Farm Animals
Farm animals are raised on farms for their meat and dairy products or to help out the farmers.
What are farm animals for kids?
Farm animals are animals that are raised and kept for agricultural purposes. They include cows, chickens, pigs, geese, and more.
Kids love farm animals – they’re a staple part of primary school learning, especially in younger kids, and seem to have transfixed children for generations.
It’s important to teach about farm animals for kids and how farms work for various reasons. For one, kids must know and understand where their food comes from. This can help kids appreciate their meals more, understand how it ends up on their plate, and have some awareness of the issues surrounding this – food doesn’t (all) grow on trees!
Teaching farm animals to kids is also a good way of introducing kids to wildlife and explaining that animals all require different types of care and have different needs. This is particularly the case when it comes to food, shelter, and care – you have to be patient and observant when dealing with animals and their needs, which is an important quality to encourage in children.
Helping kids understand the processes of where food comes from encourages them to be less wasteful and appreciate that food doesn’t all just come from shops and supermarkets. This level of understanding is beneficial and promotes a more significant curiosity for various foods.
Teaching farm animals to kids is also an excellent opportunity to teach kids about the importance of nature and weather since farming is affected by this every day, and farmers have to work with and around nature to make ends meet. Rain, temperatures, wind, and other elements are all hugely important in farming, and working with nature is vital.
Farms are also great for teaching about safety and being aware of your surroundings. Many animals and equipment exist, so farms can be potentially risky environments if not treated with respect. This is an excellent opportunity to help teach your kids to follow essential rules and keep their wits about them, behaving responsibly and maturely, as there’s no room for messing about on a farm.
Farms and farm animals can also teach kids about the circle of life regularly encountered on farms.
There’s also a considerable benefit in teaching young kids about farms, as it can aid their learning and development in plenty of ways. For example, when we’re teaching about farms, animals, and the noises they make, we’re also helping kids learn and master their language, phonics, and ability to remember names and associate them with correct animals.
Here, we’ll discuss some of the main farm animals and their features.
Cows
Cows are a favorite of many kids. They live on farms and provide us with milk to make dairy products like cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream! Cows might also be kept for their beef. Nowadays, farmers tend to keep dairy or beef cattle rather than use the same cows for both. Female cows are the ones that give milk, male cows are called bulls, and baby cows are called calves.
Horses
Horses also live on the farm and help the farmer with their day-to-day work. For example, horses can pull trailers, wagons, and plows. People also ride horses, and they can travel great distances. A male horse is called a stallion, and a female horse is called a mare.
Goats
Goats are also commonly found on farms. They can be milked like cows, and their milk can be used to make cheese, butter, yogurt, and even soap. A baby goat is cutely called a kid. They were one of the first animals to be tamed by humans, and historians think they were being herded over 9,000 years ago!
Chickens
Chickens are kept either for their meat or to lay eggs. Female chickens lay eggs. They are known as hens. They tend to lay 1-2 eggs each day. A male chicken is called a rooster – they’re responsible for the early morning “Cock-a-doodle-do”, one of the many fun noises kids will learn about from farms. Baby chickens are called chicks. It’s thought that they were domesticated in China around 8,000 years ago.
Pigs
Pigs are reared on farms for their meat – we get pork, bacon, and sausages from pigs. Pigs live in a peng, which is referred to as a sty. They’re often seen rolling around in the mud because it helps them keep cool as they can’t sweat like other animals. While many people see pigs as slow and lazy animals, they’re pretty quick and can run at speeds of up to 11mph, not bad! Female pigs are called sows, male pigs are called boars, and baby pigs are called piglets.
Geese
You might also find geese on a farm – female geese lay eggs like chickens. Male geese are called ganders, and baby geese are called goslings. On land or in water, a group of geese is called a gaggle. When they’re in the air, they’re called skeins. A mother goose will have around 4-5 goslings at a time.
