Broken Mouth

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It refers to the teeth, very loose or missing teeth are broken mouth, the stage before is called short and solid. Once a cow reaches short and solid it gets harder the age them accurately. Harsh forage or abrasive feed can shorten the teeth before they really are all that old. When a cow is broken mouthed her ability to eat and process feed is reduced and can't generally carry as good a body condition or make as much milk for her calf. More then you wanted to know, but ...........

dunmovin farms

> I saw an advertisement for cattle
> auction and it referred to two
> cows as broken mouth.What is that?
 
> It refers to the teeth, very loose
> or missing teeth are broken mouth,
> the stage before is called short
> and solid. Once a cow reaches
> short and solid it gets harder the
> age them accurately. Harsh forage
> or abrasive feed can shorten the
> teeth before they really are all
> that old. When a cow is broken
> mouthed her ability to eat and
> process feed is reduced and can't
> generally carry as good a body
> condition or make as much milk for
> her calf. More then you wanted to
> know, but ...........

> dunmovin farms

Thanks for the response!I am always willing to learn.

Homer

[email protected]
 
What is considered harsh forage? I have mostly fescue, clover, ky bluegrass and orchard grass pasture.

Abrasive feed? is that whole corn?

When a cow becomes ss... does that mean they are normally between 10 and 12 yrs old?

Is a broken mouth usually around 13-15 yrs old and then a popcorn mouth (considered old) after about 15 yrs of age??
 
thank you all for the help... I've been looking at some short solid cows and was wondering if they'd live long enough to have 3 or 4 calves for me and it sounds like they would.

Someone told me if the hay was baled too tight a cow could break off a tooth just reaching in for it and perhaps that's what happened to some of these really young cows you all are talking about.

thanks again
 
MoGal":1rnec8xo said:
What is considered harsh forage? I have mostly fescue, clover, ky bluegrass and orchard grass pasture.

Abrasive feed? is that whole corn?

When a cow becomes ss... does that mean they are normally between 10 and 12 yrs old?

Is a broken mouth usually around 13-15 yrs old and then a popcorn mouth (considered old) after about 15 yrs of age??

abrasive feed? correct me someone if'n i'm wrong but i would consider that to be any high fiber feed low protein feed like cottonseed hulls soy hulls citrus pulp mainly used for roughage or *filler* like we call it.
We don't get that technical about cow's teeth and the terms used. Their teeth fall out we call em gummers maybe change their diet a little. Wheat pasture is great in the winter months. But normally they are culled (sold) soon as possible.
 
Harsh forage would be grasses like bahia and weeping love grass. Those forages will wear a cow out before her time. I have also seen cows mouths that had excessive wear when grass was short due to drought and they were running on very sandy soils.

dunmovin":2jask79a said:
Harsh forage or abrasive feed can shorten the teeth before they really are all that old. When a cow is broken mouthed her ability to eat and process feed is reduced and can't generally carry as good a body condition or make as much milk for her calf.
 

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