Oldest cow you ever had to calve?
 

Just for a curiosity....boredom....too hot to do anything else....question! LOL!

Mine was 9-1/2 last Sept. and she was due with calf yesterday...not here today either...she was 10 Jan 22nd. She was 7 when she had her last, so I'm about to make meals of her.

old red is going on 15 and has gave me a calf every year. her condition is a bit on the lean side but holding--I'm afraid she may need to go to town this year.

we lost a highland cow last fall due to the fact her teeth were gone. she calved in 2010. I don't know her exact age, but she was well over 20.
We have a highland cow now. she calved in 2010 with twins. She has not yet calved this year, and she is 15.

As a kid we had a Jersey cow who calved at 14. That was her last one and we let her raise it herself so she didnt have to walk up to the barn anymore.
Her udder was pretty shot, but she still had all her quarters.

She was a Matron in the herd and was allowed to live out her last days there and was buried out behind the silo.

RIP Dischelle; a good mama cow. :)

Beth is a 14 year old Dexter and she's just in the prime of her life. Her last calf was last December and she's beginning to show this year's calf. She's the herd boss.

Beth is just a youngster among Dexters. Ms. Penka just had her 20 year old cow, Sioux, give birth, and the last time this question was asked on the Dexter boards, someone chimed in with a 30 year old!

My old cow Pear just calved and she will be ten soon, had a nice little heifer calf this year. > Marc

I have a R15 year old that calved last November at 14 and is in calf again. Her daughter is R13 and about to go to the bull. Another that is R14 and will calve in September, her daughter is R11 and will calve at the same time.

None of these cows will go to the works - they will be shot or put down when their time comes and $200.00 paid for a digger to bury them. None of them owe me a cent. Every one of them has produced a good calf that has gone on to make me good money, they have all produced thousands of gallons of milk over their lifetime contributing to the rearing of pigs and other calves (even lambs) not to mention the milk in my fridge. The cost of a bullet, a digger and a quick end is cheap at the price.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Sounds like something I would do . I get so attatched! Now All I need is a cow!

As a teen I worked on a dairy farm who had a 17 year old Holstein who was still milking. She may have been 16 when she had her last calf.

We had a Holstein go 11 lactations in the herd I milk now. Saw a Brown Swiss who went 13 in herd I used to test.

My 2 old girls are 12 and 14 this year. They're holding up well, but neither has had a calf in years!

I hear Dexters make good family cows is that so ? I need a cow for Grandmas farm . My grandkids are all city kids , they love the chickens, like Easter every day , Horses are adored too, but I need to get even more farm like! :} Hard though, spending money is tight when you are on a fixed income. We have a good feeding program but not much extra!

This is Windridge Cathy ("Katie"), a Dexter shown at age 15 with her fall 2008 calf. She also had a calf in 2009, but, sadly, it only lived two days. Katie was a magnificent cow and could have written a book on calving. We had her for 11 years and in all that time, she had only one bull calf here -- the rest were heifers. Katie is buried here.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1-08cjpg-1.jpg

I dont know much about Dexters
 

I have only read about Dexters on the net , I read they are for Milk and meat .. However never talked to anyone that had one for a family cow . Is there any feed back on the subject? I would be intrested to hear!:indif:

We have a 13 year old cow in the dairy herd, just preg-checked 6 months bred again. Will be drying her off in a couple days for a well-deserved break. She doesn't know how to slow down. We have several 11-12 year olds in the herd.
Our oldest ever was Blossom, A grand old Jersey who gave us her last calf at 17 before she was retired.

Wow! Are dexters known for their long lifespans or birthing ages or something?

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...andCalf002.jpg

This old gal was a 1992 model, this pic was taken in 2009 when she was almost 18 yo. She was bred back for another calf when she died. There was a little patch of grass, about the size of a kitchen table, on the other side of the creek. She was going after it I suppose and got mired down in the mud, she was too far gone when I found her. She was one of my all time favorite cows, and I don't mind admitting I sniffled a little when she died.

I heard about a 26 y.o. calving around here not so long ago without any trouble. Now, that's REALLY old for a cow! I questionned the gal about that and she said, "I'll take you to her." She was one of my husband's computer customers, and I quit doubting.

I think because so many Dexters become members of the family, they are not usually shipped or processed if they have an off year; they simply keep going...and going. I think most cattlemen with commercial breeds cull far more ruthlessly than most Dexter owners (and, remember, until recently, Dexters were considered a "rare" breed).

Perhaps other breeds of cattle, if given the chance to be appreciated as individuals as many Dexters are, would also have longer lives. Not all Dexters can breed year in, year out, for 2 decades.

There was this one guy I knew that had a herd of registered charlois so he had their ages in front of him and he said they were all between 23 and 25 I think but he didn't say if they all bred back but I do remember some calves so I guess some of them did.

That makes sense on the Dexters. Generally beef producers do cull pretty harsh sometimes so I guess they wouldn't ever truly know exactly how long they could have bred back. I don't guess I know a lot about Dexters. Can you raise calves on them like you do with Jerseys?

Beautiful cow!!! .ck

I haven't been keeping up with Beth like I should. She's 15 years old, not 14.

She was born in 1996. None of her calves were registered until 2001, then none in 2002, then one about every 11 months thereafter. She's had 10 calves registered to her so far and is carrying one, now.

What Gale said about Dexters being treated as one of the family rings true. While Beth has led a perfectly healthy life, if she had gotten sick, she would have been cared for instead of being let go.

Here's Windridge Bantrybeth with her bull calf, Tullamore Dew.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ethNewBull.jpg

Have her horns been altered? They are very small for a Dexter? ck

Thank you, cowkeeper. I never thought of Windridge Cathy as our best looking cow, but she was certainly one of our best performing cows and had lovely calves. Here's a daughter we have, pictured at 3 years.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...7-6-08ajpg.jpg

Genebo, I guess I never realized that W. Bantrybeth and W. Cathy had the same sire. Not many of those Windridge cows left, are there?

Windridge Bantrybeth's horns look a lot like Windridge Cathy's horns. It's the angle of the picture that fools you.

There were only 9 of the Windridge line that Barbara Lombardi bred. I track them to find their offspring. Beth is my best cow, too.

We had a milking shorthorn that was at least fifteen years old when she had her last calf.

Many Milking Shorthorns 15 years old
 

I am a 30 year breeder of Milking Shorthorn cows we have had dozens of cows calved at 15 years old with no problems. I have heard of many cows in our breed that calve over 15 years up to 23 years old.

My favorite cow in our jersey herd, Ellen, is 17 years old and calved in August. She was also our highest producing cow when we did DHIA a couple months ago! We've decided not to breed her again, she has pretty bad arthritis and isn't walking so great. She will probably be put down here on the farm instead of sent to the sale barn, if for no other reason than just because she's one of our favorites.