AGE-DETERMINATION OF CATTLE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF FULLY-DEVELOPED INCISORS OF THE LOWER JAW

In 1997 the exact ages of 1520 cattle slaughtered in the experimental slaughterhouse at the University of Ghent were noted, along with the n umber of fully-developed incisors in the lower jaw of each animal. Onl y the fully-developed incisors were counted; signs of wear were not ta ken into consideration. The mean and standard deviations of the ages o f the animals for the five pairs of fully-developed incisors in the lo wer jaw were calculated. A cubic regression line representing the age as a function of the number of pairs of fully-developed incisors in th e lower jaw was established on the basis of the data. This regression line is useful only to a limited extent for determining the age of bee f carcasses in accordance with the following formula: Age (days) = 541 .9+(416.1p)-(110.1*p(2))+(17.4*p(3)) where p = number of fully develo ped incisors in the lower jaw.