LIFE OF THE DAIRY COW.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3372, 1 October 1931, Page 2

LIFE OF THE DAIRY COW.

What is the average life of a cow in the dairy herd? The question has been made the subject of investigation by Messrs. R. R. Kay and Andrew McCandish, of the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow, and their opinion is that the average life of the cow in the dairy herd is four years. Messrs. Kay and McCandish have been inquiring into the factors that affect the yield and quality of milk, and have come to the conclusion that maximum production in a cow is usually reached between seven and eight years of age; an Ayrshire cow is generally expected to be at her best at that age, though in some cases greatest production may be reached a little earlier or a little later. Then they state definitely that “the average life of a cow in a dairy herd is around four years,” and they infer that a very large percentage of the cows are removed from the herd before they reach the age of greatest usefulness. A considerable number, of course, is removed, as poor producers, but the investigators say that every possible effort should be made to increase the percentage of animals that remain in the herd until maturity is attained. In' this way the average production could be raised appreciably, and considerable economies affected.. Even when a cow has reached maturity she does not necessarily deteriorate rapidly in production. This is another argument in favour of keeping mature cows actively producing in the herd. It will pay to retain them even after they decline fn producing if they are still capable of breeding.