Experienced breeders believe that the average life expectancy of cows is about 20-25 years. Is this a lot or a little? For comparison: the horse lives about 30 years, the dog -15, the pig -20. Long-livers can be called geese: they with good care can live up to 40 years. Record champions among domestic animals by longevity are considered to be donkeys, they live up to 50 years. All these figures, of course, are approximate. There are times when dogs, for example, survived to 25 years of age.
There is information about a horse that lived forty-seven years. Among the cows there are also long-livers. The database on the life span of vertebrates “AnAge” got information about the cow Big Bertha, who lived for 49 years. However, the “official” maximum life expectancy of cows is considered to be 20 years.
Orlovs (we are talking about dairy breeds) reach physical maturity by a year and a half. From this time, fertilization and, as a result, lactation of the cow are possible. (For what it is held, in fact). Depending on the tasks of the breeder and the type of farm, the average life expectancy of cows is approximately 3-4 lactations. Accordingly, cows are kept on such farms somewhere around 4-6 years. After that, they are sent to feeding stations, from where they go to slaughter. How long have you kept a cow for milk in your private farm before you start to eat meat? It depends on the particular host. The average figure is 7-8 years. But some keep the cow and up to her old age.
