While raising cattle, it’s crucial to understand just how many calves your cows can have over their lifetime. Understanding the calving timeline will greatly help you determine your overall calving operation. So just how many calves does a cow have in its lifetime?
On average, a cow can have 4-8 calves over their lifetime. This number greatly depends on several factors including access to a bull, breed, and health.
During this article, we will go through the calving cycle and how many calves you can expect from your cows!
The Calving Cycle
Understanding the timeline of calving will greatly help you in managing your calving operation.
- A cow will typically be pregnant for 9 months before having a calf.
- A cow will typically come back into heat about 1-2 months after having their last calf.
- A cow typically stops having calves around 10 years old.
Considering this information, a cow can have about 8 calves during their lifetime. This comes out to about one a year. Remember, it takes a calf about 15 months to be of age to be bred the first time. It’s worth noting this is the perfect scenario where your cow is perfectly healthy all the way up to 10 years of age. I personally think a more realistic number of calves per cow is about 6.
Cows typically will have only one calf per pregnancy – but it’s not unheard of to get twins. I’ve raised a herd of about 15 cows for about 10 years and have never gotten a pair of twins myself.
Breed Consideration
It’s worth noting that some specialized dairy breeds, such as Holsteins, are primarily bred for milk production rather than beef production. These breeds may have slightly lower fertility rates compared to beef cattle breeds. Holsteins, for example, are known for their high milk production but tend to have a lower conception rate and longer calving intervals.
On the other hand, some beef cattle breeds have been selectively bred for fertility and maternal instincts, leading to higher calving rates. Examples of such breeds include Angus, Hereford, Simmental, and Charolais.
Access to a Bull
Cows that have access to a bull 100% of the time will increase the number of calves a cow can have during its lifetime.
You may be thinking, why would you not have a bull with your cows at all times?
Well, most farmers actually keep the bull in a bullpen and then let them out one time a year. This helps keep things very consistent and on your timeline. Otherwise, cows can be bred months apart depending on when they had their last calf.
While this can determine how many calves a cow may have, realistically you could get maybe 1 more calf apiece if they had bull access all the time.
Health Consideration
The main stumbling stone you can have for your calving operation is a bunch of sick cows. A sick cow should not be bred until the cow is back to full health.
Calving is a taxing operation for a cow and she needs all her strength to do it successfully.
I’ve had cows get rare diseases and kick the bucket within several days, even with a veterinarian coming out that very day.
Another health issue that can come up is the actual birthing process. Many issues can arise that can either cause you to lose the calf, cow, or both.
Always keep your cows on a strict diet, and up to date on their shots. For better help understanding the proper diet and shots your cows need, I highly recommend visiting a local veterinarian. Not all climates are the same and cows that live in cooler climates vs warmer climates will most definitely have different needs.
Conclusion
Based on the calving cycle, cows typically have 4-8 calves during their lifetime. Variables such as bull access, breed consideration, and health issues can greatly affect the number of calves a cow can have throughout its life.