How old is an old cow?

Cheribelle · #1 08/16/12, 09:33 PM

How much good life can we expect from a 10 year old Guernsey? She's 3 quartered, nursing 2 calves, just freshened. She looks to be in pretty good shape, she's at a small dairy but not in the milking string because of the bad quarter. One calf is hers, the other a foster.

willow_girl · #2 08/16/12, 11:54 PM

What's her somatic cell count?

I'm guessing it's really, really high if they're using her to feed calves. Otherwise, I imagine they'd be milking her 3 good quarters into the tank.

I'd be more worried about that than her longevity.

Just my 2 cents.

mplatt4 · #3 08/17/12, 02:01 AM

In big dairys few cows are still milking by age 7 or 8 I hardly ever hear of one over 12 or 13 in a small dairy and I have been at it most of my life. 5 or 6 is the average in the super dairies now there are reasons they dont live as long in big barns mostly because hired help almost never treats your cows like you would and the more you have the less time you can observe each one. BAs are the big killer dairies using total rations have alot of trouble with new guys or relief guys grinding the hay to short or not mixing the feed consistently and I also tend to agree with willow it is not very profitable to turn a cow into a nurse cow unless she has a problem why give up all of her milk when you could tank all but about 30 pounds of it and bottle feed the calves by the time you figure feed for the cow and lost tankage milk replacer would seem cheap in big herds there are most always enough through away milk (drugged or just fresh ) to feed the calfs

Ronney · #4 08/17/12, 05:52 AM

In NZ, in the modern milking herd with rotary sheds, computerised everything, 3 titters don't get to give their milk. They are considered more hassle than they are worth so are sent to the works, used as nurse cows to rear replacements or sold off to people wanting a house cow (rare). The average life of a dairy cow here is 7-8 years.

Cheri, to answer your question, it's a bit like asking how long is a bit of string. My eldest milking cow will turn 16 next month and is in calf again. She is now a 3 titter but hey, what can one expect from a cow of that age. My next eldest cow is a 14 year old Jersey still milking in all quarters, and there are several of 12 and 13 still milking in all quarters and producing good calves into the bargain.

I am assuming that you are looking at this cow as a house cow? If you can get her for a good price (and her age will have to be taken into consideration) I see no good reason as to why she shouldn't do you well for several more years to come and produce some nice calves for you.

Cheers,
Ronnie

lonelyfarmgirl · #5 08/17/12, 06:53 AM

Dairy cows aren't my experience field, but we have had two OLD scottish highlanders. One calved at 18, missed her calf on year 19, and we shipped her. One calved at 20 and then laid down and died because she had no teeth. We didn't know they were gone to her gums.

willow_girl · #6 08/17/12, 07:05 AM

My old girls are losing their teeth.

I can't check the molars in back, but I know Bitey only has 1 of her front incisors left. (There are supposed to be 8.) But it's a really good tooth!

They probably wouldn't do well on pasture as a result. I've switched to feeding more bagged grain and TMR ration to keep their weight up. Eventually I will start chopping their hay, I guess.

Oakshire_Farm · #7 08/17/12, 12:37 PM

My oldest Jersey is 12 and just had a heifer calf <3 She is looking fat and happy! She needs her feet trimmed more often than the other cows? Not sure if that is due to her age? I still catch her taring around in the pasture every once and a while

springvalley · #8 08/17/12, 01:32 PM

A lot depends on the cow, genetics, environment, feed and many other factors. Most cows are pushed to their limits, to get every last drop of milk out of her that you can get. Cows by nature are not grain eaters, but we as the humane race have done is we feed them a food stuff that we created to make our lives easier. I believe that a cow raised pretty much on a grass or hay diet can or could live a longer life. That is if she has not been pushed. I also think that beef stocker cows seem to live longer lives than dairy cattle do, mostlybecause the cows aren`t pushed for maximum milk production. > > Thanks Marc

Cheribelle · #9 08/17/12, 05:14 PM

I talked to the woman some more today. The reason the cow is for sale is because of a high cell count. She told me the 3 cows she has for sale are testing in the 980,000 range, with acceptable having been lowered from 750,000 to 400,000. She said it makes do difference in the taste or look of the milk. She also said that they had kept her, hoping for a heifer. Then she had the bull calf, and since they were using her milk to feed calves anyway they just let her keep him, and another one.
This is a 2 person operation. They both can name names, pet and handle any and all of these cows. She said the cow has never been sick, is not getting grain.

mekasmom · #10 08/17/12, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheribelle

How much good life can we expect from a 10 year old Guernsey? She's 3 quartered, nursing 2 calves, just freshened. She looks to be in pretty good shape, she's at a small dairy but not in the milking string because of the bad quarter. One calf is hers, the other a foster.

I can't speak about dairy operations, but on a homestead like place they can be kept and useful for many years. Their lifespan is almost like that of a horse if you care for them well, maybe a few years shorter, but still 20yrs or so. My grandparents had a cow so old her udder almost drug the ground. They loved her, and she had calves to over age 20, and still milked out for the family.

**gone-a-milkin** · #11 08/17/12, 05:26 PM

A ten year old, three titted dairy cow with an SCC of nearly a million?
I would absolutely pass on this animal.

Keep looking,

willow_girl · #12 08/18/12, 09:08 AM

Quote:

She said it makes do difference in the taste or look of the milk.

Think about it. If this were the case, why would the SCC matter? Why would the government set limits on it? Why would processors offer a premium for low-SCC milk?

She is trying to sell you a cow.

Some information on SCC: Somatic cell count - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've read that a high SCC may lead to "off" flavors in the milk and make it prone to spoiling more quickly.

Also ... somatic cell count rises because the immune system is being triggered by a pathogen ... probably Staph aureus or Strep ag, two of the most frequent causes of mastitis. Most likely this cow has a chronic case that antibiotics won't clear up. Do you really want to be drinking milk contaminated with these pathogens?

High subclinical cows also are more likely to develop full-blown mastitis (they're kind of teetering on the brink already).

Now, in all fairness, I'm not totally opposed to buying a 3-teat cow. There are a lot of reasons a cow can lose a teat ... for instance, sometimes we'll have a 3-teat heifer freshen in who lost a teat due to being suckled on by another calf. Occasionally a cow will step on a teat and mangle it so badly that it can't be milked. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cow under those circumstances, especially if her SCC looks good. Occasionally a cow loses a teat to mastitis, but the other 3 are OK as far as SCC. This is more of a "yellow light" situation, but if the cow is fairly young, bred and otherwise looks good, I'd probably take a chance on her providing you with a replacement heifer (especially if the price were right).

But in this situation? A 10-year-old cow, not bred back, with a very high SCC?

Cheribelle · #13 08/18/12, 09:10 PM

We actually drink the milk from my cow, this one would just raise calves. It's not real easy to find a Guernsey around here, and he has his heart set on one. They will breed this cow to their Guernsey bull.
I am the first to admit, we know nothing about cell counts, that's why I came here!

willow_girl · #14 08/19/12, 06:46 AM

I would be reluctant to use a high-SCC cow to feed heifer calves. If you're just raising bulls, it might be OK, but some studies have suggested pathogens like S. aureus and mycoplasma can be transmitted to calves via milk and can cause mastitis later. Pasteurizing the milk can reduce risk, but the extra labor negates some of the advantages of using a nurse cow!

If you're going to go this route, I'd suggest having a milk sample analyzed to find out which pathogen(s) you're dealing with.

Cheribelle · #15 08/20/12, 08:02 AM

Thanks everyone! We have decided to pass this time.