LIFE CYCLE OF A COW

Life for a cow starts as a calf or baby cow. After about 3 months, the calf is weaned or
removed from milk and allowed to graze with the older animals.
As the young female calf grows she is called a Heifer or an unmated female cow.
From weaning, the heifer will take about 15 months at which she can be mated.
Cows have the same gestation period (pregnancy time) as humans (9 months).
Therefore the pregnant heifer will normally have her first calf at an age of 24 months.
Before the calf is born the cow’s body begins to prepare for its birth by producing
milk in the udder. Soon after the calf is born it instinctively feels for the mother’s
udder and sucks causing the release of milk from the udder. The first released milk or
fresh milk is called colostrum. Once the colostrum is fed to the newborn calf, normal
milk will begin to be formed in the udder.
Once a calf is born the cow will continue to give milk for about 300 days, which is
termed the lactation period. However, the amount of milk produced is not the same
everyday, with more produced at the start of lactation and less towards the end of
lactation period.
About 60 days after calving the cow will be mated again so that she will have a calf to
initiate milk production in 9 months from mating. This means she should be back
milking 360 days or a year after she first had a calf. Cows are bred while they are
producing milk, with the goal of maintaining approximately a yearly calving interval.
When the cow is about 300 days in milk she may produce very little amount of milk.
At this point the cow is dried off and given a rest from milking for about 2 months
before calving again and the cycle begins. This allows the cow and her mammary
gland time to rejuvenate and prepare for the next lactation. Cows average about 2.5
lactations before being removed (culled) from the herd. The average lactation

Note:

1st Parturition: 24 month

2nd Parturition: 36 month
3rd Parturition: 48 month
4th Parturition: 60 month
……………………………
……….. calving
calving interval
weaning interval dry off dry off
0 10 20 30 40 50 month

birth breeding pregnancy 1st lactation 2nd lactation

pregnancy pregnancy
1st insemination 1st parturition 2nd parturition 3rd parturition

2nd insemination 3rd insemination

Additional information about life cycle of cow

The pictures below show dairy animals from a baby calf to an adult cow:

Newborn   6  months   Over  one  year   First  calf-­‐heifer   5  years  old  

calf   old  heifer   old  Yearling   (2  years  old)   mature  cow  

Life cycle of a dairy cow at a glance: