How long do farmed cattle generally live, and how is their age determined?

Cattle belong to the tribe Bovini, a tribe under the subfamily Bovinae. They are herbivorous, and some species are livestock (including domestic cattle, yellow cattle, water buffalo and yak). They have a robust build, and some bulls grow a pair of horns on the head. Cattle can help humans carry out agricultural production. So how long do farmed cattle generally live? How is their age determined?

How long do farmed cattle generally live?

The survival of animals is affected by various environmental factors, so they generally cannot reach their natural lifespan. For example, the natural lifespan of humans should be around 160-200 years, but in fact no one has ever reached this record; the normal lifespan of mammals is about 8 to 10 times their development period, and is also related to their body size, habits and environment.

How is the age of farmed cattle determined?

The age of cattle can be determined by their appearance, teeth and horn rings.

Identification by appearance

Young cattle have a short and broad head, lively and bright eyes, relatively thin eyelids, glossy hair, a narrow body, relatively long limbs, and the hindquarters higher than the forequarters; young adult cattle have hair of moderate length and thickness, supple and elastic skin, and lively and energetic behavior; old cattle stand incorrectly, have rough skin, coarse and messy hair lacking luster, sunken eye sockets, a dull gaze, many wrinkles around the eyes mixed with white hair, slow movements, a sagging lower back and an arched back. In water buffalo, as age increases, the coat color becomes darker and darker and the hair density becomes sparser and sparser.

Identification by teeth

A relatively accurate method for determining the age of cattle is to examine the eruption and wear surface of the incisors. According to the order of eruption, the teeth of cattle can be divided into deciduous teeth and permanent teeth (adult teeth). There are 10 pairs, or 20 deciduous teeth, with no posterior molars. There are 16 pairs, or 32 permanent teeth. Cattle have no upper incisors, only a dental pad formed by keratin. The lower jaw has 4 pairs of incisors, which from the middle outward are called the central incisors, internal middle incisors, external middle incisors and corner incisors. Cattle have no canine teeth.

Generally, calves are born with 1 pair of deciduous incisors, sometimes 3 pairs. About 5-6 days or half a month after birth, the last pair of deciduous incisors erupts. At 3-4 months, all deciduous incisors have grown in and form a semicircle. Starting from 4-5 months of age, the surface of the deciduous incisors gradually wears down, and when worn to a certain extent, the deciduous incisors begin to fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth. From the replacement and wear of the incisors, the age of cattle can be roughly determined.

4-5 months of age: all deciduous incisors have grown in.

6-9 months of age: the external middle deciduous incisors are worn.

10-12 months of age: the entire lingual surface of the crown of the deciduous incisors is worn flat.

1 year 2 months: the crown of the internal middle incisors is worn flat.

1 year 3 months to 1 year 6 months: the deciduous incisors become noticeably shorter, the deciduous central incisors become loose, and the lingual surfaces of the external middle incisors and deciduous corner incisors are already worn flat.

1.5-2 years: the deciduous central incisors fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth, commonly known as “pair teeth”.

2.5-3 years: the deciduous internal middle incisors fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth, and develop fully, commonly known as “four teeth”.

3-3.5 years: the deciduous external middle incisors fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth, commonly known as “six teeth”.

4 years 9 months: all incisors have been fully replaced, commonly known as “full mouth”. At this time, the external middle incisors have also worn down.

5 years: the front edge of the corner incisors begins to wear, and the crowns are successively worn flat.

6 years: the wear surface of the corner incisors enlarges, and the central incisors and internal middle incisors are deeply worn.

7 years: almost all the enamel on the lingual surface of the central incisors is worn away.

8-9 years: the wear surface of the central incisors is worn into a nearly square shape, and dental stars appear; the wear surfaces of the internal and external middle incisors are worn into nearly square shapes.

10-12 years: dental stars appear on the internal middle incisors, the enamel of the corner incisors is worn away, and gaps appear between the teeth. The wear surfaces of the central incisors and the internal and external middle incisors are worn into round or oval shapes.

13-15 years: the enamel of all incisors has been worn away, and the wear surfaces become slightly longer. The distance between the teeth is very large, sparsely separated, and the incisors become loose and fall out. Generally, the animal has already been culled or has died, and has no breeding value.

Identification by horn rings

During pregnancy and lactation, due to excessive nutrient consumption and the inability to replenish it in time, the cow suffers from insufficient nutrition, so the horn tissue cannot develop fully, and the surface becomes sunken, forming ring-like marks called horn rings. Each time a cow gives birth, one horn ring is formed, so the number of horn rings of a cow is roughly the same as the number of calves she has borne. When a cow can give birth once a year, its age is roughly the number of horn rings plus the age at first calving. Usually cows first calve at 2.5-3 years of age, so by adding 2.5-3 years to the number of horn rings, the approximate age of the cow can be determined.

Bulls and steers rarely develop horn rings, but under poor feeding conditions, horn rings often also appear. Because the causes of horn ring formation are relatively complex and the horn rings are indistinct, making their exact number difficult to calculate, they can only be used as a reference for age identification.