How long do they live

[lancemart]

How long does a cow milk for? How long do they live in good conditions.

 

[milkmaid]

dairy or beef?

 

[lancemart]

dairy or beef?

Dairy

 

[milkmaid]

National average on a dairy is about 1.6 lactations.

Owned by an individual and living on a farm in similar-to-beef-cow conditions... might give you 10 years. Maybe more. I've seen 13+ y/o nurse cows. The two biggest reasons for culling are udder and repro problems, so as long as yours holds up and breeds back you should get plenty of years out of her. My 311 nurse cow is 7 or 8 years old now, and I don't see her dropping over anytime soon.

 

[never2old2learn-ron]

Growing up in the 40's and 50's we had a guernsey that we milked until she was 11. Main reason for pulling her from the herd was her teats got too big for the milker. Of course back then everyone kept their cows a lot longer. Lots of 5 & 6 year olds. But like Milkmaid said, now after a couple lactations, they are culled

 

[Darhawk]

For me the magic number is ten years, nurse or milking, for being usefull, conditions-health permitting. Then it's to sale barn or meat-packing, whichever gives the best price return. As far as your title on living, they'll live much longer.

 

[TexasBred]

Dairy cattle live a very stress filled life even though they are fed huge amounts of feed and taken care of well by a good responsible owner. We expect them to give 100 lbs. of milk per day, maintain good health and breed back in these stressful environments. As MilkMaid said, failure to breed back in a timely manner or udder problems cause many to be culled quickly. Those in freestall barns stay on concrete all their life and have feed problems not only related to this but the high moisture environment. Some dairies milk 3 and 4 times per day. Cows really have little time to rest. But, that said, I know of a lot of dairy cattle in grazing operations that milk well into their "teens" simply because they have been able to avoid all of the problems mentioned above. But they are the few lucky ones.

 

[bigbull338]

weve milked a few cows till they was 17 or 18yrs old.an thats running them though the dairy 2x a day.an had 1 or 2 cows never really knew their age.but a family milk cow should last 10 or 12yrs.unless she dont breed back.or get bad health probs.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I haven't kept one long for one reason or another. The one I currently have is only 4 1/2 years old. Dad had a Jersey nurse cow/milk cow that lived a very long time. I can distinctively remember 8 calves but I am sure there were probably at least 2 more - but maybe as many as 4 more. She was dried off each year and well cared for. I think age has a to do with care and the willingness to remedy ailments. Someone dealing with hundreds of milk cows at a dairy likely doesn't have the time to afford any extensive needs for each animal. JMHO That said, any cow of any breed can get injured at any point.

 

[FarmGirl10]

Most dairies in our area keep their Holsteins for five years.

It's a good thing that dairies dont cull on mothering abilities. The family farm of one of my friends keep having cows that will refuse to lick the calves. Luckily my friend found them and put a blanket on one till someone came to move it and laid a layer of straw on another.

 

[TexasBred]

Most dairies in our area keep their Holsteins for five years.

It's a good thing that dairies dont cull on mothering abilities. The family farm of one of my friends keep having cows that will refuse to lick the calves. Luckily my friend found them and put a blanket on one till someone came to move it and laid a layer of straw on another.

Dairies don't care about mothering abilities. They want milk production and if the calf is a heifer they MIGHT raise it as a replacement. Most bull calves are sold unless it's one of the really advanced dairies that AI bred everything, do embryo transplants etc. and raise and sell registered bulls as well. On many dairies having calves is just a necessary evil. Most do have an excellent heard health program. They have folks that do nothing but look for problems with the cattle and try to remedy any problem. A good dairy cow usually lives at a level much higher than the dairyman. :cry2:

 

[FarmGirl10]

Most dairies in our area keep their Holsteins for five years.

It's a good thing that dairies dont cull on mothering abilities. The family farm of one of my friends keep having cows that will refuse to lick the calves. Luckily my friend found them and put a blanket on one till someone came to move it and laid a layer of straw on another.

Dairies don't care about mothering abilities. They want milk production and if the calf is a heifer they MIGHT raise it as a replacement. Most bull calves are sold unless it's one of the really advanced dairies that AI bred everything, do embryo transplants etc. and raise and sell registered bulls as well. On many dairies having calves is just a necessary evil. Most do have an excellent heard health program. They have folks that do nothing but look for problems with the cattle and try to remedy any problem. A good dairy cow usually lives at a level much higher than the dairyman. :cry2:

I know...we used to have dairy and when i heard that from my friend I asked my dad if Holsteins are normally that inconsiderate of their babies...he siad no. I would have kicked the cow for doing it...lol. (not really) :x

 

[TexasBred]

Farmgirl, dairy holsteins don't have a choice. They get their babies removed within a day or two. They are docile animals so pretty much do as they are told without much hesitation. But pull them out of the dairy environment and they are good mothers. Some even make good nurse cows raising 4 babies at a time on mostly hay and grazing. Bred'em to a red brahman bull and you get a stretch limo that is a great cow.