New method to age cattle from their teeth

Ageing animals from their teeth goes back to the time that man first started keeping animals. New research has applied modern statistical techniques to investigate the association between the stages of dentition in cattle and their age to give a more detailed explanation of the differences between the sexes and various breeds of cattle in the UK. Historically, the developmental pattern of front teeth in cattle has provided a recognised means of estimating age for agricultural and food safety purposes. The research by academics at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences , in collaboration with official veterinarian, Kevin Whiting, and supported by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX), is published in the journal, Animal . The study analysed records for the age and stage of permanent anterior (PA) tooth development in a large population of current British cattle breeds and farming systems. The effects of sex and breed, and their interaction, on the age of tooth development were also assessed. The research found that dairy-types moved through the transition points earlier than beef-types across all stages, intervals varied between eight and 12 weeks, and that collectively, native beef breeds moved through the transition points by up to three weeks earlier than the continental beef breeds.