
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Farmer Bill's 1000 animals - ducks, cows, and rabbits - are standing in a circle. In order to feel safe, every duck must either be standing next to at least one cow or between two rabbits. If there are 600 ducks, what is the least number of cows there can be for this to be possible?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user