Nose width on a short term cow

Help Support CattleToday:

Stocker Steve

Well-known member
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
12,131
Reaction score
1,268
Location
Central Minnesota
Some short term cows have a very wide nose, and they move like they are older than most. Is nose width a good indication of advanced age, and about how old do they be to start having this look?
 
I can;t quite figure out what you're saying. The nose width is a property of genetics, a wide nosed heifer would make a wide nosed cow and a snippy nosed heifer would make a snippy nosed cow.
 
Sorry Dun but we disagree on this one. Nose width seems to look wider with age. Don't know if it really is but it looks that way. If you have some pictures of a young cow that is now old compare it.
 
kenny thomas":39zcg5xl said:
Sorry Dun but we disagree on this one. Nose width seems to look wider with age. Don't know if it really is but it looks that way. If you have some pictures of a young cow that is now old compare it.
A broad muzzle is one of the structural traits that we select for so all of them have wide muzzles to a degree. Never have noticed any change. I could understand it appearing wider as a cow ages and her head gets longer looking.
 
kenny thomas":3dgagpzc said:
what is the advantage of the broad muzzle? Anything other than looks?

More breathing ability and a wider mouh for forage intake.
 
I think the broad muzzle is more prevelant on older cow, or more noticeable anyway. My theory is that as the teeth wear away/disappear it allows the lower jaw to close a bit more and makes the flaps on the side pooch out more, thus looking like a wider muzzle.
 
cfpinz":3co2ncf1 said:
I think the broad muzzle is more prevelant on older cow, or more noticeable anyway. My theory is that as the teeth wear away/disappear it allows the lower jaw to close a bit more and makes the flaps on the side pooch out more, thus looking like a wider muzzle.

Sounds reasonable. So wide muzzle could mean smooth mouth in this case?
 
Stocker Steve":dm9oel0u said:
cfpinz":dm9oel0u said:
I think the broad muzzle is more prevelant on older cow, or more noticeable anyway. My theory is that as the teeth wear away/disappear it allows the lower jaw to close a bit more and makes the flaps on the side pooch out more, thus looking like a wider muzzle.

Sounds reasonable. So wide muzzle could mean smooth mouth in this case?

Could but then again it might not, only one way to know for sure. We've got a 14 month old heifer that we're getting ready to breed next month that has the face of a 10 year old cow. But her mom looked old her whole life, too.
 
i always heard a wide muzzled cow was an easy keeper. only way to test the theory would be to check age.
 
Guess I'm gonna have to start paying more attention to noses now. I know old men get big noses and ears as they get older...don't know if that makes us easy keepers or just something nobody else wants. :lol: :lol:
 
dun":19ds6nar said:
kenny thomas":19ds6nar said:
what is the advantage of the broad muzzle? Anything other than looks?

More breathing ability and a wider mouh for forage intake.

I've heard the idea that wider mouths make for better grazers. Somehow I get a funny image of a cow with 2 foot wide muzzle outperforming the others. Maybe a muzzle EPD?
 

Latest posts

Top