How to determine the age of a cattle cow: top 2 ways

The volume of milk received from a cow, the quality of bull meat depend on the age of the cattle. Therefore, before acquiring an animal, it is necessary to learn how to determine the age of a cow, other cattle. Such foresight will allow you to get a good benefit and not regret your purchase in the future. They know the age of an animal by its teeth and horns.

General advice while shopping

Before buying a cow, you need to decide what is better to buy: young cattle or an adult animal. Each option has its positive and negative points. Also pay attention to the appearance of the cow to determine if it is he althy or not.

If getting milk is not the main purpose of the purchase or you can do without it for a while, then you can buy a heifer. This is a pregnant or pregnant heifer. As a result, 2 animals will be bought. After a while, milk will appear. But the heifer is more expensive and it is impossible to determine the amount of milk in the future.

If you buy an adult cow, it is better to buy an animal between 2 and 5 calving.

Older cattle will have less milk, although there are individuals with higher milk yields after 7-9 lactations. The he alth of the cow affects the amount of milk. The table briefly outlines the external signs of a sick and he althy cow.

Sick cattle Intact, hairyEdematous, receding hairlineWoolSmooth, shinyDirty, baldEyesClear, no sournessDim, recessedNostrils Udder Behavior

Physique	Square back, clean back, full scar	Protruding spine, hump near neck, messy tail and bald hind thighs, protruding ribs, inverted belly
Hooves	Whole, regular	Long, twisted
Knees


Clean	With secretions
Intact, clean	Dirty, with wounds and calluses
Active, confident	Nervous

Choosing cattle is better with a veterinarian. It is advisable to choose a local breed adapted to weather conditions, but this is not necessary.

How to determine the age of an animal by horns

This is an accurate method for identifying age. In a calf, it is determined by the length of the horns, in an adult cow, by the horn rings. The growth stages of the horns, depending on the number of days and months of the young, are shown in the table below. Status of horns

NewbornNot visible 14-16 days 30-35 days Hair falls out and a horny nucleus forms2 months Sharp horns appear about 1 centimeter longFrom 2nd to 20th month Horns grow 1 centimeter every month


Skin wrinkles

To find out the age of young cattle in months, you need to measure the length of the longest side of the horn and add 1 to the resulting value. This method is valid for calves younger than 20 months. In the future, the horns grow more slowly, and the age is determined by the horn rings or intercepts.

At the end of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation, the cow's body spends most of the nutrients from the feed on the formation of the fetus and milk.

Therefore, during this period, the horns grow more slowly, then the process normalizes. As a result, intercepts or horn rings are formed.

Normally a cow calves every year, so by knowing the number of interceptions, you can determine the age of the animal. To do this, 1.5-2 years are added to the number of rings - the time when the cow was still a heifer. If the cattle was dry and did not calve in some year, then this will be noticeable by increasing the distance between interceptions by 2 times. In this case, add 1. to the final number

Determining the age of a cow by teeth

You can also tell the age of a cow by its teeth. In total, an animal has 32 teeth. The lower jaw has 12 molars and 8 incisors. On the top - 12 indigenous. The incisors are divided into 4 pairs:

there are 2 hooks in the middle;
followed by a pair of medium inside;
next 2 middle outer;
extreme 2 are called edges or edges.

At birth, a calf can have 2 to 8 milk incisors. Basically, the age of a cow is determined by the incisors - milk, and then indigenous. The remaining teeth are taken into account as auxiliary "material". The change of incisors can be divided into 3 stages:

dairy;
transitional between dairy and indigenous;
root.

The milk stage begins at the birth of the calf and ends at 18 months. Detailed changes are shown in the table below.

Newborns 20 day All milk teeth come out.They cling to each other4-6 weeks Teeth are aligned, slight abrasion at the toes is noticeable Erasing first of internal averages, then external averages Crowns are rounding, edges are beginning to flatten Noticeable wear on toes, medium inside and outside Edges are being erased Milk teeth are halved Milk hooks wobble and fall out

Have 2 to 8 teeth

	8-10 weeks
	3-4 months
	4-6 months
	9 months
	12-14 months
	15-18 months

The transitional period lasts from 20 months to 4 years. Changes are shown in the table.

External averages emerge3 years 3 months-3.5 yearsExternal permanent flatten3.5-4 yearsPermanent edges appear

Age	Cattle teeth condition
18-20 months	Permanent incisors appear
2-2.5 years	Internal averages emerge
2 years 9 months-3 years

The number of years in adult animals is determined by the molars.

7Hooks and inside averages become quadrangular8 9-10 11-13 14-15 Total erasure of incisors to the roots15 or more Drop

Age, in years	The condition of the molars
5	Erasing permanent edges, gaps appear between the incisors
6	Hooks and inside averages halve

Edges and outer middles are reduced by half
All incisors take on a quadrangular appearance and are reduced to half
Incisors take the shape of a circle or oval, consist mostly of a neck, enamel disappears

By combining methods of determination, you can accurately determine the age of cattle. At the same time, it is imperative to analyze the appearance of the cow so as not to buy a sick animal.