Friday Evening March 31st, 2023

I did some research on Bovine Dentition.

This is the 4th cell of the 1st row of the 2023-03-30 rotation.

I cover bovine dentition. Here is a PDF from the USDA: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-05/Using_Dentition-to-Age-Cattle.pdf

The key facts are:

  • Cows grow molars and incisors. Their incisors are only on their bottom jaw.
  • Calves are born with or have their 8 baby incisors grow in rapidly.
  • At 18-24 months old, they grow their 1st pair of permanent incisors. These are much bigger than the baby incisors.
  • At 24-30 months old, they grow their 2nd pair of permanent incisors.
  • At around 36 months, they grow their 3rd pair of permanent incisors.
  • At around 42 months, they grow their 4th pair of permanent incisors.
  • Older than that, the permanent incisors will wear down until they turn into tiny nubs. At this point, the cow will likely die as it cannot eat enough grass to keep itself alive.

If you want to check the age of your cow, you can look at the incisor teeth.

  • If they only have baby teeth, they are less than 2 years old.
  • If they have 1 pair of permanent incisors, then they are about 2 years old.
  • If they have 2 pairs of permanent incisors, then they are about 2 1/2 years old.
  • If they have 3 pairs of permanent incisors, they are about 3 years old.
  • If they have all 4 pairs of permanent incisors, they are older than 3 1/2 years old.
  • If they have worn their 4 pairs of permanent incisors down, then they are older than 4 years but still have lots of time left.
  • If the permanent incisors are worn down almost to the gums, then they are running out of teeth and will die soon.
  • If the incisors are just nubs, then they are dead cow walking. They can die at any moment.

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