Cattle raisers buy cattle for a lot of time, so in the process of buying cattle, the identification of the age of the cattle is an essential and important link. Then how to judge the age of the cattle according to the teeth, then let’s talk about it. How to judge the age of a cow by its teeth.

Judging by appearance, by observing the appearance of the cow, you can have a preliminary estimate of the age of the cow, and judge whether it is an old cow, a mature cow, a young cow or a young cow. For example, the head of the young cow is short and wide, the eyes are lively and energetic, the eyelids are thin, and the hair is smooth; the body is narrow, the limbs are higher, and the hindquarters are higher than the forequarters. Generally, the young cow's coat is long and short, the thickness is moderate, the skin is soft and elastic, the eyes are full, the eyes are bright, and the behavior is lively.

However, the more accurate way to determine the age of a cow is to observe the birth and grinding of the front teeth. According to the order of birth, cow's teeth can be divided into mammary incisors and permanent teeth (permanent teeth). The upper jaw of cattle has no incisors, only keratinized tooth pads. The lower jaw has 4 pairs of incisors, which are called forceps, inner middle teeth, outer middle teeth, and corner teeth in turn from the middle to the outside. From the replacement and wear of the front teeth, the age of the cow can be roughly judged. It can be summarized as 2, 3, 4, 5 to look at the tooth replacement, 6, 7, 8, 9 to look at the polished surface, and 10, 11, 12, and 13 to look at the bead point.

The cow's milk incisors (that is, the teeth that grow after birth) are small and white, with obvious necks and large interdental spaces; the permanent teeth are large and thick, slightly yellow in color, neatly arranged, and close to each other. Generally, calves have 1 pair of milk incisors at birth, sometimes 3 pairs. The last pair of mammary incisors is born 5-6 days or about half a month after birth. At 3-4 months, all the mammary incisors have been straight and semicircular. From the age of 4-5 months, the tooth surface of the mammary incisor gradually wears out. When the abrasion reaches a certain level, the mammary incisor begins to fall off and replace the permanent teeth. The water buffalo is about 3 years old, and the first pair of mammary incisors of the cattle fall off at about 2 years old, and the first pair of permanent teeth, namely "pair teeth", will grow out, and one pair will be replaced every year, gradually changing from "four teeth" to "six teeth" "Baya" (i.e., "Qikou is also called Bianya"), generally the buffalo is about 6 years old, and the scalper is about 5 years old.

After the cows have opened their mouths, the permanent teeth begin to wear sequentially, and the wear surface gradually changes from a rectangular pattern to a black ellipse to a triangle, and the gap between the teeth gradually expands until the root of the tooth is exposed and the permanent tooth falls off. The rectangular pattern that appears on the worn surface of the tooth is a "print". The water buffalo is about 7 years old, and the scalper appears "two seals" when it is 5.5-6 years old. According to this, one pair will be worn year by year until the "eight seals". The water buffalo is about 11 years old, and the scalpers appear "two beads" when they are 9.5-10 years old, and so on to "eight plants" (ie "full bead", also known as "laokou"). The buffalo is about 14 years old, and the scalper is 12.5-13 years old. The water buffalo is over 14 years old, and the scalper has reached old age over 13 years old, and has basically lost its service performance and reproductive performance.