# Why do the male cows on "Back at the Barnyard" have udders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194 "2008-04-06T17:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/1 "2008-04-06T17:33:20Z")
My kids are watching “Back at Barnyard” right now. I find it irritating to the point of distraction that the male cows have udders. Not only that but they don’t have horns. I believe the show has also sometimes shown normal (udderless) bulls. For some reason the show appears to have created a third sex of “male” heifers with udders. Even my 8-year-old knows this is inane and has commented on it. My question is _why_ is this show doing this? Are they actually just that stupid that they think male cows have udders? Has no one, at any point in the production of either the movie or the TV show ever pointed this out to the animators? Have they ever been asked about this? It drives me nuts when my kids have the show on. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/2 "2008-04-06T17:36:47Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Not only that but they don’t have horns. [/QUOTE] Not all bulls have horns. Many (female) cows do. It is a common misconception that horns are a male trait. But yeah, the udders on the bulls are an annoying error. [Barnyard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414853/) also featured that mistake. (Is _Back at the Barnyard_ related? A spin-off or something?) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/3 "2008-04-06T17:38:17Z")
I have long since stopped being surprised at the stupidity of others, and committees can be far stupiders than their individual members. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/4 "2008-04-06T17:45:11Z")
Maybe it’s a censorship thing. If the bulls are not castrated, they should have giant scrotums there instead. Also, these would be difficult to animate during running scenes. I’m sure there are several bovine programs, being broadcast on the secret TVs they have in barns, which give large mammaries to human males. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/5 "2008-04-06T17:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] (Is _Back at the Barnyard_ related? A spin-off or something?) [/QUOTE] Yeah, it’s a TV series on Nickelodeon based on the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/6 "2008-04-06T17:49:08Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] My kids are watching “Back at Barnyard” right now. I find it irritating to the point of distraction that the male cows have udders. Not only that but they don’t have horns. I believe the show has also sometimes shown normal (udderless) bulls. For some reason the show appears to have created a third sex of “male” heifers with udders. Even my 8-year-old knows this is inane and has commented on it. My question is _why_ is this show doing this? Are they actually just that stupid that they think male cows have udders? Has no one, at any point in the production of either the movie or the TV show ever pointed this out to the animators? Have they ever been asked about this? It drives me nuts when my kids have the show on. [/QUOTE] I’m going with incredible stupidity myself. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/7 "2008-04-06T17:53:34Z")
So it’s udders and not scrotums? How weird. And, as has been pointed out, horns are not gender specific in cattle although a bull’s horns are generally going to be longer and thicker than a cow’s. Some breeds have them, some are born hornless (polled). Many horned cattle are dehorned by the farmer. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/8 "2008-04-06T20:27:45Z")
Because udders are just inherently funny looking? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/9 "2008-04-06T21:14:44Z")
It’s acknowledgement of the bovine transgendered. These were bulls who felt trapped in a cow’s body, or vice-versa. The ones you saw were probably halfway through their gender reassignment. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/10 "2008-04-06T21:19:15Z")
“Don’t you oppress me! _Moooooooo!_” ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/11 "2008-04-06T21:25:21Z")
[QUOTE=Charger] Maybe it’s a censorship thing. If the bulls are not castrated, they should have giant scrotums there instead. Also, these would be difficult to animate during running scenes. [/QUOTE] I would think think that the modeling of two suspended spheres would be relatively straightforward. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/12 "2008-04-06T22:30:52Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Not all bulls have horns. Many (female) cows do. It is a common misconception that horns are a male trait. But yeah, the udders on the bulls are an annoying error. [Barnyard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414853/) also featured that mistake. (Is _Back at the Barnyard_ related? A spin-off or something?) [/QUOTE] That movie really annoyed me. Fortunately we saw it on DVD so I didn’t offend other theater goers with my constant exclamations that male cattle do not have udders. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/13 "2008-04-06T22:33:17Z")
My seven-and-a-half-year-old daughter says it’s because, “it’s just a **show** and it doesn’t really matter.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/14 "2008-04-06T22:37:03Z")
By the way–shouldn’t it be “male bovines” or “male cattle”? Cows are by definition female, no? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/15 "2008-04-06T22:52:16Z")
Maybe it’s the hormones the farmers are giving them. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/16 "2008-04-06T22:52:48Z")
[QUOTE=VernWinterbottom] My seven-and-a-half-year-old daughter says it’s because, “it’s just a **show** and it doesn’t really matter.” [/QUOTE] You don’t think this makes us…well…fanbois? I mean, it’s one thing if you’re debating the pass code on Kirk’s safe in episode 115, that’s standard geek fare. It’s quite another to go on and on, emotionally, about Bovine Udder dysmorphic syndrome in a spin-off cartoon from a minor movie. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/17 "2008-04-06T22:53:39Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] By the way–shouldn’t it be “male bovines” or “male cattle”? Cows are by definition female, no? [/QUOTE] Is this one of the rare occasions where the female of a species is the “norm”? The female is cow or heifer. A male cow/cattle/kine/bovine is called a bull, anyway. Unless he is a castrated bull, then he is a steer. Like “goose” - the female goose is a goose, the male is a gander. Barnyard critters, maybe that’s why. But let’s see: goat is not gender specific, a female goat is a doe or nanny, the male a buck or billy; the female duck is a hen and the male is a drake; the female horse is a mare or filly, the male a stallion or colt unless he’s castrated, then he’s a gelding ; the dog - the female dog is a bitch, the male dog is a dog; the cat - the female cat is a queen, the male is a tom. Sheep - the female is a ewe, the male a ram, unless he’s been castrated in which case he’s a wether. Chicken or fowl - the female is a hen, the male a cock or rooster, unless he’s castrated in which case he’s a capon. But if someone says “chicken”, they usually mean female, don’t they? I was about to proclaim some universal rule and have proven myself wrong so that’s that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/18 "2008-04-06T22:53:46Z")
According to several sources, one of which cites _Nick_ magazine (October, 2006), the director of “Barnyard” thought that bulls and steers with udders would be funny. The inconsistency with which udders appear is said to have resulted from a mid-production change in plans, but there’s no cite for this. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/19 "2008-04-06T23:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=vison] Is this one of the rare occasions where the female of a species is the “norm”? The female is cow or heifer. A male cow/cattle/kine/bovine is called a bull, anyway. Unless he is a castrated bull, then he is a steer. [/QUOTE] Grimly, Merriam-Webster’s agrees with you. As I cannot let this illogic stand, I am hereby renouncing my renouncing of my ambitions for world conquest. Third on my agenda after the conquest will be making referring to “male cows” punishable by death. Now if you’ll excuse me I have an army of undead cyborg winged venomous flame-spitting howler monkeys to raise. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194/20 "2008-04-06T23:23:18Z")
Wasn’t _Barnyard_ just a big “Far Side” rip-off? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-male-cows-on-back-at-the-barnyard-have-udders/444194.md?page=2)