern Missouri and I got to thinking about my years growing up in Wisconsin.  Stay with me here, I have a train of thought that, rather strangely, comes to a point (this is how my brain works).  So, thinking of snowy Wisconsin got me to thinking about one of my all-time favorite pets, a beautiful, blue eyed Siberian Husky.  I always had a ball with her in the snow, she just plain loved it.  As we would play in the snow, as all dogs (especially sled dogs) do, she would eat some snow as she got thirsty.  That got me thinking about cows (here comes my point), strange, isn't it-how my brain works?  Anyway, I began to wonder if cows eat snow when they are thirsty.  A quick search on the internet later, and I got my answer.  Yes, they do.  There are even some benefits to it, like:

• They will intake an adequate amount for their health
• Snow will not make them sick
• It does not affect the birthweight of calves
• Using snow as the water source can lessen production costs

One thing to keep in mind is that a newly lactating cow needs lots of water and, in this case, snow will not be adequate.  Read the linked article for more info.