Everyone knows who can be called the main nurse of all people - a cow. Since childhood, we have known the taste of milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter. These products are not only very useful, without them it is impossible to cook many delicious dishes. Each hostess will be able to confirm this fact. It is unlikely that any of us is thinking about how milk appears or how long a cow lives.
Features of cow behavior
For a very long time, cows are constantly present in human life, and people were able to accumulate a large amount of information about these animals. For example, how they eat, eat, drink, and what is the life span of a cow. There are also very interesting facts, such as the caring attitude of cows to music. They can recognize her even by rhythm. Cows do not distinguish colors because they see only one - white. Not only vision is poorly developed in these animals, but also the sense of smell.
A fact such as the preference for loneliness by cows has also become known, but at the same time young animals without communication will not be able to live and lose their appetite, irritability appears. If you want to increase milk yield, it is necessary not only to properly feed the animal, but also to ensure peace of mind and keep it in appropriate conditions on a dry and warm litter.
How to determine age
There are situations when you need to know exactly at what age a domestic cow is. There are many different ways for this, but the most reliable is the assessment of the teeth. In young calves , age can be determined by how the sequence of replacing milk teeth with permanent teeth has passed. But such a definition will not be very accurate. The growth, change and erasure of teeth largely depends on what type of feeding was chosen, precocity and other individual characteristics. It is for this reason, in order to approximately determine the age of the cow, take average indicators.
The most important role in determining the age of a cow’s teeth is played by incisors, which are called hooks, internal averages and outskirts, or external averages. How to determine how many years a cow lives?
Hooks that have grown by two years begin to wear off immediately from that time. By the age of four, the teeth completely change, and the erasure of all permanent incisors begins, not taking into account the margins. By the age of five, the upper edge begins to wear out already on the outskirts. This sign can accurately tell that the cow is about five years old. By this time, cracks between the incisors may also appear. By six years old, on hooks and internal averages, wear is much worse. At the age of seven, the enamel located on the lingual surface of the hooks is completely erased, and by the age of eight, the rubbing surface of the hooks acquires a quadrangular shape. At nine, the picture is the same as at eight. By the age of ten, the enamel of that part, which is called lingual, is completely erased, and all incisors become shorter and thinner. At 11-12 years old, incisors will become rare. After this age, determining the exact age of the cow is almost impossible.
How many cows live?
Of course, many are interested in what is the life span of a cow? Breeders who have quite a lot of experience think that cows live for about 20-25 years. And it is unclear whether it is a lot or a little. The horse has a lifespan of about 30 years, dogs - 15, pigs - 20. Geese are considered long-livers, but only if they are properly cared for. In this case, their life expectancy is about 40 years. But there are also champions among animals - donkeys. They can live up to 50 years. But all these numbers are not accurate. Indeed, among cows there are also long-lived women - for example, a cow that has lived 49 years.
But no one can know exactly how much a cow lives. Maybe somewhere in a village that is cut off from civilization, some old woman lives and milks a cow that has served her for more than a quarter of a century. It is necessary to understand what factors exactly affect the life expectancy of a cow.
How long do dairy cows keep
When it comes to dairy cows, it must be said that they become physically mature at the age of one and a half years. From this time they can be fertilized, and after calving, lactation begins. For this purpose and keep cows. Depending on what type of farm, the cow's lifespan will be no more than four lactations. Accordingly, cows live on farms for no more than six years. Then they are transferred to fattening farms or stations so that from there they go for slaughter.
How many cows are kept on personal farms
How long does the cow live with the owner who keeps it for milk? It all depends only on the owners. The average duration is about eight years. But there are people who feel sorry for selling a faithful friend and helper, and they keep her until old age.
There are people who are very attached to their cows and do not want to give them for slaughter. And they do not look at the fact that the cow is already very old, does not give offspring, and practically does not have milk. And it doesn’t matter what to keep it further - only at a loss.
We can say that the average life expectancy of cows in our country is not more than eight years. But it must be borne in mind that in natural conditions the cow would live for about 20 years.