What’s the oldest breeding cow you have on your farm?

[FarmerDanny1989]

I have a 16 year old blue X blue/Fresian cow, which doesn’t look her age and always throws a good calf but I’m in 2 minds to bull her again or not? She owes me nothing tbh. What’s the oldest cow you’ve had calf?

 

[valtraman]

15 year old lim/friesian. Good square cow good udder and feet have never ever been touched . Not holding her flesh so well nowadays so will be for cull this year

 

[Cowabunga]

12 year old pure Holstein milking cow here. Looks half her age with great udder and feet.

 

[Bill the Bass]

19 years old on the 12 of April. Pedigree Limousin - waiting for her to produce a heifer for £250k!

 

[Fendt65]

44

 

[MGS6930]

Unfortunately no longer on farm, however we had an Angus that was 28 year old when we eventually had to put her down. Calved down each year without issue and you couldn't pick out her calf at weaning time. 9 of her daughters in our breeding herd so she lives on !. Still a long way off the record though https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70843-oldest-cow-ever

 

[britt]

I worked on a farm in in Moray in the mid 80s where they had a few Blue Grays that were 22 years old and had had 20 calves.
The owner denied that they were that old, but the vet showed me the records as we were TB testing.

 

[Cowmansam]

Got a 06 born Holstein done 835000 so far on a low to mid input system

 

[Cowmansam]

Know a lad who had a Angus cross suckler 24 and had a calf every year could well still have it been a few years since I’ve seen him

 

[cyffylog]

Have had 3 sucklers who reach 17 over the years, but nothing over that.

 

[Cowmansam]

slightly off topic but what would be a big age for a pig I was given a kune type sow 9 years ago from my friend he had it for 7 years and it came to him as an adult she died this last year so I reckon she’s was near on 20

 

[Tractortim]

Oldest to have a calf 19 , currently have a 17 and 16 year old both should calve in a few weeks time. Never sure of the best thing to welfare wise with them, wouldn’t want to send them to be culled off farm, don’t know if they should run with the bull again this summer.

 

[Cowmansam]

Suppose it’s see how they get on this time

 

[Jdunn55]

Just sent 2 away at 17 and 2 at 18 ☹ hate getting rid of old cows, currently this is our oldest one, shes just had her 18th calf shes gone a bit frail so womt be calved again, she also wont be leaving the farm though (yes I'm aware im a sh!t farmer )
Quite proud of the stack of old passports we still have, not bad for only have 60 breeding cows and having had 20 (albeit of various ages) breeding cows taken against our will will with badger tuberculosis ☹

 

[hendrebc]

The limo one on the right by the ring feeder was born in 2006 I think. Bad tempered miserable looking old bitch she is too! Just spent her first winter outside so you can teach an old cow new tricks came in on Friday ready for calving and she still looks miserable her daughter is the red one right at the back and some of the black ones will be her daughter's and granddaughters as well. Might be her last year might not. Depends how she does this year she was quite indifferent to her last calf thought she might have been feeling her age.
Dad used to have a lot of Welsh black cows and they would often go 20+ years old and have a calf every year.

 

[Hooby Farmer]

slightly off topic but what would be a big age for a pig I was given a kune type sow 9 years ago from my friend he had it for 7 years and it came to him as an adult she died this last year so I reckon she’s was near on 20

I have no idea but my neighbours have a pot bellied pig that roams around our fields and campsite regularly and it is easily 20 years old it. When the people moved into the house at the end of one of our fields they brought the pig with them and that's 20 years ago.

 

[Sid]

16 year old dairy cow by a holstein bull, shocker!!

24 milkers over 10 years old , 15 % of the herd.

 

[Cowmansam]

I have no idea but my neighbours have a pot bellied pig that roams around our fields and campsite regularly and it is easily 20 years old it. When the people moved into the house at the end of one of our fields they brought the pig with them and that's 20 years ago.

according to google the record is 23 by another micro pig breed but that doesn’t look half as old as the one I had maybe had an easy life mine looked about the same when I got it

 

[Cowmansam]

16 year old dairy cow by a holstein bull, shocker!!

24 milkers over 10 years old , 15 % of the herd.

Just had a count up theres 32 milking over ten years old all will be straight Holstein as cross breeding didn’t start here till 2014 so just less than ten percent you won’t beat the right Holstein in any system in my opinion just the other 750 plus that have gone by the wayside i between suggest the right Holstein isn’t so easy to find

 

[Cowmansam]

It’s almost counter intuitive they say breed you heifers to sexed to get the best gain but you can’t argue at a cow that’s done multiple years with next to no problems system has changed here 3 times in the years in between and they have managed in all of them