Possibility of estimating the age of a cow?

[ksmit454]

One of the very first cows I bough was back in Feb 2020. I was working at our local feed store and a customer came in and mentioned to me that he had just purchased property locally that had 13 Herefords that came with the property. He was interested in selling them. I ended up purchasing them all, and kept only 1 cow out of the whole bunch. Rest went to auction because no maintence was kept on those poor cows… tons of young heifers with young bulls and a few older cows and one older bull. Seems like an operation that got out of control. The gentleman I bought them from said they were extremely skinny when he bought the property too. The one cow I kept, we call her "big mama". Most gentle, sweet, easy going cow. I love having her around as she makes moving cows, doctoring cows, so much easier (she comes, they all come). She had a heifer calf in August 2020, a bull calf in September 2021, and is bred now for a calf due in January 2023. I have no idea how old she is… is there a way to sort of guesstimate? I think she was a cow when I purchased her because her teats didn't look like first calf heifer teats. I can get better pictures but here is a few of her.

 

[wbvs58]

She looks like a nice cow, doesn't look aged to me, mature but not aged. Can you get a photo of her teeth?

Ken

 

[Lucky]

You really need to look at her teeth to be sure. You can also look at her nose. If it's wide and flat she's probably older.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

She's old enough she should have a calf every 12 months. I guess you don't have a "calving season". August - Sept - Jan - That's a 5 month spread, unless you have been getting her into YOUR calving season and kept the bull away from her.
We all make excuses for the "good" ones though. LOL

 

[ksmit454]

She's old enough she should have a calf every 12 months. I guess you don't have a "calving season". August - Sept - Jan - That's a 5 month spread, unless you have been getting her into YOUR calving season and kept the bull away from her.
We all make excuses for the "good" ones though. LOL

Yes she's one that I make exceptions for. She's my favorite gal on the ranch. She came bred when I got her. Then we AI'd her, and the latest time I rented a bull (I have a small herd), and I believe that she slipped her calf, as I saw her standing to be bred 3 months later. So we AI'd again and she's confirmed bred. She's just one that I'll always have around

 

[ksmit454]

Not a great picture of her teeth, but one that I had when scrolling through my pictures. I'll see about getting a good one soon.

 

[bird dog]

Teeth wear varies according to your management, your soil and breed. I would guess 8

 

[Warren Allison]

She will be 7 years old in April...a 2016 model.

 

[ksmit454]

I guess I'm going to have to pick a birth date for her! I brought her home on Feb 23, 2020. What should we pick her birthday as? Maybe Feb. 23 2016?

 

[Warren Allison]

I guess I'm going to have to pick a birth date for her! I brought her home on Feb 23, 2020. What should we pick her birthday as? Maybe Feb. 23 2016?

From the pics, it looks like she was calved April 5th, 2016

 

[farmerjan]

A solid looking mouth I would also put her at 7-8 years old. Not quite as good as @Warren Allison to get that exact . Teeth wear is partly due to environment, but if she came from somewhere that is local with similar soils and grass, then you can make an intelligent guess of her age.

 

[faster horses]

She's not broken mouthed, she's not a gummer, so I wouldn't worry about her age.
Looks like she can easily stick around for quite a while.
I love those 'lead cows'.

 

[faster horses]

What about her top teeth. Have you checked those?


It's a joke, everyone.

 

[ksmit454]

She's not broken mouthed, she's not a gummer, so I wouldn't worry about her age.
Looks like she can easily stick around for quite a while.
I love those 'lead cows'.

Me too! Lead cows are the best and make my job a lot easier.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Teeth wear varies according to your management, your soil and breed. I would guess 8

Good grass equals good teeth equals longevity.
I have hauled twenty year old cows still producing a calf every 12 months good BCS and age 7 or younger in the barn.

To look at teeth that girl needs to be in a headgate wearing a pair of nose to tongs

 

[sstterry]

From the pics, it looks like she was calved April 5th, 2016

At 7:06 pm

 

[Son of Butch]

I guess I'm going to have to pick a birth date for her! I brought her home on Feb 23, 2020. What should we pick her birthday as? Maybe Feb. 23 2016?

February 29, 2016
that way she'll only age 1 year every 4

 

[ksmit454]

At 7:06 pm

Love the precision, is it the twinkle in her eyes that tell you the exact date and time she was born?

 

[ksmit454]

February 29, 2016
that way she'll only age 1 year every 4

Now that's smart!

 

[50/50Farms]

We had a cow, a simmental cow. Red, both in name and color (yes, they used to make them in a non-black variation). She started as Red, then Old Red, and then one day she died. Hell, I don't remember when or even what from, but she had to be twenty if she was a day. She died rawboned and rangy, with her last calf weaned earlier in the year. They ain't like dogs, you won't remember everything, but if they're young enough then just go on and roll with it, the really good ones you'll personally hand feed an extra year or three just because you care.