What's the difference between the ox, cow and the bull?

You would have heard of the ox, the bull and the cow. Then there are the related names like the oxen, cattle and buffalo. While in the restaurant and looking at the selection of steak, this topic around the moo-moo (yes, they both moo) came up, and I did some research on their similarities and differences.

First things first

• You can collectively call them as cattle.
• ‘Oxen’ is the plural for the ox.
• If you are wondering about the bull, both the ox and bull are male but the ox is castrated. Bulls can breed.

So we are looking at essentially the ox and the cow. Whats the difference?

Gender.

The ox is the male while the cow is the female.

Appearance wise,

• You would see that the ox is used to do jobs such as pulling carts and plowing while the cow is allowed to graze, providing the milk supply and meat.
• It is a misconception that the ox has horns but the cow does not.  Some cows do have horns!
• The ox looks bigger and bulkier than the cow as it is used for laborious tasks.

Learn also on the difference between the lamb, sheep and goat

Other cow-related tidbits

• The ox is castrated after reaching sexual maturity. The steer is male that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity. 
• The calf is a young cow or bull. The heifer is a young cow.
• Yaks look similar to the ox but are different animals.
• The buffalo and cow are different animals. The buffalo is a also a more common name for the bison.

And yes the beef you are eating could be from the ox, the cow or the bull.

Hope this was useful for you!
EUFASS