Cattle age determination
Encyclopedia
Teeth method
Cattle are placed in a cattle crushCattle crush
A cattle crush , squeeze chute , standing stock, or simply stock is a strongly built stall or cage for holding cattle, horses, or other livestock safely while they are examined, marked, or given veterinary treatment. Cows may be made to suckle calves in a crush...
in order to restrain them prior inspecting the mouth and amount of teeth that each animal has.
The temporary teeth are in part erupted at birth, and all the incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s are erupted in twenty days; the first, second and third pairs of temporary molars are erupted in thirty days; the teeth have grown large enough to touch each other by the sixth month. Temporary incisors or "milk" teeth are smaller than the permanent incisors.
Cattle have thirty-two teeth, including six incisors or biting teeth and two canines in the front on the bottom jaw. The canine teeth are not pointed but look like incisors. The incisor teeth meet with the thick hard dental pad
Dental pad
The dental pad or browsing pad is a feature of ruminant dental anatomy that results from a lack of upper incisors and helps them gather large quantities of grass and other plant matter. In cattle, the tongue is used to grasp food and pinch it off between the dental pad and the lower incisors...
of the upper jaw. Cattle have six premolars and six molars on both top and bottom jaws for a total of twenty-four molars. The teeth of cattle are designed primarily for grinding, and they use their rough tongues to grasp grass and then nip it off between their incisors and the dental pad.
There is controversy on the reliability of attempting to tell the age of cattle by their teeth, as rate of wear can be affected by the forage that is grazed. Drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
or grazing on sandy country will also affect rate of wear.
The following is a guide:
- 12 months - All the calf teeth are in place.
- 15 months - Centre permanent incisorIncisorIncisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s appear. - 18 months - Centre permanent incisors showing some wear.
- 24 months - First intermediates up.
- 30 months – Six broad incisors up.
- 36 months – Six broad incisors showing wear.
- 39 months – Corner teeth up
- 42 months – Eight broad incisors showing wear.
The development is quite complete at from five to six years. At that time the border of the incisors has been worn away a little below the level of the grinders. At six years, the first grinders
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
are beginning to wear, and are on a level with the incisors. At eight years, the wear of the first grinders is very apparent. At ten or eleven years, used surfaces of the teeth begin to bear a square mark surrounded by a white line, and this is pronounced on all the teeth by the twelfth year; between the twelfth and the fourteenth year this mark takes a round form.
It is a requirement in some locations that prime cattle have a dentition indication mark on them prior to auction. This is normally done by the vendor, or the stock agent. Fat cattle auctions in New South Wales, Australia identify the amount of teeth that prime animals have in the form of sprayed marks along the back. Thus two tooth cattle are marked on the wither, four tooth on the middle of the back and six tooth on their high bone (near tail). Milk and eight tooth cattle are not marked.
Horn method
The rings on the horns are less useful as guides. At ten or twelve months the first ring appears; at twenty months to two years the second; at thirty to thirty-two months the third ring, at forty to forty-six months the fourth ring, at fifty four to sixty months the fifth ring, and so on. But, at the fifth year, the three first rings are indistinguishable, and at the eighth year all the rings.Tail brush method
The brush of the tail is only useful as a guide when assessing small, stunted or young cattle. A brush that is about fetlockFetlock
Fetlock is the common name for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints of horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs. It is formed by the junction of the third metacarpal or metatarsal bones proximad and the proximal phalanx distad...
length or longer is an indication that the beast is twelve months old or older.
Other methods
Cattle age in a carcaseMeat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
is determined checking the physiological skeletal maturity (ossification) (red) of the tips or “buttons” of the thoracic vertebrae
Thoracic vertebrae
In human anatomy, twelve thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. They are intermediate in size between those of the cervical and lumbar regions; they increase in size as one proceeds down the spine, the upper...
. The size and shape of the rib bones are important considerations as well as the colour and texture of the flesh.
The use of number (year) branding, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s or ear tags with numbers or different colours are good methods of identifying the age of cattle, if they are used according to standards.