Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow poop or cow manure, is the waste (faeces) of Bovinae animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residue of plant matter which has passed through the animal's gut. The resultant feces is rich in . Color ranges from greenish to blackish, often darkening soon after exposure to air.
The Tantric Buddhist ritual manuals Jayavatī-nāma-mahāvidyārāja-dhāraṇī and Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi recommend use of cow dung to purify mandala altars.
Dung may also be collected and used to produce biogas to generate electricity and heat. The gas is rich in methane and is used in rural areas of India and Pakistan and elsewhere to provide a renewable and stable (but unsustainable) source of electricity.
Cow dung is nowadays used for making flower and plant pots. It is plastic free, biodegradable and eco-friendly. Unlike plastic grow bags which harm nature, cow dung pots dissolves naturally and becomes excellent manure for the plant. From 20 July 2020, State Government of Chhattisgarh India started buying cow dung under the Godhan Nyay Yojana scheme. Cow dung procured under this scheme will be utilised for the production of vermicompost fertilizer.
Similarly, in India, floors are traditionally smeared with cow dung to clean and smoothen them. Purananuru, generally dated 150 BCE,
mentions women of Tamil Nadu smear cow dung on the floors at the 13th day after her husband's death to purify the house. Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle, who visited India in 1624, observed that the locals - including Christians - smeared floor with cow dung to purify it and repel insects. Tryambaka-yajvan's Strī-dharma-paddhati (18th century), which narrates a modified version of the Mahabharata legend about how the goddess Lakshmi came to reside in cow dung, instructs women to make their homes pure and prosperous by coating them with cow-dung. Many among modern generations have challenged this practice as unclean.In 2021, the Government of India's Khadi and Village Industries Commission launched the Khadi Prakritik paint, which has cow dung as its main ingredient, promoting it as an eco-friendly paint with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.
In Rwanda, it is used in an art form called imigongo.
Cow dung is also an optional ingredient in the manufacture of adobe mud brick housing depending on the availability of materials at hand.
A deposit of cow dung is referred to in American English as a "cow pie" or less commonly "cow chip" (usually when dried) and in British English as a "cowpat". When dry, it is used in the practice of "cow chip throwing" popularized in Beaver, Oklahoma in 1970. Town of Beaver, Oklahoma On April 21, 2001 Robert Deevers of Elgin, Oklahoma, set the record for cow chip throwing with a distance of .
In areas where cattle (or other mammals with similar dung) are not native, there are often also no native species which can break down their dung, and this can lead to infestations of pests such as flies and parasitic worms. In Australia, from elsewhere have been introduced to help recycle the cattle dung back into the soil. (see the Australian Dung Beetle Project and Dr. George Bornemissza).Bornemissza, G. F. (1976), The Australian dung beetle project 1965-1975, Australian Meat Research Committee Review 30:1-30
Cattle have a natural aversion to feeding around their own dung. This can lead to the formation of taller ungrazed patches of heavily fertilized sward. These habitat patches, termed "islets", can be beneficial for many grassland arthropods, including spiders (Araneae) and bugs (Hemiptera). They have an important function in maintaining biodiversity in heavily utilized pastures.Dittrich, A. D. K. and Helden A. J. 2012. Experimental sward islets: the effect of dung and fertilisation on Hemiptera and Araneae. Insect Conservation and Diversity 5:46-56.
Bison dung is sometimes referred to by the name nik-nik. This word is a borrowing from the Sioux language (which probably originally borrowed it from a northern source). In modern Sioux, nik-nik can refer to the feces of any bovine, including domestic cattle. It has also come to be used, especially in Lakota language, to refer to lies or broken promises, analogously to the vulgar English term "bullshit" as a figure of speech.
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