The volume of milk obtained from a cow and the quality of bull meat depend on the age of the cattle. Therefore, before purchasing an animal, you need to find out how to determine the age of a cow or other cattle. Such forethought will allow you to get good benefits and not regret the purchase in the future. The age of an animal is determined by its teeth and horns.
General recommendations during purchase
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 aspects.Also pay attention to appearance of a cowto determine whether she is healthy or not.
If obtaining milk is not the main purpose of the purchase or you can do without it for some time, then you can purchase a heifer. This is a pregnant or pregnant heifer. As a result, 2 animals will be purchased. After some time, milk will appear. But heifers are more expensive and it is impossible to determine the amount of milk yield in the future.
If you are buying an adult cow, it is better to purchase an animal between 2 and 5 calvings.
Older cattle will have less milk, although there are individuals with large milk yields even after 7-9 lactations. The amount of milk produced is influenced by the health of the cow. The table briefly outlines the external signs of a sick and healthy cow.
| Healthy livestock | Sick livestock | |
| Body type | Flat back, clean hindquarters, full scar | Protruding ridge, hump near the neck, dirty tail and hairless hind thighs, prominent ribs, retracted belly |
| Hooves | Whole, correct | Long, curling |
| Knees | Undamaged, covered with fur | Edema, with receding hairline |
| Wool | Smooth, shiny | Dirty, with bald spots |
| Eyes | Clear, no souring | Dull, recessed |
| Nostrils | Clean | With discharge |
| Udder | Undamaged, clean | Dirty, with wounds and calluses |
| Behavior | Active, confident | Nervous |
It is better to choose cattle together 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 its horns
This is an accurate age identification method. In a calf it is determined by the length of the horns, in an adult cow - by the horn rings. The stages of growth of horns depending on the number of days and months of the young are shown in the table below.
| Age | Condition of the horns |
| Newborn | Not visible |
| 14-16 days | Skin folds form |
| 30-35 days | Hair falls out and a horny nucleus forms |
| 2 months | Sharp horns about 1 centimeter long appear |
| From 2 to 20 months | Horns grow 1 centimeter every month |
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 age is determined by the horn rings or interceptions.
At the end of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation, the cow's body spends most of the nutrients from the feed to form the fetus and milk.
Usually a cow calves every year, so knowing the number of interceptions, you can determine the age of the animal. To do this, add 1.5-2 years to the number of rings - the time when the cow was still a heifer. If the cattle were barren and did not calve in a certain year, then this will be noticeable by the increase in the distance between interceptions by 2 times. In this case, you need to 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, the animal has 32 teeth. There are 12 molars and 8 incisors on the lower jaw. On the top there are 12 molars. The incisors are divided into 4 pairs:
- in the middle there are 2 hooks;
- then comes a pair of middle inner ones;
- then 2 middle outer ones;
- the outermost 2 are called edges or edges.
At birth, a calf can have from 2 to 8 primary incisors. Basically, the age of a cow is determined by its incisors - milk, and then molars. The remaining teeth are taken into account as auxiliary “material”.Changing the incisors can be divided into 3 stages:
- lactic;
- transitional between dairy and indigenous;
- root.
The milk stage begins with the birth of the calf and ends at 18 months. The changes are detailed in the table below.
| Age | Condition of young animals' teeth |
| Newborns | Have from 2 to 8 teeth |
| Day 20 | All baby teeth come out. They cling to each other |
| 4-6 weeks | The teeth are aligned, slight abrasion is noticeable at the toes |
| 8-10 weeks | The internal averages are erased first, then the outer averages |
| 3-4 months | Crowns are rounded, edges begin to align |
| 4-6 months | Noticeably strong abrasion of the hooks, middle internal and external |
| 9 months | The edges are erased |
| 12-14 months | Baby teeth are reduced by half |
| 15-18 months | Wobbling and loss of milk hooks |
The transition period lasts from 20 months to 4 years. The changes are shown in the table.
| Age | Condition of cattle teeth |
| 18-20 months | Permanent incisors appear |
| 2-2.5 years | Average internal ones appear |
| 2 years 9 months-3 years | Average outer ones appear |
| 3 years 3 months-3.5 years | External constants equalize |
| 3.5-4 years | Permanent edges appear |
The number of years in adult animals is determined by the molars.
| Age, in years | Condition of molars |
| 5 | Erasure of permanent edges, gaps appear between incisors |
| 6 | Hooks and inner mids are reduced by half |
| 7 | The hooks and internal middle ones take on a quadrangular shape |
| 8 | Edges and outer middles are reduced by half |
| 9-10 | All incisors take on a quadrangular appearance and are reduced to half |
| 11-13 | The incisors take the shape of a circle or oval, consist mostly of a neck, the enamel disappears |
| 14-15 | Complete erasure of incisors to the roots |
| 15 or more | Dropping out |
By combining determination methods, it is possible to accurately determine the age of cattle.At the same time, be sure to analyze the appearance of the cow so as not to buy a sick animal.
